  In this paper we examine to what extent traces of alpha-clustering can be
found in mean-field ground states of $n\alpha$-nuclei from Be8 through Ar36 as
well as in some superdeformed states in S32, Ar36, and Ca40. For this purpose
we calculate the overlap of the mean-field Slater determinant with one containg
pure Gaussians and perfect spin and isospin symmetry, optimizing the overlap by
varying the alpha-particle positions and radii. In some cases a coherent sum
over different configurations is also employed. We find quite large overlaps
for some of the lighter systems that diminish for nuclei above Ne20 but again
strong clustering in Ar36.
