Geometric integration in Born-Oppenheimer molecular dynamics

• Geometric integration schemes for extended Lagrangian self-consistent Born-Oppenheimer moleculardynamics, including a weak dissipation to remove numerical noise, are developed and analyzed.The extended Lagrangian framework enables the geometric integration of both the nuclear and electronicdegrees of freedom. This provides highly efficient simulations that are stable and energy conservingeven under incomplete and approximate self-consistent field (SCF) convergence. We investigatethree different geometric integration schemes: (1) regular time reversible Verlet, (2) secondorder optimal symplectic, and (3) third order optimal symplectic. We look at energy conservation,accuracy, and stability as a function of dissipation, integration time step, and SCF convergence. Wefind that the inclusion of dissipation in the symplectic integration methods gives an efficient dampingof numerical noise or perturbations that otherwise may accumulate from finite arithmetics in aperfect reversible dynamics.

Subject headings

NATURVETENSKAP  -- Fysik -- Den kondenserade materiens fysik (hsv//swe)

NATURAL SCIENCES  -- Physical Sciences -- Condensed Matter Physics (hsv//eng)

Keyword

molecular dynamics method

perturbation theory

SCF calculations

Publication and Content Type

ref (subject category)

art (subject category)