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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 12 April 2016
The properties of the Trapezium type multiple stars are discussed. The existing data confirm the dynamical instability of the Trapeziums. They show that because of the specific space configurations of components the Trapezium type multiple stars are disintegrated completely or partly (becoming ordinary systems with smaller number of components). The disintegration time is estimated some million years for Trapeziums with negative total energies and much shorter when their total energies are positive. There are some evidences in favour of the existence of Trapeziums possessing positive total energies.