  The high-temperature properties of the Al(111) surface are studied by
molecular-dynamics simulation. This surface does not melt below the bulk
melting point, but can be superheated. Superheating of metal surfaces has been
recently observed in several experiments. A molecular-dynamics study of the
structural properties reveals how after going through the superheating regime
melting occurs over the whole crystal in a narrow temperature range. The
temperature dependence of the surface stress, the mean-square vibrational
amplitudes and the anomalous outward expansion of the distance between two top
layers are calculated. A transition from superheated to liquid state is
analyzed using kinetic description for the formation of liquid nuclei by the
Fokker-Planck equation and conservation of heat at the liquid-solid interface.
