The melting properties of a cluster with $N$ equally charged particles confined by a Coulomb potential are studied. The system exhibits a structural phase transition before it melts. The melting process is not dominated by the usual thermal hops between stable states. We also show that the symmetry of the ground state configuration is a dominant factor in determining the melting temperature and that more confined particles in the cluster do not necessarily have a higher melting temperature.

• Received 30 July 2004

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevE.71.021501