Structural transition in small gas-like clusters

We propose a model, which is an alternative to the droplet model and presumes that the number of bonds between the atoms is a minimum, to describe highly excited clusters containing a small number of atoms. It is shown that at sufficiently high temperatures such a structure, which has the form of a system of spontaneously appearing chains of atoms (virtual chains),is realized with a greater probability than the close-packed structure. Analytic estimates are supported by the results of numerical molecular-dynamics simulations. Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 113, 181–190 (January 1998)