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We present extensive molecular-dynamics simulations of small gold particles of N=100--900 atoms. We use a many-body interatomic potential of proven accuracy for gold surfaces. Structural properties are determined with various annealing strategies. Our results provide for the first time a microscopic description of the melting transition of metal clusters, revealing in particular the formation of a liquid skin as precursor effect for N>350. The experimentally observed sharp decrease of the melting temperature with decreasing size is recovered. Implications for larger sizes, as well as for other metals, are discussed.
Ercolessi et al. (Mon,) studied this question.