Subject: convergence of MD simulations

From: "Sue Heavner" <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 03 Apr 2002 12:39:24 -0500

Dear CCL members:
 I read that in NVE simulations, the ratio of RMS fluctuations of the potential and kinetic energies is an indication
of convergence of energy, with RMS(PE)/RMS(KE) = 0.01 indicating a satisfactory level of global energy stabilization.  Is there such a test for NTP simulations? 
 Thanks in advance, Sue Heavner

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From: "Keith Refson" <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 3 Apr 2002 18:56:09 +0100

Sue Heavner writes:
 > Dear CCL members:
 >  I read that in NVE simulations, the ratio of RMS fluctuations of
 >  the potential and kinetic energies is an indication
 > of convergence of energy, with RMS(PE)/RMS(KE) = 0.01 indicating a
 > satisfactory level of global energy stabilization.  Is there such a
 > test for NTP simulations?

If you are using a Hamiltonian-derived set of equations for the NTP
simulation (such as Nose/Parrinello-Rahman or Nose/Andersen) then the
answer is yes -- just use the conserved Hamiltonian in place of the
energy.  

Note that you can't do this directly for the common Nose-Hoover
formulation, though Frenkel and Smit (p139) suggest a way of
reconstructing a conserved quantity with a little extra work in
solving for the s variable.

Keith Refson
-- 
Dr Keith Refson, 
Building R3
Rutherford Appleton Laboratory
Chilton
Didcot
Oxfordshire OX11 0QX
T: 01235 446652		K.Refson@
F: 01235 445720		@rl.ac.uk