First-order phase transition in an approximately one-dimensional system
Bogomolov V. N., Kolla E. V., Kumzerov Yu. A.
о The melting of mercury filaments with a diameter in the range between 20 A and — 100 A is investigated. As the filament diameter (d) is reduced, the phase-transition region shifts toward low temperatures (the transition shift amounts to ~ l/d) and becomes diffuse over a large temperature interval (the diffuse region extends over a distance of ~ l/d 2). The hysteresis that sets in between melting and о solidification decreases and vanishes when d —20 A.