X-Git-Url: https://hackdaworld.org/gitweb/?a=blobdiff_plain;f=posic%2Fthesis%2Fbasics.tex;h=24bfc19832f0f9d0e14bdc24e1e8579202357693;hb=4774842a09e4f15ab187088ffce234f44a7a11c4;hp=39e27115198be63b261aecbd3cb84cb51a7f95f4;hpb=5af76e67ab84839ec340100db9327db2cd997bc7;p=lectures%2Flatex.git diff --git a/posic/thesis/basics.tex b/posic/thesis/basics.tex index 39e2711..24bfc19 100644 --- a/posic/thesis/basics.tex +++ b/posic/thesis/basics.tex @@ -1,2 +1,69 @@ \chapter{Basics} +\section{Molecular dynamics simulations} + +\subsection{Introduction to molecular dynamics simulations} + +Basically, molecular dynamics (MD) simulation is a technique to compute a system of particles, referred to as molecules, evolving in time. +The MD method was introduced by Alder and Wainwright in 1957 \cite{alder1,alder2} to study the interactions of hard spheres. +The basis of the approach are Newton's equations of motion to describe classicaly the many-body system. +MD simulation is the numerical way of solving the $N$-body problem ($N > 3$) which cannot be solved analytically. +Quantum mechanical effects are taken into account by an analytical interaction potential between the nuclei. + +By MD simulation techniques a complete description of the system in the sense of classical mechanics on the microscopic level is obtained. +This microscopic information has to be translated to macroscopic observables by means of statistical mechanics. + +The basic idea is to integrate Newton's equations numerically. +A system of $N$ particles of masses $m_i$ ($i=1,\ldots,N$) at positions ${\bf r}_i$ and velocities $\dot{{\bf r}}_i$ is given by +\begin{equation} +m_i \frac{d^2}{dt^2} {\bf r}_i = {\bf F}_i \, \textrm{.} +\end{equation} +The forces ${\bf F}_i$ are obtained from the potential energy $U(\{{\bf r}\})$: +\begin{equation} +{\bf F}_i = - \nabla_{{\bf r}_i} U({\{\bf r}\}) \, \textrm{.} +\end{equation} +Given the initial conditions ${\bf r}_i(t_0)$ and $\dot{{\bf r}}_i(t_0)$ the equations can be integrated by a certain integration algorithm. +The solution of these equations provides the complete information of a system evolving in time. + +The following chapters cover the tools of the trade necessary for the MD simulation technique. +First a detailed overview of the available integration algorithms is given, including their advantages and disadvantages. +After that the interaction potentials and their accuracy for describing certain systems of elements are discussed. + + + +\subsection{Integration algorithms} + +\subsection{Interaction potentials} + +\subsubsection{The Lennard-Jones potential} + +The L-J potential is a realistic two body pair potential and is of the form +\begin{equation} +U^{LJ}(r) = 4 \epsilon \Big[ \Big( \frac{\sigma}{r} \Big)^{12} - \Big( \frac{\sigma}{r} \Big)^6 \Big] \, \textrm{,} +\label{eq:lj-p} +\end{equation} +where $r$ denotes the disatnce between the two atoms. + +The attractive tail for large separations $(\sim r^{-6})$ is essentially due to correlations between electron clouds surrounding the atoms. The attractive part is also known as {\em van der Waals} or {\em London} interaction. +It can be derived classically by considering how two charged spheres induce dipol-dipol interactions into each other, or by considering the interaction between two oscillators in a quantum mechanical way. + +The repulsive term $(\sim r^{-12})$ captures the non-bonded overlap of the electron clouds. +It does not have a true physical motivation, other than the exponent being larger than $6$ to get a steep rising repulsive potential wall at short distances. +Chosing $12$ as the exponent of the repulsive term it is just the square of the attractive term which makes the potential evaluable in a very efficient way. + +The constants $\epsilon$ and $\sigma$ are usually determined by fitting to experimental data. +$\epsilon$ accounts to the depth of the potential well, where $\sigma$ is regarded as the radius of the particle, also known as the van der Waals radius. + +Writing down the derivation of the Lennard-Jones potential in respect to $x_i$ (the $i$th component of the distance vector $\vec{r}$) +\begin{equation} +\frac{\partial}{\partial x_i} U^{LJ}(r) = 4 \epsilon x_i \Big( -12 \frac{\sigma^{12}}{r^{14}} + 6 \frac{\sigma^6}{r^8} \Big) +\label{eq:lj-d} +\end{equation} +one can easily identify $\sigma$ by the equilibrium distance of the atoms $r_e=\sqrt[6]{2} \sigma$. +Applying the equilibrium distance into \eqref{eq:lj-p} $\epsilon$ turns out to be the negative well depth. +The $i$th component of the force $F^j$ on particle $j$ is obtained by +\begin{equation} +F_i^j = - \frac{\partial}{\partial x_i} U^{LJ}(r) \, \textrm{.} +\label{eq:lj-f} +\end{equation} +