  We present a novel statistical method for the study of stable atomic
configurations in breaking nanowires based on the 2D cross-correlation analysis
of conductance versus electrode separation traces. Applying this method, we can
clearly resolve the typical evolutions of the conductance staircase in some
transition metal nanojunctions (Ni, Fe, V) up to high conductance values. In
these metals our analysis demonstrates a very well ordered atomic narrowing of
the nanowire, indicating a very regular, stepwise decrease of the number of
atoms in the minimal cross section of the junction, in contrast to the majority
of the metals. All these features are hidden in traditional conductance
histograms.
