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1 \chapter{\label{chap:intro}INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND}
2
3 In order to advance our understanding of natural chemical and physical
4 processes, researchers develop explanations for events observed
5 experimentally. These hypotheses, supported by a body of corroborating
6 observations, can develop into accepted theories for how these
7 processes occur. This validation process, as well as testing the
8 limits of these theories, is essential in developing a firm foundation
9 for our knowledge. Theories involving molecular scale systems cause
10 particular difficulties in this process because their size and often
11 fast motions make them difficult to observe experimentally. One useful
12 tool for addressing these difficulties is computer simulation.
13
14 In computer simulations, we can develop models from either the theory
15 or experimental knowledge and then test them in a controlled
16 environment. Work done in this manner allows us to further refine
17 theories, more accurately represent what is happening in experimental
18 observations, and even make predictions about what one will see in
19 experiments. Thus, computer simulations of molecular systems act as a
20 bridge between theory and experiment.
21
22 Depending on the system of interest, there are a variety of different
23 computational techniques that can used to test and gather information
24 from the developed models. In the study of classical systems, the two
25 most commonly used techniques are Monte Carlo and molecular
26 dynamics. Both of these methods operate by calculating interactions
27 between particles of our model systems; however, the progression of
28 the simulation under the different techniques is vastly
29 different. Monte Carlo operates through random configuration changes
30 that that follow rules adhering to a specific statistical mechanics
31 ensemble, while molecular dynamics is chiefly concerned with solving
32 the classic equations of motion to move between configurations within
33 an ensemble. Thermodynamic properties can be calculated from both
34 techniques; but because of the random nature of Monte Carlo, only
35 molecular dynamics can be used to investigate dynamical
36 quantities. The research presented in the following chapters utilized
37 molecular dynamics near exclusively, so we will present a general
38 introduction to molecular dynamics and not Monte Carlo. There are
39 several resources available for those desiring a more in-depth
40 presentation of either of these
41 techniques.\cite{Allen87,Frenkel02,Leach01}
42
43 \section{\label{sec:MolecularDynamics}Molecular Dynamics}
44
45 \section{\label{sec:MovingParticles}Propagating Particle Motion}
46
47 \subsection{\label{sec:IntroIntegrate}Rigid Body Motion}
48
49 Rigid bodies are non-spherical particles or collections of particles
50 (e.g. $\mbox{C}_{60}$) that have a constant internal potential and
51 move collectively.\cite{Goldstein01} Discounting iterative constraint
52 procedures like {\sc shake} and {\sc rattle}, they are not included in
53 most simulation packages because of the algorithmic complexity
54 involved in propagating orientational degrees of
55 freedom.\cite{Ryckaert77,Andersen83,Krautler01} Integrators which
56 propagate orientational motion with an acceptable level of energy
57 conservation for molecular dynamics are relatively new inventions.
58
59 Moving a rigid body involves determination of both the force and
60 torque applied by the surroundings, which directly affect the
61 translational and rotational motion in turn. In order to accumulate
62 the total force on a rigid body, the external forces and torques must
63 first be calculated for all the internal particles. The total force on
64 the rigid body is simply the sum of these external forces.
65 Accumulation of the total torque on the rigid body is more complex
66 than the force because the torque is applied to the center of mass of
67 the rigid body. The space-fixed torque on rigid body $i$ is
68 \begin{equation}
69 \boldsymbol{\tau}_i=
70 \sum_{a}\biggl[(\mathbf{r}_{ia}-\mathbf{r}_i)\times \mathbf{f}_{ia}
71 + \boldsymbol{\tau}_{ia}\biggr],
72 \label{eq:torqueAccumulate}
73 \end{equation}
74 where $\boldsymbol{\tau}_i$ and $\mathbf{r}_i$ are the torque on and
75 position of the center of mass respectively, while $\mathbf{f}_{ia}$,
76 $\mathbf{r}_{ia}$, and $\boldsymbol{\tau}_{ia}$ are the force on,
77 position of, and torque on the component particles.
78
79 The summation of the total torque is done in the body fixed axis. In
80 order to move between the space fixed and body fixed coordinate axes,
81 parameters describing the orientation must be maintained for each
82 rigid body. At a minimum, the rotation matrix ($\mathsf{A}$) can be
83 described by the three Euler angles ($\phi, \theta,$ and $\psi$),
84 where the elements of $\mathsf{A}$ are composed of trigonometric
85 operations involving $\phi, \theta,$ and $\psi$.\cite{Goldstein01}
86 Direct propagation of the Euler angles has a known $1/\sin\theta$
87 divergence in the equations of motion for $\phi$ and $\psi$, leading
88 to numerical instabilities any time one of the directional atoms or
89 rigid bodies has an orientation near $\theta=0$ or
90 $\theta=\pi$.\cite{Allen87} One of the most practical ways to avoid
91 this ``gimbal point'' is to switch to another angular set defining the
92 orientation of the rigid body near this point.\cite{Barojas73} This
93 procedure results in additional book-keeping and increased algorithm
94 complexity. In the search for more elegant alternative methods, Evans
95 proposed the use of quaternions to describe and propagate
96 orientational motion.\cite{Evans77}
97
98 The quaternion method for integration involves a four dimensional
99 representation of the orientation of a rigid
100 body.\cite{Evans77,Evans77b,Allen87} Thus, the elements of
101 $\mathsf{A}$ can be expressed as arithmetic operations involving the
102 four quaternions ($q_w, q_x, q_y,$ and $q_z$),
103 \begin{equation}
104 \mathsf{A} = \left( \begin{array}{l@{\quad}l@{\quad}l}
105 q_0^2+q_1^2-q_2^2-q_3^2 & 2(q_1q_2+q_0q_3) & 2(q_1q_3-q_0q_2) \\
106 2(q_1q_2-q_0q_3) & q_0^2-q_1^2+q_2^2-q_3^2 & 2(q_2q_3+q_0q_1) \\
107 2(q_1q_3+q_0q_2) & 2(q_2q_3-q_0q_1) & q_0^2-q_1^2-q_2^2+q_3^2 \\
108 \end{array}\right).
109 \end{equation}
110 Integration of the equations of motion involves a series of arithmetic
111 operations involving the quaternions and angular momenta and leads to
112 performance enhancements over Euler angles, particularly for very
113 small systems.\cite{Evans77} This integration methods works well for
114 propagating orientational motion in the canonical ensemble ($NVT$);
115 however, energy conservation concerns arise when using the simple
116 quaternion technique under the microcanonical ($NVE$) ensemble. An
117 earlier implementation of {\sc oopse} utilized quaternions for
118 propagation of rotational motion; however, a detailed investigation
119 showed that they resulted in a steady drift in the total energy,
120 something that has been observed by Kol {\it et al.} (also see
121 section~\ref{sec:waterSimMethods}).\cite{Kol97}
122
123 Because of the outlined issues involving integration of the
124 orientational motion using both Euler angles and quaternions, we
125 decided to focus on a relatively new scheme that propagates the entire
126 nine parameter rotation matrix. This techniques is a velocity-Verlet
127 version of the symplectic splitting method proposed by Dullweber,
128 Leimkuhler and McLachlan ({\sc dlm}).\cite{Dullweber97} When there are
129 no directional atoms or rigid bodies present in the simulation, this
130 integrator becomes the standard velocity-Verlet integrator which is
131 known to effectively sample the microcanonical ($NVE$)
132 ensemble.\cite{Frenkel02}
133
134 The key aspect of the integration method proposed by Dullweber
135 \emph{et al.} is that the entire $3 \times 3$ rotation matrix is
136 propagated from one time step to the next. In the past, this would not
137 have been as feasible, since the rotation matrix for a single body has
138 nine elements compared with the more memory-efficient methods (using
139 three Euler angles or four quaternions). Computer memory has become
140 much less costly in recent years, and this can be translated into
141 substantial benefits in energy conservation.
142
143 The integration of the equations of motion is carried out in a
144 velocity-Verlet style two-part algorithm.\cite{Swope82} The first-part
145 ({\tt moveA}) consists of a half-step ($t + \delta t/2$) of the linear
146 velocity (${\bf v}$) and angular momenta ({\bf j}) and a full-step ($t
147 + \delta t$) of the positions ({\bf r}) and rotation matrix,
148 \begin{equation*}
149 {\tt moveA} = \left\{\begin{array}{r@{\quad\leftarrow\quad}l}
150 {\bf v}\left(t + \delta t / 2\right) & {\bf v}(t)
151 + \left( {\bf f}(t) / m \right)(\delta t/2), \\
152 %
153 {\bf r}(t + \delta t) & {\bf r}(t)
154 + {\bf v}\left(t + \delta t / 2 \right)\delta t, \\
155 %
156 {\bf j}\left(t + \delta t / 2 \right) & {\bf j}(t)
157 + \boldsymbol{\tau}^b(t)(\delta t/2), \\
158 %
159 \mathsf{A}(t + \delta t) & \mathrm{rotate}\left( {\bf j}
160 (t + \delta t / 2)\delta t \cdot
161 \overleftrightarrow{\mathsf{I}}^{-1} \right),
162 \end{array}\right.
163 \end{equation*}
164 where $\overleftrightarrow{\mathsf{I}}^{-1}$ is the inverse of the
165 moment of inertia tensor. The $\mathrm{rotate}$ function is the
166 product of rotations about the three body-fixed axes,
167 \begin{equation}
168 \mathrm{rotate}({\bf a}) = \mathsf{G}_x(a_x / 2) \cdot
169 \mathsf{G}_y(a_y / 2) \cdot \mathsf{G}_z(a_z) \cdot \mathsf{G}_y(a_y /
170 2) \cdot \mathsf{G}_x(a_x /2),
171 \label{eq:dlmTrot}
172 \end{equation}
173 where each rotational propagator, $\mathsf{G}_\alpha(\theta)$, rotates
174 both the rotation matrix ($\mathsf{A}$) and the body-fixed angular
175 momentum (${\bf j}$) by an angle $\theta$ around body-fixed axis
176 $\alpha$,
177 \begin{equation}
178 \mathsf{G}_\alpha( \theta ) = \left\{
179 \begin{array}{l@{\quad\leftarrow\quad}l}
180 \mathsf{A}(t) & \mathsf{A}(0) \cdot \mathsf{R}_\alpha(\theta)^\textrm{T},\\
181 {\bf j}(t) & \mathsf{R}_\alpha(\theta) \cdot {\bf j}(0).
182 \end{array}
183 \right.
184 \end{equation}
185 $\mathsf{R}_\alpha$ is a quadratic approximation to the single-axis
186 rotation matrix. For example, in the small-angle limit, the rotation
187 matrix around the body-fixed x-axis can be approximated as
188 \begin{equation}
189 \mathsf{R}_x(\theta) \approx \left(
190 \begin{array}{ccc}
191 1 & 0 & 0 \\
192 0 & \frac{1-\theta^2 / 4}{1 + \theta^2 / 4} & -\frac{\theta}{1+\theta^2 / 4} \\
193 0 & \frac{\theta}{1+\theta^2 / 4} & \frac{1-\theta^2 / 4}{1 + \theta^2 / 4}
194 \end{array}
195 \right).
196 \end{equation}
197 The remaining rotations follow in a straightforward manner. As seen
198 from the form of equation~(\ref{eq:dlmTrot}), the {\sc dlm} method
199 uses a Trotter factorization of the orientational
200 propagator.\cite{Trotter59} This has three effects:
201 \begin{enumerate}
202 \item the integrator is area-preserving in phase space (i.e. it is
203 {\it symplectic}),
204 \item the integrator is time-{\it reversible}, and
205 \item the error for a single time step is of order
206 $\mathcal{O}\left(\delta t^4\right)$ for time steps of length $\delta t$.
207 \end{enumerate}
208
209 After the initial half-step ({\tt moveA}), the forces and torques are
210 evaluated for all of the particles. Once completed, the velocities can
211 be advanced to complete the second-half of the two-part algorithm
212 ({\tt moveB}), resulting an a completed full step of both the
213 positions and momenta,
214 \begin{equation*}
215 {\tt moveB} = \left\{\begin{array}{r@{\quad\leftarrow\quad}l}
216 {\bf v}\left(t + \delta t \right) &
217 {\bf v}\left(t + \delta t / 2 \right)
218 + \left({\bf f}(t + \delta t) / m \right)(\delta t/2), \\
219 %
220 {\bf j}\left(t + \delta t \right) &
221 {\bf j}\left(t + \delta t / 2 \right)
222 + \boldsymbol{\tau}^b(t + \delta t)(\delta t/2).
223 \end{array}\right.
224 \end{equation*}
225
226 The matrix rotations used in the {\sc dlm} method end up being more
227 costly computationally than the simpler arithmetic quaternion
228 propagation. With the same time step, a 1024-molecule water simulation
229 incurs approximately a 10\% increase in computation time using the
230 {\sc dlm} method in place of quaternions. This cost is more than
231 justified when comparing the energy conservation achieved by the two
232 methods. Figure \ref{fig:quatdlm} provides a comparative analysis of
233 the {\sc dlm} method versus the traditional quaternion scheme.
234
235 \begin{figure}
236 \centering
237 \includegraphics[width=3.5in]{./figures/dlmVsQuat.pdf}
238 \caption[Energy conservation analysis of the {\sc dlm} and quaternion
239 integration methods]{Analysis of the energy conservation of the {\sc
240 dlm} and quaternion integration methods. $\delta \mathrm{E}_1$ is the
241 linear drift in energy over time and $\delta \mathrm{E}_0$ is the
242 standard deviation of energy fluctuations around this drift. All
243 simulations were of a 1024 SSD water system at 298 K starting from the
244 same initial configuration. Note that the {\sc dlm} method provides
245 more than an order-of-magnitude improvement in both the energy drift
246 and the size of the energy fluctuations when compared with the
247 quaternion method at any given time step. At time steps larger than 4
248 fs, the quaternion scheme resulted in rapidly rising energies which
249 eventually lead to simulation failure. Using the {\sc dlm} method,
250 time steps up to 8 fs can be taken before this behavior is evident.}
251 \label{fig:quatdlm}
252 \end{figure}
253
254 In figure \ref{fig:quatdlm}, $\delta \mbox{E}_1$ is a measure of the
255 linear energy drift in units of $\mbox{kcal mol}^{-1}$ per particle
256 over a nanosecond of simulation time, and $\delta \mbox{E}_0$ is the
257 standard deviation of the energy fluctuations in units of $\mbox{kcal
258 mol}^{-1}$ per particle. In the top plot, it is apparent that the
259 energy drift is reduced by a significant amount (2 to 3 orders of
260 magnitude improvement at all tested time steps) by choosing the {\sc
261 dlm} method over the simple non-symplectic quaternion integration
262 method. In addition to this improvement in energy drift, the
263 fluctuations in the total energy are also dampened by 1 to 2 orders of
264 magnitude by utilizing the {\sc dlm} method.
265
266 \begin{figure}
267 \centering
268 \includegraphics[width=\linewidth]{./figures/compCost.pdf}
269 \caption[Energy drift as a function of required simulation run
270 time]{Energy drift as a function of required simulation run time.
271 $\delta \mathrm{E}_1$ is the linear drift in energy over time.
272 Simulations were performed on a single 2.5 GHz Pentium 4
273 processor. Simulation time comparisons can be made by tracing
274 horizontally from one curve to the other. For example, a simulation
275 that takes 24 hours using the {\sc dlm} method will take roughly
276 210 hours using the simple quaternion method if the same degree of
277 energy conservation is desired.}
278 \label{fig:cpuCost}
279 \end{figure}
280 Although the {\sc dlm} method is more computationally expensive than
281 the traditional quaternion scheme for propagating of a time step,
282 consideration of the computational cost for a long simulation with a
283 particular level of energy conservation is in order. A plot of energy
284 drift versus computational cost was generated
285 (Fig.~\ref{fig:cpuCost}). This figure provides an estimate of the CPU
286 time required under the two integration schemes for 1 nanosecond of
287 simulation time for the model 1024-molecule system. By choosing a
288 desired energy drift value it is possible to determine the CPU time
289 required for both methods. If a $\delta \mbox{E}_1$ of
290 0.001~kcal~mol$^{-1}$ per particle is desired, a nanosecond of
291 simulation time will require ~19 hours of CPU time with the {\sc dlm}
292 integrator, while the quaternion scheme will require ~154 hours of CPU
293 time. This demonstrates the computational advantage of the integration
294 scheme utilized in {\sc oopse}.
295
296 \subsection{Periodic Boundary Conditions}
297
298 \begin{figure}
299 \centering
300 \includegraphics[width=4.5in]{./figures/periodicImage.pdf}
301 \caption{With periodic boundary conditions imposed, when particles
302 move out of one side the simulation box, they wrap back in the
303 opposite side. In this manner, a finite system of particles behaves as
304 an infinite system.}
305 \label{fig:periodicImage}
306 \end{figure}
307
308 \section{Accumulating Interactions}
309
310 In the force calculation between {\tt moveA} and {\tt moveB} mentioned
311 in section \ref{sec:IntroIntegrate}, we need to accumulate the
312 potential and forces (and torques if the particle is a rigid body or
313 multipole) on each particle from their surroundings. This can quickly
314 become a cumbersome task for large systems since the number of pair
315 interactions increases by $\mathcal{O}(N(N-1)/2)$ if you accumulate
316 interactions between all particles in the system, note the utilization
317 of Newton's third law to reduce the interaction number from
318 $\mathcal{O}(N^2)$. The case of periodic boundary conditions further
319 complicates matters by turning the finite system into an infinitely
320 repeating one. Fortunately, we can reduce the scale of this problem by
321 using spherical cutoff methods.
322
323 \begin{figure}
324 \centering
325 \includegraphics[width=3.5in]{./figures/sphericalCut.pdf}
326 \caption{When using a spherical cutoff, only particles within a chosen
327 cutoff radius distance, $R_\textrm{c}$, of the central particle are
328 included in the pairwise summation. This reduces a problem that scales
329 by $\sim\mathcal{O}(N^2)$ to one that scales by $\sim\mathcal{O}(N)$.}
330 \label{fig:sphereCut}
331 \end{figure}
332 With spherical cutoffs, rather than accumulating the full set of
333 interactions between all particles in the simulation, we only
334 explicitly consider interactions between local particles out to a
335 specified cutoff radius distance, $R_\textrm{c}$, (see figure
336 \ref{fig:sphereCut}). This reduces the scaling of the interaction to
337 $\mathcal{O}(N\cdot\textrm{c})$, where `c' is a value that depends on
338 the size of $R_\textrm{c}$ (c $\approx R_\textrm{c}^3$). Determination
339 of which particles are within the cutoff is also an issue, because
340 this process requires a full loop over all $N(N-1)/2$ pairs. To reduce
341 the this expense, we can use neighbor lists.\cite{Verlet67,Thompson83}
342 With neighbor lists, we have a second list of particles built from a
343 list radius $R_\textrm{l}$, which is larger than $R_\textrm{c}$. Once
344 any of the particles within $R_\textrm{l}$ move a distance of
345 $R_\textrm{l}-R_\textrm{c}$ (the ``skin'' thickness), we rebuild the
346 list with the full $N(N-1)/2$ loop.\cite{Verlet67} With an appropriate
347 skin thickness, these updates are only performed every $\sim$20
348 time steps, significantly reducing the time spent on pair-list
349 bookkeeping operations.\cite{Allen87} If these neighbor lists are
350 utilized, it is important that these list updates occur
351 regularly. Incorrect application of this technique leads to
352 non-physical dynamics, such as the ``flying block of ice'' behavior
353 for which improper neighbor list handling was identified a one of the
354 possible causes.\cite{Harvey98,Sagui99}
355
356 \subsection{Correcting Cutoff Discontinuities}
357 \begin{figure}
358 \centering
359 \includegraphics[width=3.5in]{./figures/ljCutoffSquare.pdf}
360 \caption{The common methods to smooth the potential discontinuity
361 introduced when using a cutoff include a shifted potential, a shifted
362 force, and a switching function. The shifted potential and shifted
363 force both lift the whole potential so that it zeroes at
364 $R_\textrm{c}$, thereby reducing the strength of the interaction. The
365 (cubic) switching function only alters the potential in the switching
366 region in order to smooth out the discontinuity.}
367 \label{fig:ljCutoff}
368 \end{figure}
369 As particle move in and out of $R_\textrm{c}$, there will be sudden
370 discontinuous jumps in the potential (and forces) due to their
371 appearance and disappearance. In order to prevent heating and poor
372 energy conservation in the simulations, this discontinuity needs to be
373 smoothed out. There are several ways to modify the function so that it
374 crosses $R_\textrm{c}$ in a continuous fashion, and the easiest
375 methods is shifting the potential. To shift the potential, we simply
376 subtract out the value we calculate at $R_\textrm{c}$ from the whole
377 potential. For the shifted form of the Lennard-Jones potential is
378 \begin{equation}
379 V_\textrm{SLJ} = \left\{\begin{array}{l@{\quad\quad}l}
380 V_\textrm{LJ}(r_{ij}) - V_\textrm{LJ}(R_\textrm{c}) & r_{ij} < R_\textrm{c}, \\
381 0 & r_{ij} \geqslant R_\textrm{c},
382 \end{array}\right.
383 \end{equation}
384 where
385 \begin{equation}
386 V_\textrm{LJ} = 4\epsilon\left[\left(\frac{\sigma}{r_{ij}}\right)^{12} -
387 \left(\frac{\sigma}{r_{ij}}\right)^6\right].
388 \end{equation}
389 In figure \ref{fig:ljCutoff}, the shifted form of the potential
390 reaches zero at the cutoff radius at the expense of the correct
391 magnitude below $R_\textrm{c}$. This correction method also does
392 nothing to correct the discontinuity in the forces. We can account for
393 this force discontinuity by shifting in the by applying the shifting
394 in the forces rather than just the potential via
395 \begin{equation}
396 V_\textrm{SFLJ} = \left\{\begin{array}{l@{\quad\quad}l}
397 V_\textrm{LJ}({r_{ij}}) - V_\textrm{LJ}(R_\textrm{c}) -
398 \left(\frac{d V(r_{ij})}{d r_{ij}}\right)_{r_{ij}=R_\textrm{c}}
399 (r_{ij} - R_\textrm{c}) & r_{ij} < R_\textrm{c}, \\
400 0 & r_{ij} \geqslant R_\textrm{c}.
401 \end{array}\right.
402 \end{equation}
403 The forces are continuous with this potential; however, the inclusion
404 of the derivative term distorts the potential even further than the
405 simple shifting as shown in figure \ref{fig:ljCutoff}. The method for
406 correcting the discontinuity which results in the smallest
407 perturbation in both the potential and the forces is the use of a
408 switching function. The cubic switching function,
409 \begin{equation}
410 S(r) = \left\{\begin{array}{l@{\quad\quad}l}
411 1 & r_{ij} \leqslant R_\textrm{sw}, \\
412 \frac{(R_\textrm{c} + 2r_{ij} - 3R_\textrm{sw})
413 (R_\textrm{c} - r_{ij})^2}{(R_\textrm{c} - R_\textrm{sw})^3}
414 & R_\textrm{sw} < r_{ij} \leqslant R_\textrm{c}, \\
415 0 & r_{ij} > R_\textrm{c},
416 \end{array}\right.
417 \end{equation}
418 is sufficient to smooth the potential (again, see figure
419 \ref{fig:ljCutoff}) and the forces by only perturbing the potential in
420 the switching region. If smooth second derivatives are required, a
421 higher order polynomial switching function (i.e. fifth order
422 polynomial) can be used.\cite{Andrea83,Leach01} It should be noted
423 that the higher the order of the polynomial, the more abrupt the
424 switching transition.
425
426 \subsection{Long-Range Interaction Corrections}
427
428 While a good approximation, accumulating interaction only from the
429 nearby particles can lead to some issues, because the further away
430 surrounding particles do still have a small effect. For instance,
431 while the strength of the Lennard-Jones interaction is quite weak at
432 $R_\textrm{c}$ in figure \ref{fig:ljCutoff}, we are discarding all of
433 the attractive interaction that extends out to extremely long
434 distances. Thus, the potential is a little too high and the pressure
435 on the central particle from the surroundings is a little too low. For
436 homogeneous Lennard-Jones systems, we can correct for this neglect by
437 assuming a uniform density and integrating the missing part,
438 \begin{equation}
439 V_\textrm{full}(r_{ij}) \approx V_\textrm{c}
440 + 2\pi N\rho\int^\infty_{R_\textrm{c}}r^2V_\textrm{LJ}(r)dr,
441 \end{equation}
442 where $V_\textrm{c}$ is the truncated Lennard-Jones
443 potential.\cite{Allen87} Like the potential, other Lennard-Jones
444 properties can be corrected by integration over the relevant
445 function. Note that with heterogeneous systems, this correction begins
446 to break down because the density is no longer uniform.
447
448 Correcting long-range electrostatic interactions is a topic of great
449 importance in the field of molecular simulations. There have been
450 several techniques developed to address this issue, like the Ewald
451 summation and the reaction field technique. An in-depth analysis of
452 this problem, as well as useful corrective techniques, is presented in
453 chapter \ref{chap:electrostatics}.
454
455 \section{Measuring Properties}
456
457 \section{Application of the Techniques}
458
459 In the following chapters, the above techniques are all utilized in
460 the study of molecular systems. There are a number of excellent
461 simulation packages available, both free and commercial, which
462 incorporate many of these
463 methods.\cite{Brooks83,MacKerell98,Pearlman95,Berendsen95,Lindahl01,Smith96,Ponder87}
464 Because of our interest in rigid body dynamics, point multipoles, and
465 systems where the orientational degrees cannot be handled using the
466 common constraint procedures (like {\sc shake}), the majority of the
467 following work was performed using {\sc oopse}, the object-oriented
468 parallel simulation engine.\cite{Meineke05} The {\sc oopse} package
469 started out as a collection of separate programs written within our
470 group, and has developed into one of the few parallel molecular
471 dynamics packages capable of accurately integrating rigid bodies and
472 point multipoles.
473
474 In chapter \ref{chap:electrostatics}, we investigate correction
475 techniques for proper handling of long-ranged electrostatic
476 interactions. In particular we develop and evaluate some new pairwise
477 methods which we have incorporated into {\sc oopse}. These techniques
478 make an appearance in the later chapters, as they are applied to
479 specific systems of interest, showing how it they can improve the
480 quality of various molecular simulations.
481
482 In chapter \ref{chap:water}, we focus on simple water models,
483 specifically the single-point soft sticky dipole (SSD) family of water
484 models. These single-point models are more efficient than the common
485 multi-point partial charge models and, in many cases, better capture
486 the dynamic properties of water. We discuss improvements to these
487 models in regards to long-range electrostatic corrections and show
488 that these models can work well with the techniques discussed in
489 chapter \ref{chap:electrostatics}. By investigating and improving
490 simple water models, we are extending the limits of computational
491 efficiency for systems that heavily depend on water calculations.
492
493 In chapter \ref{chap:ice}, we study a unique polymorph of ice that we
494 discovered while performing water simulations with the fast simple
495 water models discussed in the previous chapter. This form of ice,
496 which we called ``imaginary ice'' (Ice-$i$), has a low-density
497 structure which is different from any known polymorph from either
498 experiment or other simulations. In this study, we perform a free
499 energy analysis and see that this structure is in fact the
500 thermodynamically preferred form of ice for both the single-point and
501 commonly used multi-point water models under the chosen simulation
502 conditions. We also consider electrostatic corrections, again
503 including the techniques discussed in chapter
504 \ref{chap:electrostatics}, to see how they influence the free energy
505 results. This work, to some degree, addresses the appropriateness of
506 using these simplistic water models outside of the conditions for
507 which they were developed.
508
509 In the final chapter we summarize the work presented previously. We
510 also close with some final comments before the supporting information
511 presented in the appendices.