Effects of deformability and thermal motion of lipid membrane on electroporation: By molecular dynamics simulations

KAUST Repository

Sun, Sheng; Yin, Guangyao; Lee, Yi-Kuen; Wong, Joseph T.Y.; Zhang, Tong-Yi

2011-01-01

Effects of mechanical properties and thermal motion of POPE lipid membrane on electroporation were studied by molecular dynamics simulations. Among simulations in which specific atoms of lipids were artificially constrained at their equilibrium

Reaction dynamics of molecular hydrogen on silicon surfaces

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bratu, P.; Brenig, W.; Gross, A.

1996-01-01

of the preexponential factor by about one order of magnitude per lateral degree of freedom. Molecular vibrations have practically no effect on the adsorption/desorption dynamics itself, but lead to vibrational heating in desorption with a strong isotope effect. Ab initio calculations for the H-2 interaction...... between the two surfaces. These results indicate that tunneling, molecular vibrations, and the structural details of the surface play only a minor role for the adsorption dynamics. Instead, they appear to be governed by the localized H-Si bonding and Si-Si lattice vibrations. Theoretically, an effective......Experimental and theoretical results on the dynamics of dissociative adsorption and recombinative desorption of hydrogen on silicon are presented. Using optical second-harmonic generation, extremely small sticking probabilities in the range 10(-9)-10(-5) could be measured for H-2 and D-2 on Si(111...

Water Dynamics in Protein Hydration Shells: The Molecular Origins of the Dynamical Perturbation

Science.gov (United States)

2014-01-01

Protein hydration shell dynamics play an important role in biochemical processes including protein folding, enzyme function, and molecular recognition. We present here a comparison of the reorientation dynamics of individual water molecules within the hydration shell of a series of globular proteins: acetylcholinesterase, subtilisin Carlsberg, lysozyme, and ubiquitin. Molecular dynamics simulations and analytical models are used to access site-resolved information on hydration shell dynamics and to elucidate the molecular origins of the dynamical perturbation of hydration shell water relative to bulk water. We show that all four proteins have very similar hydration shell dynamics, despite their wide range of sizes and functions, and differing secondary structures. We demonstrate that this arises from the similar local surface topology and surface chemical composition of the four proteins, and that such local factors alone are sufficient to rationalize the hydration shell dynamics. We propose that these conclusions can be generalized to a wide range of globular proteins. We also show that protein conformational fluctuations induce a dynamical heterogeneity within the hydration layer. We finally address the effect of confinement on hydration shell dynamics via a site-resolved analysis and connect our results to experiments via the calculation of two-dimensional infrared spectra. PMID:24479585

Effects of Quantum Nuclear Delocalisation on NMR Parameters from Path Integral Molecular Dynamics

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Dračínský, Martin; Hodgkinson, P.

2014-01-01

Roč. 20, č. 8 (2014), s. 2201-2207 ISSN 0947-6539 Grant - others:Seventh Framework Programme of the European Union(XE) FP7-299242 People Institutional support: RVO:61388963 Keywords : density functional calculations * isotope effects * NMR spectroscopy * nuclear delocalisation * path integral molecular dynamics Subject RIV: CC - Organic Chemistry Impact factor: 5.731, year: 2014

Color molecular dynamics for dense matter

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Maruyama, Toshiki; Hatsuda, Tetsuo

2000-01-01

We propose a microscopic approach for quark many-body system based on molecular dynamics. Using color confinement and one-gluon exchange potentials together with meson exchange potentials between quarks, we construct nucleons and nuclear/quark matter. Dynamical transition between confinement and deconfinement phases are studied at high baryon density with this molecular dynamics simulation. (author)

Lattice dynamics and molecular dynamics simulation of complex materials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chaplot, S.L.

1997-01-01

In this article we briefly review the lattice dynamics and molecular dynamics simulation techniques, as used for complex ionic and molecular solids, and demonstrate a number of applications through examples of our work. These computational studies, along with experiments, have provided microscopic insight into the structure and dynamics, phase transitions and thermodynamical properties of a variety of materials including fullerene, high temperature superconducting oxides and geological minerals as a function of pressure and temperature. The computational techniques also allow the study of the structures and dynamics associated with disorder, defects, surfaces, interfaces etc. (author)

Classical and quantum molecular dynamics in NMR spectra

CERN Document Server

Szymański, Sławomir

2018-01-01

The book provides a detailed account of how condensed-phase molecular dynamics are reflected in the line shapes of NMR spectra. The theories establishing connections between random, time-dependent molecular processes and lineshape effects are exposed in depth. Special emphasis is placed on the theoretical aspects, involving in particular intermolecular processes in solution, and molecular symmetry issues. The Liouville super-operator formalism is briefly introduced and used wherever it is beneficial for the transparency of presentation. The proposed formal descriptions of the discussed problems are sufficiently detailed to be implemented on a computer. Practical applications of the theory in solid- and liquid-phase studies are illustrated with appropriate experimental examples, exposing the potential of the lineshape method in elucidating molecular dynamics NMR-observable molecular phenomena where quantization of the spatial nuclear degrees of freedom is crucial are addressed in the last part of the book. As ...

Molecular dynamics for irradiation driven chemistry

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sushko, Gennady B.; Solov'yov, Ilia A.; Solov'yov, Andrey V.

2016-01-01

A new molecular dynamics (MD) approach for computer simulations of irradiation driven chemical transformations of complex molecular systems is suggested. The approach is based on the fact that irradiation induced quantum transformations can often be treated as random, fast and local processes...... that describe the classical MD of complex molecular systems under irradiation. The proposed irradiation driven molecular dynamics (IDMD) methodology is designed for the molecular level description of the irradiation driven chemistry. The IDMD approach is implemented into the MBN Explorer software package...... involving small molecules or molecular fragments. We advocate that the quantum transformations, such as molecular bond breaks, creation and annihilation of dangling bonds, electronic charge redistributions, changes in molecular topologies, etc., could be incorporated locally into the molecular force fields...

Effect of surface hydrophobicity on the dynamics of water at the nanoscale confinement: A molecular dynamics simulation study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Choudhury, Niharendu

2013-01-01

Highlights: • We present atomistic MD simulation of water confined between two paraffin-like plates. • Effect of plate hydrophobicity on the confined water dynamics is investigated. • Diffusivity of confined water is calculated from mean squared displacements. • Rotational dynamics of the confined water has bimodal nature of relaxation. • Monotonic dependence of translational and rotational dynamics on hydrophobicity. - Abstract: We present detailed molecular dynamics simulations of water in and around a pair of plates immersed in water to investigate the effect of degree of hydrophobicity or hydrophilicity of the plates on dynamics of water confined between the two plates. The nature of the plate has been tuned from hydrophobic to hydrophilic and vice versa by varying plate-water dispersion interaction. Analyses of the translational dynamics as performed by calculating mean squared displacements of the confined water reveal a monotonically decreasing trend of the diffusivity with increasing hydrophilicity of the plates. Orientational dynamics of the confined water also follows the same monotonic trend. Although orientational time constant almost does not change with the increase of plate-water dispersion interaction in the hydrophobic regime corresponding to the smaller plate-water attraction, it changes considerably in the hydrophilic regime corresponding to larger plate-water dispersion interactions

Dynamical photo-induced electronic properties of molecular junctions

Science.gov (United States)

Beltako, K.; Michelini, F.; Cavassilas, N.; Raymond, L.

2018-03-01

Nanoscale molecular-electronic devices and machines are emerging as promising functional elements, naturally flexible and efficient, for next-generation technologies. A deeper understanding of carrier dynamics in molecular junctions is expected to benefit many fields of nanoelectronics and power devices. We determine time-resolved charge current flowing at the donor-acceptor interface in molecular junctions connected to metallic electrodes by means of quantum transport simulations. The current is induced by the interaction of the donor with a Gaussian-shape femtosecond laser pulse. Effects of the molecular internal coupling, metal-molecule tunneling, and light-donor coupling on photocurrent are discussed. We then define the time-resolved local density of states which is proposed as an efficient tool to describe the absorbing molecule in contact with metallic electrodes. Non-equilibrium reorganization of hybridized molecular orbitals through the light-donor interaction gives rise to two phenomena: the dynamical Rabi shift and the appearance of Floquet-like states. Such insights into the dynamical photoelectronic structure of molecules are of strong interest for ultrafast spectroscopy and open avenues toward the possibility of analyzing and controlling the internal properties of quantum nanodevices with pump-push photocurrent spectroscopy.

Substructured multibody molecular dynamics.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Grest, Gary Stephen; Stevens, Mark Jackson; Plimpton, Steven James; Woolf, Thomas B. (Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD); Lehoucq, Richard B.; Crozier, Paul Stewart; Ismail, Ahmed E.; Mukherjee, Rudranarayan M. (Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY); Draganescu, Andrei I.

2006-11-01

We have enhanced our parallel molecular dynamics (MD) simulation software LAMMPS (Large-scale Atomic/Molecular Massively Parallel Simulator, lammps.sandia.gov) to include many new features for accelerated simulation including articulated rigid body dynamics via coupling to the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute code POEMS (Parallelizable Open-source Efficient Multibody Software). We use new features of the LAMMPS software package to investigate rhodopsin photoisomerization, and water model surface tension and capillary waves at the vapor-liquid interface. Finally, we motivate the recipes of MD for practitioners and researchers in numerical analysis and computational mechanics.

Study of Effect of Impacting Direction on Abrasive Nanometric Cutting Process with Molecular Dynamics.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Junye; Meng, Wenqing; Dong, Kun; Zhang, Xinming; Zhao, Weihong

2018-01-11

Abrasive flow polishing plays an important part in modern ultra-precision machining. Ultrafine particles suspended in the medium of abrasive flow removes the material in nanoscale. In this paper, three-dimensional molecular dynamics (MD) simulations are performed to investigate the effect of impacting direction on abrasive cutting process during abrasive flow polishing. The molecular dynamics simulation software Lammps was used to simulate the cutting of single crystal copper with SiC abrasive grains at different cutting angles (0 o -45 o ). At a constant friction coefficient, we found a direct relation between cutting angle and cutting force, which ultimately increases the number of dislocation during abrasive flow machining. Our theoretical study reveal that a small cutting angle is beneficial for improving surface quality and reducing internal defects in the workpiece. However, there is no obvious relationship between cutting angle and friction coefficient.

Dynamical quenching of tunneling in molecular magnets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

José Santander, María; Nunez, Alvaro S.; Roldán-Molina, A.; Troncoso, Roberto E.

2015-01-01

It is shown that a single molecular magnet placed in a rapidly oscillating magnetic field displays the phenomenon of quenching of tunneling processes. The results open a way to manipulate the quantum states of molecular magnets by means of radiation in the terahertz range. Our analysis separates the time evolution into slow and fast components thereby obtaining an effective theory for the slow dynamics. This effective theory presents quenching of the tunnel effect, in particular, stands out its difference with the so-called coherent destruction of tunneling. We support our prediction with numerical evidence based on an exact solution of Schrödinger's equation. - Highlights: • Single molecular magnets under rapidly oscillating magnetic fields is studied. • It is shown that this system displays the quenching of tunneling processes. • Our findings provide a control of quantum molecular magnets via terahertz radiation

Dynamical quenching of tunneling in molecular magnets

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

José Santander, María, E-mail: maria.jose.noemi@gmail.com [Recursos Educativos Quántica, Santiago (Chile); Departamento de Física, Universidad de Santiago de Chile and CEDENNA, Avda. Ecuador 3493, Santiago (Chile); Nunez, Alvaro S., E-mail: alnunez@dfi.uchile.cl [Departamento de Física, Facultad de Ciencias Físicas y Matemáticas, Universidad de Chile, Casilla 487-3, Santiago (Chile); Roldán-Molina, A. [Instituto de Física, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso, Avenida Universidad 330, Curauma, Valparaíso (Chile); Troncoso, Roberto E., E-mail: r.troncoso.c@gmail.com [Centro para el Desarrollo de la Nanociencia y la Nanotecnología, CEDENNA, Avda. Ecuador 3493, Santiago 9170124 (Chile); Departamento de Física, Universidad Técnica Federico Santa María, Avenida España 1680, Valparaíso (Chile)

2015-12-15

It is shown that a single molecular magnet placed in a rapidly oscillating magnetic field displays the phenomenon of quenching of tunneling processes. The results open a way to manipulate the quantum states of molecular magnets by means of radiation in the terahertz range. Our analysis separates the time evolution into slow and fast components thereby obtaining an effective theory for the slow dynamics. This effective theory presents quenching of the tunnel effect, in particular, stands out its difference with the so-called coherent destruction of tunneling. We support our prediction with numerical evidence based on an exact solution of Schrödinger's equation. - Highlights: • Single molecular magnets under rapidly oscillating magnetic fields is studied. • It is shown that this system displays the quenching of tunneling processes. • Our findings provide a control of quantum molecular magnets via terahertz radiation.

An Evaluation of Explicit Receptor Flexibility in Molecular Docking Using Molecular Dynamics and Torsion Angle Molecular Dynamics.

Science.gov (United States)

Armen, Roger S; Chen, Jianhan; Brooks, Charles L

2009-10-13

Incorporating receptor flexibility into molecular docking should improve results for flexible proteins. However, the incorporation of explicit all-atom flexibility with molecular dynamics for the entire protein chain may also introduce significant error and "noise" that could decrease docking accuracy and deteriorate the ability of a scoring function to rank native-like poses. We address this apparent paradox by comparing the success of several flexible receptor models in cross-docking and multiple receptor ensemble docking for p38α mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase. Explicit all-atom receptor flexibility has been incorporated into a CHARMM-based molecular docking method (CDOCKER) using both molecular dynamics (MD) and torsion angle molecular dynamics (TAMD) for the refinement of predicted protein-ligand binding geometries. These flexible receptor models have been evaluated, and the accuracy and efficiency of TAMD sampling is directly compared to MD sampling. Several flexible receptor models are compared, encompassing flexible side chains, flexible loops, multiple flexible backbone segments, and treatment of the entire chain as flexible. We find that although including side chain and some backbone flexibility is required for improved docking accuracy as expected, docking accuracy also diminishes as additional and unnecessary receptor flexibility is included into the conformational search space. Ensemble docking results demonstrate that including protein flexibility leads to to improved agreement with binding data for 227 active compounds. This comparison also demonstrates that a flexible receptor model enriches high affinity compound identification without significantly increasing the number of false positives from low affinity compounds.

Approximation of quantum observables by molecular dynamics simulations

KAUST Repository

Sandberg, Mattias

2016-01-01

In this talk I will discuss how to estimate the uncertainty in molecular dynamics simulations. Molecular dynamics is a computational method to study molecular systems in materials science, chemistry, and molecular biology. The wide popularity of molecular dynamics simulations relies on the fact that in many cases it agrees very well with experiments. If we however want the simulation to predict something that has no comparing experiment, we need a mathematical estimate of the accuracy of the computation. In the case of molecular systems with few particles, such studies are made by directly solving the Schrodinger equation. In this talk I will discuss theoretical results on the accuracy between quantum mechanics and molecular dynamics, to be used for systems that are too large to be handled computationally by the Schrodinger equation.

Approximation of quantum observables by molecular dynamics simulations

KAUST Repository

Sandberg, Mattias

2016-01-06

In this talk I will discuss how to estimate the uncertainty in molecular dynamics simulations. Molecular dynamics is a computational method to study molecular systems in materials science, chemistry, and molecular biology. The wide popularity of molecular dynamics simulations relies on the fact that in many cases it agrees very well with experiments. If we however want the simulation to predict something that has no comparing experiment, we need a mathematical estimate of the accuracy of the computation. In the case of molecular systems with few particles, such studies are made by directly solving the Schrodinger equation. In this talk I will discuss theoretical results on the accuracy between quantum mechanics and molecular dynamics, to be used for systems that are too large to be handled computationally by the Schrodinger equation.

Integrating atomistic molecular dynamics simulations, experiments, and network analysis to study protein dynamics

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Papaleo, Elena

2015-01-01

that we observe and the functional properties of these important cellular machines. To make progresses in this direction, we need to improve the physical models used to describe proteins and solvent in molecular dynamics, as well as to strengthen the integration of experiments and simulations to overcome...... with the possibility to validate simulation methods and physical models against a broad range of experimental observables. On the other side, it also allows a complementary and comprehensive view on protein structure and dynamics. What is needed now is a better understanding of the link between the dynamic properties...... simulations with attention to the effects that can be propagated over long distances and are often associated to important biological functions. In this context, approaches inspired by network analysis can make an important contribution to the analysis of molecular dynamics simulations....

Polymer friction Molecular Dynamics

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sivebæk, Ion Marius; Samoilov, Vladimir N.; Persson, Bo N. J.

We present molecular dynamics friction calculations for confined hydrocarbon solids with molecular lengths from 20 to 1400 carbon atoms. Two cases are considered: a) polymer sliding against a hard substrate, and b) polymer sliding on polymer. In the first setup the shear stresses are relatively...... independent of molecular length. For polymer sliding on polymer the friction is significantly larger, and dependent on the molecular chain length. In both cases, the shear stresses are proportional to the squeezing pressure and finite at zero load, indicating an adhesional contribution to the friction force....

Microsecond molecular dynamics simulation shows effect of slow loop dynamics on backbone amide order parameters of proteins

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Maragakis, Paul; Lindorff-Larsen, Kresten; Eastwood, Michael P

2008-01-01

. Molecular dynamics (MD) simulation provides a complementary approach to the study of protein dynamics on similar time scales. Comparisons between NMR spectroscopy and MD simulations can be used to interpret experimental results and to improve the quality of simulation-related force fields and integration......A molecular-level understanding of the function of a protein requires knowledge of both its structural and dynamic properties. NMR spectroscopy allows the measurement of generalized order parameters that provide an atomistic description of picosecond and nanosecond fluctuations in protein structure...... methods. However, apparent systematic discrepancies between order parameters extracted from simulations and experiments are common, particularly for elements of noncanonical secondary structure. In this paper, results from a 1.2 micros explicit solvent MD simulation of the protein ubiquitin are compared...

Next generation extended Lagrangian first principles molecular dynamics.

Science.gov (United States)

Niklasson, Anders M N

2017-08-07

Extended Lagrangian Born-Oppenheimer molecular dynamics [A. M. N. Niklasson, Phys. Rev. Lett. 100, 123004 (2008)] is formulated for general Hohenberg-Kohn density-functional theory and compared with the extended Lagrangian framework of first principles molecular dynamics by Car and Parrinello [Phys. Rev. Lett. 55, 2471 (1985)]. It is shown how extended Lagrangian Born-Oppenheimer molecular dynamics overcomes several shortcomings of regular, direct Born-Oppenheimer molecular dynamics, while improving or maintaining important features of Car-Parrinello simulations. The accuracy of the electronic degrees of freedom in extended Lagrangian Born-Oppenheimer molecular dynamics, with respect to the exact Born-Oppenheimer solution, is of second-order in the size of the integration time step and of fourth order in the potential energy surface. Improved stability over recent formulations of extended Lagrangian Born-Oppenheimer molecular dynamics is achieved by generalizing the theory to finite temperature ensembles, using fractional occupation numbers in the calculation of the inner-product kernel of the extended harmonic oscillator that appears as a preconditioner in the electronic equations of motion. Material systems that normally exhibit slow self-consistent field convergence can be simulated using integration time steps of the same order as in direct Born-Oppenheimer molecular dynamics, but without the requirement of an iterative, non-linear electronic ground-state optimization prior to the force evaluations and without a systematic drift in the total energy. In combination with proposed low-rank and on the fly updates of the kernel, this formulation provides an efficient and general framework for quantum-based Born-Oppenheimer molecular dynamics simulations.

Analysis of Time Reversible Born-Oppenheimer Molecular Dynamics

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lin Lin

2013-12-01

Full Text Available We analyze the time reversible Born-Oppenheimer molecular dynamics (TRBOMD scheme, which preserves the time reversibility of the Born-Oppenheimer molecular dynamics even with non-convergent self-consistent field iteration. In the linear response regime, we derive the stability condition, as well as the accuracy of TRBOMD for computing physical properties, such as the phonon frequency obtained from the molecular dynamics simulation. We connect and compare TRBOMD with Car-Parrinello molecular dynamics in terms of accuracy and stability. We further discuss the accuracy of TRBOMD beyond the linear response regime for non-equilibrium dynamics of nuclei. Our results are demonstrated through numerical experiments using a simplified one-dimensional model for Kohn-Sham density functional theory.

A Molecular Dynamics Study of Lunasin | Singh | South African ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

A Molecular Dynamics Study of Lunasin. ... profile of lunasin,using classical molecular dynamics (MD) simulations at the time scale of 300 ns. ... Keywords: Lunasin, molecular dynamics, amber, CLASICO, α-helix, β-turn, PTRAJ, RGD, RMSD ...

Effects of N-glycosylation on protein conformation and dynamics: Protein Data Bank analysis and molecular dynamics simulation study.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Hui Sun; Qi, Yifei; Im, Wonpil

2015-03-09

N-linked glycosylation is one of the most important, chemically complex, and ubiquitous post-translational modifications in all eukaryotes. The N-glycans that are covalently linked to proteins are involved in numerous biological processes. There is considerable interest in developments of general approaches to predict the structural consequences of site-specific glycosylation and to understand how these effects can be exploited in protein design with advantageous properties. In this study, the impacts of N-glycans on protein structure and dynamics are systematically investigated using an integrated computational approach of the Protein Data Bank structure analysis and atomistic molecular dynamics simulations of glycosylated and deglycosylated proteins. Our study reveals that N-glycosylation does not induce significant changes in protein structure, but decreases protein dynamics, likely leading to an increase in protein stability. Overall, these results suggest not only a common role of glycosylation in proteins, but also a need for certain proteins to be properly glycosylated to gain their intrinsic dynamic properties.

Ab initio molecular dynamics in a finite homogeneous electric field.

Science.gov (United States)

Umari, P; Pasquarello, Alfredo

2002-10-07

We treat homogeneous electric fields within density functional calculations with periodic boundary conditions. A nonlocal energy functional depending on the applied field is used within an ab initio molecular dynamics scheme. The reliability of the method is demonstrated in the case of bulk MgO for the Born effective charges, and the high- and low-frequency dielectric constants. We evaluate the static dielectric constant by performing a damped molecular dynamics in an electric field and avoiding the calculation of the dynamical matrix. Application of this method to vitreous silica shows good agreement with experiment and illustrates its potential for systems of large size.

Dynamical image-charge effect in molecular tunnel junctions

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jin, Chengjun; Thygesen, Kristian Sommer

2014-01-01

the finite IC formation time affects charge transport through a molecule suspended between two electrodes. For a single-level model, an analytical treatment shows that the conductance is suppressed by a factor Z(2), where Z is the quasiparticle renormalization factor, compared to the static IC approximation...... that the dynamical corrections can reduce the conductance by more than a factor of two when compared to static GW or density functional theory where the molecular energy levels have been shifted to match the exact quasiparticle levels....

Equation of state of dense plasmas: Orbital-free molecular dynamics as the limit of quantum molecular dynamics for high-Z elements

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Danel, J.-F.; Blottiau, P.; Kazandjian, L.; Piron, R.; Torrent, M. [CEA, DAM, DIF, 91297 Arpajon (France)

2014-10-15

The applicability of quantum molecular dynamics to the calculation of the equation of state of a dense plasma is limited at high temperature by computational cost. Orbital-free molecular dynamics, based on a semiclassical approximation and possibly on a gradient correction, is a simulation method available at high temperature. For a high-Z element such as lutetium, we examine how orbital-free molecular dynamics applied to the equation of state of a dense plasma can be regarded as the limit of quantum molecular dynamics at high temperature. For the normal mass density and twice the normal mass density, we show that the pressures calculated with the quantum approach converge monotonically towards those calculated with the orbital-free approach; we observe a faster convergence when the orbital-free approach includes the gradient correction. We propose a method to obtain an equation of state reproducing quantum molecular dynamics results up to high temperatures where this approach cannot be directly implemented. With the results already obtained for low-Z plasmas, the present study opens the way for reproducing the quantum molecular dynamics pressure for all elements up to high temperatures.

Effect of acetone accumulation on structure and dynamics of lipid membranes studied by molecular dynamics simulations.

Science.gov (United States)

Posokhov, Yevgen O; Kyrychenko, Alexander

2013-10-01

The modulation of the properties and function of cell membranes by small volatile substances is important for many biomedical applications. Despite available experimental results, molecular mechanisms of action of inhalants and organic solvents, such as acetone, on lipid membranes remain not well understood. To gain a better understanding of how acetone interacts with membranes, we have performed a series of molecular dynamics (MD) simulations of a POPC bilayer in aqueous solution in the presence of acetone, whose concentration was varied from 2.8 to 11.2 mol%. The MD simulations of passive distribution of acetone between a bulk water phase and a lipid bilayer show that acetone favors partitioning into the water-free region of the bilayer, located near the carbonyl groups of the phospholipids and at the beginning of the hydrocarbon core of the lipid membrane. Using MD umbrella sampling, we found that the permeability barrier of ~0.5 kcal/mol exists for acetone partitioning into the membrane. In addition, a Gibbs free energy profile of the acetone penetration across a bilayer demonstrates a favorable potential energy well of -3.6 kcal/mol, located at 15-16Å from the bilayer center. The analysis of the structural and dynamics properties of the model membrane revealed that the POPC bilayer can tolerate the presence of acetone in the concentration range of 2.8-5.6 mol%. The accumulation of the higher acetone concentration of 11.2 mol% results, however, in drastic disordering of phospholipid packing and the increase in the membrane fluidity. The acetone molecules push the lipid heads apart and, hence, act as spacers in the headgroup region. This effect leads to the increase in the average headgroup area per molecule. In addition, the acyl tail region of the membrane also becomes less dense. We suggest, therefore, that the molecular mechanism of acetone action on the phospholipid bilayer has many common features with the effects of short chain alcohols, DMSO, and

Next Generation Extended Lagrangian Quantum-based Molecular Dynamics

Science.gov (United States)

Negre, Christian

2017-06-01

A new framework for extended Lagrangian first-principles molecular dynamics simulations is presented, which overcomes shortcomings of regular, direct Born-Oppenheimer molecular dynamics, while maintaining important advantages of the unified extended Lagrangian formulation of density functional theory pioneered by Car and Parrinello three decades ago. The new framework allows, for the first time, energy conserving, linear-scaling Born-Oppenheimer molecular dynamics simulations, which is necessary to study larger and more realistic systems over longer simulation times than previously possible. Expensive, self-consinstent-field optimizations are avoided and normal integration time steps of regular, direct Born-Oppenheimer molecular dynamics can be used. Linear scaling electronic structure theory is presented using a graph-based approach that is ideal for parallel calculations on hybrid computer platforms. For the first time, quantum based Born-Oppenheimer molecular dynamics simulation is becoming a practically feasible approach in simulations of +100,000 atoms-representing a competitive alternative to classical polarizable force field methods. In collaboration with: Anders Niklasson, Los Alamos National Laboratory.

Molecular Interactions and Reaction Dynamics in Supercritical Water Oxidation

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Johnston, K

1998-01-01

.... From UV-vis spectroscopic measurements and molecular dynamics simulation of chemical equilibria, we have shown that density effects on broad classes of reactions may be explained in terms of changes...

The use of molecular dynamics for the thermodynamic properties of simple and transition metals

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Straub, G.K.

1987-04-01

The technique of computer simulation of the molecular dynamics in metallic systems to calculate thermodynamic properties is discussed. The nature of a metal as determined by its electronic structure is used to determine the total adiabatic potential. The effective screened ion-ion interaction can then be used in a molecular dynamics simulation. The method for the construction of a molecular dynamics ensemble, its relation to the canonical ensemble, and the definition of thermodynamic functions from the Helmholtz free energy is given. The method for the analysis of the molecular dynamics results from quasiharmonic lattice dynamics and the decomposition in terms of harmonic and anharmonic contributions is given for solids. For fluid phase metals, procedures for calculating the thermodynamics and determining the constant of entropy are presented. The solid-fluid phase boundary as a function of pressure and temperature is determined using the results of molecular dynamics. Throughout, examples and results for metallic sodium are used. The treatment of the transition metal electronic d-states in terms of an effective pair-wise interaction is also discussed and the phonon dispersion curves of Al, Ni, and Cu are calculated

DYNAMIC SURFACE BOUNDARY-CONDITIONS - A SIMPLE BOUNDARY MODEL FOR MOLECULAR-DYNAMICS SIMULATIONS

NARCIS (Netherlands)

JUFFER, AH; BERENDSEN, HJC

1993-01-01

A simple model for the treatment of boundaries in molecular dynamics simulations is presented. The method involves the positioning of boundary atoms on a surface that surrounds a system of interest. The boundary atoms interact with the inner region and represent the effect of atoms outside the

Thermally driven molecular linear motors - A molecular dynamics study

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Zambrano, Harvey A; Walther, Jens Honore; Jaffe, Richard Lawrence

2009-01-01

We conduct molecular dynamics simulations of a molecular linear motor consisting of coaxial carbon nanotubes with a long outer carbon nanotube confining and guiding the motion of an inner short, capsule-like nanotube. The simulations indicate that the motion of the capsule can be controlled by th...

Molecular dynamics simulations and quantum chemical calculations ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Molecular dynamic simulation results indicate that the imidazoline derivative molecules uses the imidazoline ring to effectively adsorb on the surface of iron, with the alkyl hydrophobic tail forming an n shape (canopy like covering) at geometry optimization and at 353 K. The n shape canopy like covering to a large extent may ...

Introduction to Molecular Dynamics and Accelerated Molecular Dynamics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Perez, Danny

2012-01-01

We first introduce classical molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. We discuss their main constituents - the interatomic potentials, the boundary conditions, and the integrators - and the discuss the various ensembles that can be sampled. We discuss the strengths and weaknesses of MD, specifically in terms of time and length-scales. We then move on to discuss accelerated MD (AMD) methods, techniques that were designed to circumvent the timescale limitations of MD for rare event systems. The different methods are introduced and examples of use given.

Excitation dynamics and relaxation in a molecular heterodimer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Balevičius, V.; Gelzinis, A.; Abramavicius, D.; Mančal, T.; Valkunas, L.

2012-01-01

Highlights: ► Dynamics of excitation within a heterogenous molecular dimer. ► Excited states can be swapped due to different reorganization energies of monomers. ► Conventional excitonic basis becomes renormalized due to interaction with the bath. ► Relaxation is independent of mutual positioning of monomeric excited states. -- Abstract: The exciton dynamics in a molecular heterodimer is studied as a function of differences in excitation and reorganization energies, asymmetry in transition dipole moments and excited state lifetimes. The heterodimer is composed of two molecules modeled as two-level systems coupled by the resonance interaction. The system-bath coupling is taken into account as a modulating factor of the molecular excitation energy gap, while the relaxation to the ground state is treated phenomenologically. Comparison of the description of the excitation dynamics modeled using either the Redfield equations (secular and full forms) or the Hierarchical quantum master equation (HQME) is demonstrated and discussed. Possible role of the dimer as an excitation quenching center in photosynthesis self-regulation is discussed. It is concluded that the system-bath interaction rather than the excitonic effect determines the excitation quenching ability of such a dimer.

Molecular dynamics simulations of melting behavior of alkane as phase change materials slurry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rao Zhonghao; Wang Shuangfeng; Wu Maochun; Zhang Yanlai; Li Fuhuo

2012-01-01

Highlights: ► The melting behavior of phase change materials slurry was investigated by molecular dynamics simulation method. ► Four different PCM slurry systems including pure water and water/n-nonadecane composite were constructed. ► Amorphous structure and periodic boundary conditions were used in the molecular dynamics simulations. ► The simulated melting temperatures are very close to the published experimental values. - Abstract: The alkane based phase change materials slurry, with high latent heat storage capacity, is effective to enhance the heat transfer rate of traditional fluid. In this paper, the melting behavior of composite phase change materials slurry which consists of n-nonadecane and water was investigated by using molecular dynamics simulation. Four different systems including pure water and water/n-nonadecane composite were constructed with amorphous structure and periodic boundary conditions. The results showed that the simulated density and melting temperature were very close to the published experimental values. Mixing the n-nonadecane into water decreased the mobility but increased the energy storage capacity of composite systems. To describe the melting behavior of alkane based phase change materials slurry on molecular or atomic scale, molecular dynamics simulation is an effective method.

Effects of system net charge and electrostatic truncation on all-atom constant pH molecular dynamics.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Wei; Shen, Jana K

2014-10-15

Constant pH molecular dynamics offers a means to rigorously study the effects of solution pH on dynamical processes. Here, we address two critical questions arising from the most recent developments of the all-atom continuous constant pH molecular dynamics (CpHMD) method: (1) What is the effect of spatial electrostatic truncation on the sampling of protonation states? (2) Is the enforcement of electrical neutrality necessary for constant pH simulations? We first examined how the generalized reaction field and force-shifting schemes modify the electrostatic forces on the titration coordinates. Free energy simulations of model compounds were then carried out to delineate the errors in the deprotonation free energy and salt-bridge stability due to electrostatic truncation and system net charge. Finally, CpHMD titration of a mini-protein HP36 was used to understand the manifestation of the two types of errors in the calculated pK(a) values. The major finding is that enforcing charge neutrality under all pH conditions and at all time via cotitrating ions significantly improves the accuracy of protonation-state sampling. We suggest that such finding is also relevant for simulations with particle mesh Ewald, considering the known artifacts due to charge-compensating background plasma. Copyright © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Molecular potentials and relaxation dynamics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Karo, A.M.

1981-01-01

The use of empirical pseudopotentials, in evaluating interatomic potentials, provides an inexpensive and convenient method for obtaining highly accurate potential curves and permits the modeling of core-valence correlation, and the inclusion of relativistic effects when these are significant. Recent calculations of the X 1 Σ + and a 3 Σ + states of LiH, NaH, KH, RbH, and CsH and the X 2 Σ + states of their anions are discussed. Pseudopotentials, including core polarization terms, have been used to replace the core electrons, and this has been coupled with the development of compact, higly-optimized basis sets for the corresponding one- and two-electron atoms. Comparisons of the neutral potential curves with experiment and other ab initio calculations show good agreement (within 1000 cm -1 over most of the potential curves) with the difference curves being considerably more accurate. In the method of computer molecular dynamics, the force acting on each particle is the resultant of all interactions with other atoms in the neighborhood and is obtained as the derivative of an effective many-body potential. Exploiting the pseudopotential approach, in obtaining the appropriate potentials may be very fruitful in the future. In the molecular dynamics example considered here, the conventional sum-of-pairwise-interatomic-potentials (SPP) approximation is used with the potentials derived either from experimental spectroscopic data or from Hartree-Fock calculations. The problem is the collisional de-excitation of vibrationally excited molecular hydrogen at an Fe surface. The calculations have been carried out for an initial vibrotational state v = 8, J = 1 and a translational temperature corresponding to a gas temperature of 500 0 K. Different angles of approach and different initial random impact points on the surface have been selected. For any given collision with the wall, the molecule may pick up or lose vibrotatonal and translational energy

Current-driven dynamics in molecular-scale devices

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Seideman, Tamar

2003-01-01

We review recent theoretical work on current-triggered processes in molecular-scale devices - a field at the interface between solid state physics and chemical dynamics with potential applications in diverse areas, including artificial molecular machines, unimolecular transport, surface nanochemistry and nanolithography. The qualitative physics underlying current-triggered dynamics is first discussed and placed in context with several well-studied phenomena with which it shares aspects. A theory for modelling these dynamics is next formulated within a time-dependent scattering approach. Our end result provides useful insight into the system properties that determine the reaction outcome as well as a computationally convenient framework for numerical realization. The theory is applied to study single-molecule surface reactions induced by a scanning tunnelling microscope and current-triggered dynamics in single-molecule transistors. We close with a discussion of several potential applications of current-induced dynamics in molecular devices and several opportunities for future research. (topical review)

Molecular Dynamics Studies of Nanofluidic Devices

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Zambrano Rodriguez, Harvey Alexander

of such devices. Computational nanofluidics complements experimental studies by providing detailed spatial and temporal information of the nanosystem. In this thesis, we conduct molecular dynamics simulations to study basic nanoscale devices. We focus our studies on the understanding of transport mechanism...... to drive fluids and solids at the nanoscale. Specifically, we present the results of three different research projects. Throughout the first part of this thesis, we include a comprenhensive introduction to computational nanofluidics and to molecular simulations, and describe the molecular dynamics...... in opposite direction to the imposed thermal gradient also we measure higher velocities as higher thermal gradients are imposed. Secondly, we present an atomistic analysis of a molecular linear motor fabricated of coaxial carbon nanotubes and powered by thermal gradients. The MD simulation results indicate...

Nanopore wall-liquid interaction under scope of molecular dynamics study: Review

Science.gov (United States)

Tsukanov, A. A.; Psakhie, S. G.

2017-12-01

The present review is devoted to the analysis of recent molecular dynamics based on the numerical studies of molecular aspects of solid-fluid interaction in nanoscale channels. Nanopore wall-liquid interaction plays the crucial role in such processes as gas separation, water desalination, liquids decontamination, hydrocarbons and water transport in nano-fractured geological formations. Molecular dynamics simulation is one of the most suitable tools to study molecular level effects occurred in such multicomponent systems. The nanopores are classified by their geometry to four groups: nanopore in nanosheet, nanotube-like pore, slit-shaped nanopore and soft-matter nanopore. The review is focused on the functionalized nanopores in boron nitride nanosheets as novel selective membranes and on the slit-shaped nanopores formed by minerals.

Theoretical Concepts in Molecular Photodissociation Dynamics

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Henriksen, Niels Engholm

1995-01-01

This chapter contains sections titled: Introduction Quantum Dynamics of Molecular Photofragmentation The Total Reaction Probability Final Product Distributions Time-Independent Approach, Stationary Scattering States Gaussian Wave Packet Dynamics Wigner Phase Space Representation The Diatomic...

Non-Adiabatic Molecular Dynamics Methods for Materials Discovery

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Furche, Filipp [Univ. of California, Irvine, CA (United States); Parker, Shane M. [Univ. of California, Irvine, CA (United States); Muuronen, Mikko J. [Univ. of California, Irvine, CA (United States); Roy, Saswata [Univ. of California, Irvine, CA (United States)

2017-04-04

The flow of radiative energy in light-driven materials such as photosensitizer dyes or photocatalysts is governed by non-adiabatic transitions between electronic states and cannot be described within the Born-Oppenheimer approximation commonly used in electronic structure theory. The non-adiabatic molecular dynamics (NAMD) methods based on Tully surface hopping and time-dependent density functional theory developed in this project have greatly extended the range of molecular materials that can be tackled by NAMD simulations. New algorithms to compute molecular excited state and response properties efficiently were developed. Fundamental limitations of common non-linear response methods were discovered and characterized. Methods for accurate computations of vibronic spectra of materials such as black absorbers were developed and applied. It was shown that open-shell TDDFT methods capture bond breaking in NAMD simulations, a longstanding challenge for single-reference molecular dynamics simulations. The methods developed in this project were applied to study the photodissociation of acetaldehyde and revealed that non-adiabatic effects are experimentally observable in fragment kinetic energy distributions. Finally, the project enabled the first detailed NAMD simulations of photocatalytic water oxidation by titania nanoclusters, uncovering the mechanism of this fundamentally important reaction for fuel generation and storage.

First principles molecular dynamics without self-consistent field optimization

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Souvatzis, Petros; Niklasson, Anders M. N.

2014-01-01

We present a first principles molecular dynamics approach that is based on time-reversible extended Lagrangian Born-Oppenheimer molecular dynamics [A. M. N. Niklasson, Phys. Rev. Lett. 100, 123004 (2008)] in the limit of vanishing self-consistent field optimization. The optimization-free dynamics keeps the computational cost to a minimum and typically provides molecular trajectories that closely follow the exact Born-Oppenheimer potential energy surface. Only one single diagonalization and Hamiltonian (or Fockian) construction are required in each integration time step. The proposed dynamics is derived for a general free-energy potential surface valid at finite electronic temperatures within hybrid density functional theory. Even in the event of irregular functional behavior that may cause a dynamical instability, the optimization-free limit represents a natural starting guess for force calculations that may require a more elaborate iterative electronic ground state optimization. Our optimization-free dynamics thus represents a flexible theoretical framework for a broad and general class of ab initio molecular dynamics simulations

A molecular dynamics study of the effects of fast molecular motions on solid-state NMR parameters

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Dračínský, Martin; Hodgkinson, P.

2013-01-01

Roč. 15, č. 43 (2013), s. 8705-8712 ISSN 1466-8033 Grant - others:Seventh Framework Programme of the European Union(XE) FP7-299242 People Institutional support: RVO:61388963 Keywords : molecular dynamics * DFT calculations * NMR spectroscopy Subject RIV: CC - Organic Chemistry Impact factor: 3.858, year: 2013

Molecular dynamics study of atomic displacements in disordered solid alloys

Science.gov (United States)

Puzyrev, Yevgeniy S.

The effects of atomic displacements on the energetics of alloys plays important role in the determining the properties of alloys. We studied the atomic displacements in disordered solid alloys using molecular dynamics and Monte-Carlo methods. The diffuse scattering of pure materials, copper, gold, nickel, and palladium was calculated. The experimental data for pure Cu was obtained from diffuse scattering intensity of synchrotron x-ray radiation. The comparison showed the advantages of molecular dynamics method for calculating the atomic displacements in solid alloys. The individual nearest neighbor separations were calculated for Cu 50Au50 alloy and compared to the result of XAFS experiment. The molecular dynamics method provided theoretical predictions of nearest neighbor pair separations in other binary alloys, Cu-Pd and Cu-Al for wide range of the concentrations. We also experimentally recovered the diffuse scattering maps for the Cu47.3Au52.7 and Cu85.2Al14.8 alloy.

Molecular dynamics and diffusion a compilation

CERN Document Server

Fisher, David

2013-01-01

The molecular dynamics technique was developed in the 1960s as the outgrowth of attempts to model complicated systems by using either a) direct physical simulation or (following the great success of Monte Carlo methods) by b) using computer techniques. Computer simulation soon won out over clumsy physical simulation, and the ever-increasing speed and sophistication of computers has naturally made molecular dynamics simulation into a more and more successful technique. One of its most popular applications is the study of diffusion, and some experts now even claim that molecular dynamics simulation is, in the case of situations involving well-characterised elements and structures, more accurate than experimental measurement. The present double volume includes a compilation (over 600 items) of predicted solid-state diffusion data, for all of the major materials groups, dating back nearly four decades. The double volume also includes some original papers: "Determination of the Activation Energy for Formation and ...

Extended Lagrangian Excited State Molecular Dynamics.

Science.gov (United States)

Bjorgaard, J A; Sheppard, D; Tretiak, S; Niklasson, A M N

2018-02-13

An extended Lagrangian framework for excited state molecular dynamics (XL-ESMD) using time-dependent self-consistent field theory is proposed. The formulation is a generalization of the extended Lagrangian formulations for ground state Born-Oppenheimer molecular dynamics [Phys. Rev. Lett. 2008 100, 123004]. The theory is implemented, demonstrated, and evaluated using a time-dependent semiempirical model, though it should be generally applicable to ab initio theory. The simulations show enhanced energy stability and a significantly reduced computational cost associated with the iterative solutions of both the ground state and the electronically excited states. Relaxed convergence criteria can therefore be used both for the self-consistent ground state optimization and for the iterative subspace diagonalization of the random phase approximation matrix used to calculate the excited state transitions. The XL-ESMD approach is expected to enable numerically efficient excited state molecular dynamics for such methods as time-dependent Hartree-Fock (TD-HF), Configuration Interactions Singles (CIS), and time-dependent density functional theory (TD-DFT).

Dynamics and Thermodynamics of Transthyretin Association from Molecular Dynamics Simulations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cedrix J. Dongmo Foumthuim

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Molecular dynamics simulations are used in this work to probe the structural stability and the dynamics of engineered mutants of transthyretin (TTR, i.e., the double mutant F87M/L110M (MT-TTR and the triple mutant F87M/L110M/S117E (3M-TTR, in relation to wild-type. Free energy analysis from end-point simulations and statistical effective energy functions are used to analyze trajectories, revealing that mutations do not have major impact on protein structure but rather on protein association, shifting the equilibria towards dissociated species. The result is confirmed by the analysis of 3M-TTR which shows dissociation within the first 10 ns of the simulation, indicating that contacts are lost at the dimer-dimer interface, whereas dimers (formed by monomers which pair to form two extended β-sheets appear fairly stable. Overall the simulations provide a detailed view of the dynamics and thermodynamics of wild-type and mutant transthyretins and a rationale of the observed effects.

Estimation of flow stress of radiation induced F/M steels using molecular dynamics and discrete dislocation dynamics approach

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

More, Ameya; Dutta, B.K.; Durgaprasad, P.V.; Arya, A.K.

2012-01-01

Fe-Cr based Ferritic/Martensitic (F/M) steels are the candidate structural materials for future fusion reactors. In this work, a multi-scale approach comprising atomistic Molecular Dynamics (MD) simulations and Discrete Dislocation Dynamics (DDD) simulations are used to model the effect of irradiation dose on the flow stress of F/M steels. At the atomic scale, molecular dynamics simulations are used to study the dislocation interaction with irradiation induced defects, i.e. voids and He bubbles. Whereas, the DDD simulations are used to estimate the change in flow stress of the material as a result of irradiation hardening. (author)

Hydrogen Bond Dynamics in Aqueous Solutions: Ab initio Molecular ...

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Rate equation for the decay of CHB(t) · Definition of Hydrogen Bonds · Results of Molecular Dynamics · Dynamics of anion-water and water-water hydrogen bonds · Structural relaxation of anion-water & water-water H-bonds · Ab initio Molecular Dynamics : · Slide 14 · Dynamics of hydrogen bonds : CPMD results · Slide 16.

Molecular Modeling of Enzyme Dynamics Towards Understanding Solvent Effects

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Wedberg, Nils Hejle Rasmus Ingemar

This thesis describes the development of a molecular simulation methodology to study properties of enzymes in non-aqueous media at fixed thermodynamic water activities. The methodology is applied in a molecular dynamics study of the industrially important enzyme Candida antarctica lipase B (CALB...... of enzyme kinetics in non-aqueous media, it has been a fruitful approach to fix the enzyme hydration level by controlling the water activity of the medium. In this work, a protocol is therefore developed for determining the water activity in non-aqueous protein simulations. The method relies on determining...... integration, while for small systems, it seems to be even better. The method is applied to compute the excess Gibbs energy of the mixtures of water and organic solvents used in the simulations of CALB. This allows to determine the water activity of the simulated systems and thus to compare protein properties...

Towards the molecular bases of polymerase dynamics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chela Flores, J.

1991-03-01

One aspect of the strong relationship that is known to exist between the processes of DNA replication and transcription is manifest in the coupling of the rates of movement of the replication fork (r f ) and RNA polymerase (r t ). We address two issues concerning the largely unexplored area of polymerase dynamics: (i) The validity of an approximate kinematic formula linking r f and r t suggested by experiments in which transcription is initiated in some prokaryotes with the antibiotic streptolydigin, and (ii) What are the molecular bases of the kinematic formula? An analysis of the available data suggests possible molecular bases for polymerase dynamics. In particular, we are led to a hypothesis: In active chromatin r t may depend on the length (λ t ) of the transcript of the primary messenger RNA (pre-mRNA). This new effect is subject to experimental verification. We discuss possible experiments that may be performed in order to test this prediction. (author). Refs, 6 tabs

Non-adiabatic molecular dynamic simulations of opening reaction of molecular junctions

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Zobač, Vladimír; Lewis, J.P.; Jelínek, Pavel

2016-01-01

Roč. 27, č. 28 (2016), 1-8, č. článku 285202. ISSN 0957-4484 R&D Projects: GA ČR(CZ) GA14-02079S Institutional support: RVO:68378271 Keywords : non-adiabatic molecular dynamics * molecular junctions * molecular switches * DFT Subject RIV: BM - Solid Matter Physics ; Magnetism Impact factor: 3.440, year: 2016

Visualizing Energy on Target: Molecular Dynamics Simulations

Science.gov (United States)

2017-12-01

ARL-TR-8234 ● DEC 2017 US Army Research Laboratory Visualizing Energy on Target: Molecular Dynamics Simulations by DeCarlos E...return it to the originator. ARL-TR-8234● DEC 2017 US Army Research Laboratory Visualizing Energy on Target: Molecular Dynamics...REPORT TYPE Technical Report 3. DATES COVERED (From - To) 1 October 2015–30 September 2016 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE Visualizing Energy on Target

Nonadiabatic electron wavepacket dynamics behind molecular autoionization

Science.gov (United States)

Matsuoka, Takahide; Takatsuka, Kazuo

2018-01-01

A theoretical method for real-time dynamics of nonadiabatic reorganization of electronic configurations in molecules is developed, with dual aim that the intramolecular electron dynamics can be probed by means of direct and/or indirect photoionizations and that the physical origins behind photoionization signals attained in the time domain can be identified in terms of the language of time-dependent quantum chemistry. In doing so, we first formulate and implement a new computational scheme for nonadiabatic electron dynamics associated with molecular ionization, which well fits in the general theory of nonadiabatic electron dynamics. In this method, the total nonadiabatic electron wavepackets are propagated in time directly with complex natural orbitals without referring to Hartree-Fock molecular orbitals, and the amount of electron flux from a molecular region leading to ionization is evaluated in terms of the relevant complex natural orbitals. In the second half of this paper, we apply the method to electron dynamics in the elementary processes consisting of the Auger decay to demonstrate the methodological significance. An illustrative example is taken from an Auger decay starting from the 2a1 orbital hole-state of H2O+. The roles of nuclear momentum (kinetic) couplings in electronic-state mixing during the decay process are analyzed in terms of complex natural orbitals, which are schematically represented in the conventional language of molecular symmetry of the Hartree-Fock orbitals.

Ultrafast molecular dynamics illuminated with synchrotron radiation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bozek, John D.; Miron, Catalin

2015-01-01

Highlights: • Ultrafast molecular dynamics probed with synchrotron radiation. • Core-excitation as probe of ultrafast dynamics through core-hole lifetime. • Review of experimental and theoretical methods in ultrafast dynamics using core-level excitation. - Abstract: Synchrotron radiation is a powerful tool for studying molecular dynamics in small molecules in spite of the absence of natural matching between the X-ray pulse duration and the time scale of nuclear motion. Promoting core level electrons to unoccupied molecular orbitals simultaneously initiates two ultrafast processes, nuclear dynamics on the potential energy surfaces of the highly excited neutral intermediate state of the molecule on the one hand and an ultrafast electronic decay of the intermediate excited state to a cationic final state, characterized by a core hole lifetime. The similar time scales of these processes enable core excited pump-probe-type experiments to be performed with long duration X-ray pulses from a synchrotron source. Recent results obtained at the PLIEADES beamline concerning ultrafast dissociation of core excited states and molecular potential energy curve mapping facilitated by changes in the geometry of the short-lived intermediate core excited state are reviewed. High brightness X-ray beams combined with state-of-the art electron and ion-electron coincidence spectrometers and highly sophisticated theoretical methods are required to conduct these experiments and to achieve a full understanding of the experimental results.

Rheology via nonequilibrium molecular dynamics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hoover, W.G.

1982-10-01

The equilibrium molecular dynamics formulated by Newton, Lagrange, and Hamilton has been modified in order to simulate rheologial molecular flows with fast computers. This modified Nonequilibrium Molecular Dynamics (NEMD) has been applied to fluid and solid deformations, under both homogeneous and shock conditions, as well as to the transport of heat. The irreversible heating associated with dissipation could be controlled by carrying out isothermal NEMD calculations. The new isothermal NEMD equations of motion are consistent with Gauss' 1829 Least-Constraint principle as well as certain microscopic equilibrium and nonequilibrium statistical formulations due to Gibbs and Boltzmann. Application of isothermal NEMD revealed high-frequency and high-strain-rate behavior for simple fluids which resembled the behavior of polymer solutions and melts at lower frequencies and strain rates. For solids NEMD produces plastic flows consistent with experimental observations at much lower strain rates. The new nonequilibrium methods also suggest novel formulations of thermodynamics in nonequilibrium systems and shed light on the failure of the Principle of Material Frame Indifference

Effect O6-Guanine Alkylation on DNA Flexibility Studied by Comparative Molecular Dynamics Simulations

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Kara, M.; Dršata, Tomáš; Lankaš, Filip; Zacharias, M.

2015-01-01

Roč. 103, č. 1 (2015), s. 23-32 ISSN 0006-3525 R&D Projects: GA ČR(CZ) GA14-21893S Institutional support: RVO:61388963 Keywords : DNA damage * DNA alkylation * DNA repair * molecular simulation * molecular dynamics simulation Subject RIV: BO - Biophysics Impact factor: 2.248, year: 2015

First-principles molecular dynamics for metals

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fernando, G.W.; Qian, G.; Weinert, M.; Davenport, J.W.

1989-01-01

A Car-Parrinello-type first-principles molecular-dynamics approach capable of treating the partial occupancy of electronic states that occurs at the Fermi level in a metal is presented. The algorithms used to study metals are both simple and computationally efficient. We also discuss the connection between ordinary electronic-structure calculations and molecular-dynamics simulations as well as the role of Brillouin-zone sampling. This extension should be useful not only for metallic solids but also for solids that become metals in their liquid and/or amorphous phases

Effect of molecular topology on the transport properties of dendrimers in dilute solution at Θ temperature: A Brownian dynamics study

Science.gov (United States)

Bosko, Jaroslaw T.; Ravi Prakash, J.

2008-01-01

Structure and transport properties of dendrimers in dilute solution are studied with the aid of Brownian dynamics simulations. To investigate the effect of molecular topology on the properties, linear chain, star, and dendrimer molecules of comparable molecular weights are studied. A bead-spring chain model with finitely extensible springs and fluctuating hydrodynamic interactions is used to represent polymer molecules under Θ conditions. Structural properties as well as the diffusivity and zero-shear-rate intrinsic viscosity of polymers with varied degrees of branching are analyzed. Results for the free-draining case are compared to and found in very good agreement with the Rouse model predictions. Translational diffusivity is evaluated and the difference between the short-time and long-time behavior due to dynamic correlations is observed. Incorporation of hydrodynamic interactions is found to be sufficient to reproduce the maximum in the intrinsic viscosity versus molecular weight observed experimentally for dendrimers. Results of the nonequilibrium Brownian dynamics simulations of dendrimers and linear chain polymers subjected to a planar shear flow in a wide range of strain rates are also reported. The flow-induced molecular deformation of molecules is found to decrease hydrodynamic interactions and lead to the appearance of shear thickening. Further, branching is found to suppress flow-induced molecular alignment and deformation.

Effects of system net charge and electrostatic truncation on all-atom constant pH molecular dynamics †

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Wei; Shen, Jana K.

2014-01-01

Constant pH molecular dynamics offers a means to rigorously study the effects of solution pH on dynamical processes. Here we address two critical questions arising from the most recent developments of the all-atom continuous constant pH molecular dynamics (CpHMD) method: 1) What is the effect of spatial electrostatic truncation on the sampling of protonation states? 2) Is the enforcement of electrical neutrality necessary for constant pH simulations? We first examined how the generalized reaction field and force shifting schemes modify the electrostatic forces on the titration coordinates. Free energy simulations of model compounds were then carried out to delineate the errors in the deprotonation free energy and salt-bridge stability due to electrostatic truncation and system net charge. Finally, CpHMD titration of a mini-protein HP36 was used to understand the manifestation of the two types of errors in the calculated pK a values. The major finding is that enforcing charge neutrality under all pH conditions and at all time via co-titrating ions significantly improves the accuracy of protonation-state sampling. We suggest that such finding is also relevant for simulations with particle-mesh Ewald, considering the known artifacts due to charge-compensating background plasma. PMID:25142416

How Dynamic Visualization Technology Can Support Molecular Reasoning

Science.gov (United States)

Levy, Dalit

2013-01-01

This paper reports the results of a study aimed at exploring the advantages of dynamic visualization for the development of better understanding of molecular processes. We designed a technology-enhanced curriculum module in which high school chemistry students conduct virtual experiments with dynamic molecular visualizations of solid, liquid, and…

Molecular dynamics simulations of solutions at constant chemical potential

Science.gov (United States)

Perego, C.; Salvalaglio, M.; Parrinello, M.

2015-04-01

Molecular dynamics studies of chemical processes in solution are of great value in a wide spectrum of applications, which range from nano-technology to pharmaceutical chemistry. However, these calculations are affected by severe finite-size effects, such as the solution being depleted as the chemical process proceeds, which influence the outcome of the simulations. To overcome these limitations, one must allow the system to exchange molecules with a macroscopic reservoir, thus sampling a grand-canonical ensemble. Despite the fact that different remedies have been proposed, this still represents a key challenge in molecular simulations. In the present work, we propose the Constant Chemical Potential Molecular Dynamics (CμMD) method, which introduces an external force that controls the environment of the chemical process of interest. This external force, drawing molecules from a finite reservoir, maintains the chemical potential constant in the region where the process takes place. We have applied the CμMD method to the paradigmatic case of urea crystallization in aqueous solution. As a result, we have been able to study crystal growth dynamics under constant supersaturation conditions and to extract growth rates and free-energy barriers.

Surface Effect on Oil Transportation in Nanochannel: a Molecular Dynamics Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Zheng, Haixia; Du, Yonggang; Xue, Qingzhong; Zhu, Lei; Li, Xiaofang; Lu, Shuangfang; Jin, Yakang

2017-12-01

In this work, we investigate the dynamics mechanism of oil transportation in nanochannel using molecular dynamics simulations. It is demonstrated that the interaction between oil molecules and nanochannel has a great effect on the transportation properties of oil in nanochannel. Because of different interactions between oil molecules and channel, the center of mass (COM) displacement of oil in a 6-nm channel is over 30 times larger than that in a 2-nm channel, and the diffusion coefficient of oil molecules at the center of a 6-nm channel is almost two times more than that near the channel surface. Besides, it is found that polarity of oil molecules has the effect on impeding oil transportation, because the electrostatic interaction between polar oil molecules and channel is far larger than that between nonpolar oil molecules and channel. In addition, channel component is found to play an important role in oil transportation in nanochannel, for example, the COM displacement of oil in gold channel is very few due to great interaction between oil and gold substrate. It is also found that nano-sized roughness of channel surface greatly influences the speed and flow pattern of oil. Our findings would contribute to revealing the mechanism of oil transportation in nanochannels and therefore are very important for design of oil extraction in nanochannels.

Physical adsorption and molecular dynamics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cohan, N.V.

1981-01-01

Some aspects of noble gases adsorption (except He) on graphite substracts are reviewed. Experimental results from this adsorption are analyzed and compared with molecular dynamics calculations. (L.C.) [pt

Correlations and symmetry of interactions influence collective dynamics of molecular motors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Celis-Garza, Daniel; Teimouri, Hamid; Kolomeisky, Anatoly B

2015-01-01

Enzymatic molecules that actively support many cellular processes, including transport, cell division and cell motility, are known as motor proteins or molecular motors. Experimental studies indicate that they interact with each other and they frequently work together in large groups. To understand the mechanisms of collective behavior of motor proteins we study the effect of interactions in the transport of molecular motors along linear filaments. It is done by analyzing a recently introduced class of totally asymmetric exclusion processes that takes into account the intermolecular interactions via thermodynamically consistent approach. We develop a new theoretical method that allows us to compute analytically all dynamic properties of the system. Our analysis shows that correlations play important role in dynamics of interacting molecular motors. Surprisingly, we find that the correlations for repulsive interactions are weaker and more short-range than the correlations for the attractive interactions. In addition, it is shown that symmetry of interactions affect dynamic properties of molecular motors. The implications of these findings for motor proteins transport are discussed. Our theoretical predictions are tested by extensive Monte Carlo computer simulations. (paper)

Effect of orientation on deformation behavior of Fe nanowires: A molecular dynamics study

Science.gov (United States)

Sainath, G.; Srinivasan, V. S.; Choudhary, B. K.; Mathew, M. D.; Jayakumar, T.

2014-04-01

Molecular dynamics simulations have been carried out to study the effect of crystal orientation on tensile deformation behaviour of single crystal BCC Fe nanowires at 10 K. Two nanowires with an initial orientation of /{100} and /{111} have been chosen for this study. The simulation results show that the deformation mechanisms varied with crystal orientation. The nanowire with an initial orientation of /{100} deforms predominantly by twinning mechanism, whereas the nanowire oriented in /{111}, deforms by dislocation plasticity. In addition, the single crystal oriented in /{111} shows higher strength and elastic modulus than /{100} oriented nanowire.

Molecular dynamics for dense matter

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Maruyama, Toshiki; Chiba, Satoshi; Watanabe, Gentaro

2012-01-01

We review a molecular dynamics method for nucleon many-body systems called quantum molecular dynamics (QMD), and our studies using this method. These studies address the structure and the dynamics of nuclear matter relevant to neutron star crusts, supernova cores, and heavy-ion collisions. A key advantage of QMD is that we can study dynamical processes of nucleon many-body systems without any assumptions about the nuclear structure. First, we focus on the inhomogeneous structures of low-density nuclear matter consisting not only of spherical nuclei but also of nuclear “pasta”, i.e., rod-like and slab-like nuclei. We show that pasta phases can appear in the ground and equilibrium states of nuclear matter without assuming nuclear shape. Next, we show our simulation of compression of nuclear matter which corresponds to the collapsing stage of supernovae. With the increase in density, a crystalline solid of spherical nuclei changes to a triangular lattice of rods by connecting neighboring nuclei. Finally, we discuss fragment formation in expanding nuclear matter. Our results suggest that a generally accepted scenario based on the liquid–gas phase transition is not plausible at lower temperatures. (author)

Molecular dynamics for dense matter

Science.gov (United States)

Maruyama, Toshiki; Watanabe, Gentaro; Chiba, Satoshi

2012-08-01

We review a molecular dynamics method for nucleon many-body systems called quantum molecular dynamics (QMD), and our studies using this method. These studies address the structure and the dynamics of nuclear matter relevant to neutron star crusts, supernova cores, and heavy-ion collisions. A key advantage of QMD is that we can study dynamical processes of nucleon many-body systems without any assumptions about the nuclear structure. First, we focus on the inhomogeneous structures of low-density nuclear matter consisting not only of spherical nuclei but also of nuclear "pasta", i.e., rod-like and slab-like nuclei. We show that pasta phases can appear in the ground and equilibrium states of nuclear matter without assuming nuclear shape. Next, we show our simulation of compression of nuclear matter which corresponds to the collapsing stage of supernovae. With the increase in density, a crystalline solid of spherical nuclei changes to a triangular lattice of rods by connecting neighboring nuclei. Finally, we discuss fragment formation in expanding nuclear matter. Our results suggest that a generally accepted scenario based on the liquid-gas phase transition is not plausible at lower temperatures.

The chaos and order in nuclear molecular dynamics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Srokowski, T.

1995-01-01

The subject of the presented report is role of chaos in scattering processes in the frame of molecular dynamics. In this model, it is assumed that scattering particles (nuclei) consist of not-interacted components as alpha particles or 12 C, 16 O and 20 Ne clusters. The results show such effects as dynamical in stabilities and fractal structure as well as compound nuclei decay and heavy-ion fusion. The goal of the report is to make the reader more familiar with the chaos model and its application to nuclear phenomena. 157 refs, 40 figs

Extended Lagrangian formulation of charge-constrained tight-binding molecular dynamics.

Science.gov (United States)

Cawkwell, M J; Coe, J D; Yadav, S K; Liu, X-Y; Niklasson, A M N

2015-06-09

The extended Lagrangian Born-Oppenheimer molecular dynamics formalism [Niklasson, Phys. Rev. Lett., 2008, 100, 123004] has been applied to a tight-binding model under the constraint of local charge neutrality to yield microcanonical trajectories with both precise, long-term energy conservation and a reduced number of self-consistent field optimizations at each time step. The extended Lagrangian molecular dynamics formalism restores time reversal symmetry in the propagation of the electronic degrees of freedom, and it enables the efficient and accurate self-consistent optimization of the chemical potential and atomwise potential energy shifts in the on-site elements of the tight-binding Hamiltonian that are required when enforcing local charge neutrality. These capabilities are illustrated with microcanonical molecular dynamics simulations of a small metallic cluster using an sd-valent tight-binding model for titanium. The effects of weak dissipation on the propagation of the auxiliary degrees of freedom for the chemical potential and on-site Hamiltonian matrix elements that is used to counteract the accumulation of numerical noise during trajectories was also investigated.

Emulating Molecular Orbitals and Electronic Dynamics with Ultracold Atoms

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dirk-Sören Lühmann

2015-08-01

Full Text Available In recent years, ultracold atoms in optical lattices have proven their great value as quantum simulators for studying strongly correlated phases and complex phenomena in solid-state systems. Here, we reveal their potential as quantum simulators for molecular physics and propose a technique to image the three-dimensional molecular orbitals with high resolution. The outstanding tunability of ultracold atoms in terms of potential and interaction offer fully adjustable model systems for gaining deep insight into the electronic structure of molecules. We study the orbitals of an artificial benzene molecule and discuss the effect of tunable interactions in its conjugated π electron system with special regard to localization and spin order. The dynamical time scales of ultracold atom simulators are on the order of milliseconds, which allows for the time-resolved monitoring of a broad range of dynamical processes. As an example, we compute the hole dynamics in the conjugated π system of the artificial benzene molecule.

Photocatalytic oxidation dynamics of acetone on TiO2: tight-binding quantum chemical molecular dynamics study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lv Chen; Wang Xiaojing; Agalya, Govindasamy; Koyama, Michihisa; Kubo, Momoji; Miyamoto, Akira

2005-01-01

The clarification of the excited states dynamics on TiO 2 surface is important subject for the design of the highly active photocatalysts. In the present study, we applied our novel tight-binding quantum chemical molecular dynamics method to the investigation on the photocatalytic oxidation dynamics of acetone by photogenerated OH radicals on the hydrated anatase TiO 2 surface. The elucidated photocatalytic reaction mechanism strongly supports the previous experimental proposal and finally the effectiveness of our new approach for the clarification of the photocatalytic reaction dynamics employing the large simulation model was confirmed

Utilization of the molecular dynamic to study the effect of hydrogen in the stress corrosion

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Arnoux, P.

2007-01-01

Many microscopic and theoretical models of stress corrosion have been proposed, in particularly to explain the grain boundary cracking of stainless steels and nickel base. In this work calculus of molecular dynamic have been used to propose a mechanism of stress corrosion at the atomic scale. The author aims to reproduce, by molecular dynamic, the mechanism of an open crack in irradiated stainless steel in PWR reactor and show that the growth of the oxide at the crack back produce hydrogen. (A.L.B.)

Ultrafast dissociation: An unexpected tool for probing molecular dynamics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Morin, Paul; Miron, Catalin

2012-01-01

Highlights: ► Ultrafast dissociation has been investigated by means of XPS and mass spectrometry. ► The interplay between electron relaxation and molecular dynamics is evidenced. ► Extension toward polyatomics, clusters, adsorbed molecules is considered. ► Quantum effects (spectral hole, angular effects) evidence the molecular field anisotropy. -- Abstract: Ultrafast dissociation following core–shell excitation into an antibonding orbital led to the early observation in HBr of atomic Auger lines associated to the decay of dissociated excited atoms. The purpose of this article is to review the very large variety of systems where such a situation has been encountered, extending from simple diatomic molecules toward more complex systems like polyatomics, clusters, or adsorbed molecules. Interestingly, this phenomenon has revealed an extremely rich and powerful tool for probing nuclear dynamics and its subtle interplay with electron relaxation occurring on a comparable time scale. Consequently this review covers a surprisingly large period, starting in 1986 and still ongoing.

Molecular dynamics studies of superionic conductors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rahman, A.; Vashishta, P.

1983-01-01

Structural and dynamical properties of superionic conductors AgI and CuI are studied using molecular dynamics (MD) techniques. The model of these superionic conductors is based on the use of effective pair potentials. To determine the constants in these potentials, cohesive energy and bulk modulus are used as input: in addition one uses notions of ionic size based on the known crystal structure. Salient features of the MD technique are outlined. Methods of treating long range Coulomb forces are discussed in detail. This includes the manner of doing Ewald sum for MD cells of arbitrary shape. Features that can be incorporated to expedite the MD calculations are also discussed. A novel MD technique which allows for a dynamically controlled variation of the shape and size of the MD cell is described briefly. The development of this novel technique has made it possible to study structural phase transitions in superionic conductors. 68 references, 17 figures, 2 tables

Molecular dynamics simulation of ribosome jam

KAUST Repository

Matsumoto, Shigenori

2011-09-01

We propose a coarse-grained molecular dynamics model of ribosome molecules to study the dependence of translation process on environmental parameters. We found the model exhibits traffic jam property, which is consistent with an ASEP model. We estimated the influence of the temperature and concentration of molecules on the hopping probability used in the ASEP model. Our model can also treat environmental effects on the translation process that cannot be explained by such cellular automaton models. © 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Investigation of polarization effects in the gramicidin A channel from ab initio molecular dynamics simulations.

Science.gov (United States)

Timko, Jeff; Kuyucak, Serdar

2012-11-28

Polarization is an important component of molecular interactions and is expected to play a particularly significant role in inhomogeneous environments such as pores and interfaces. Here we investigate the effects of polarization in the gramicidin A ion channel by performing quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics molecular dynamics (MD) simulations and comparing the results with those obtained from classical MD simulations with non-polarizable force fields. We consider the dipole moments of backbone carbonyl groups and channel water molecules as well as a number of structural quantities of interest. The ab initio results show that the dipole moments of the carbonyl groups and water molecules are highly sensitive to the hydrogen bonds (H-bonds) they participate in. In the absence of a K(+) ion, water molecules in the channel are quite mobile, making the H-bond network highly dynamic. A central K(+) ion acts as an anchor for the channel waters, stabilizing the H-bond network and thereby increasing their average dipole moments. In contrast, the K(+) ion has little effect on the dipole moments of the neighboring carbonyl groups. The weakness of the ion-peptide interactions helps to explain the near diffusion-rate conductance of K(+) ions through the channel. We also address the sampling issue in relatively short ab initio MD simulations. Results obtained from a continuous 20 ps ab initio MD simulation are compared with those generated by sampling ten windows from a much longer classical MD simulation and running each window for 2 ps with ab initio MD. Both methods yield similar results for a number of quantities of interest, indicating that fluctuations are fast enough to justify the short ab initio MD simulations.

Atomistic Molecular Dynamics Simulations of Mitochondrial DNA Polymerase γ

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Euro, Liliya; Haapanen, Outi; Róg, Tomasz

2017-01-01

of replisomal interactions, and functional effects of patient mutations that do not affect direct catalysis have remained elusive. Here we report the first atomistic classical molecular dynamics simulations of the human Pol γ replicative complex. Our simulation data show that DNA binding triggers remarkable......DNA polymerase γ (Pol γ) is a key component of the mitochondrial DNA replisome and an important cause of neurological diseases. Despite the availability of its crystal structures, the molecular mechanism of DNA replication, the switch between polymerase and exonuclease activities, the site...... changes in the enzyme structure, including (1) completion of the DNA-binding channel via a dynamic subdomain, which in the apo form blocks the catalytic site, (2) stabilization of the structure through the distal accessory β-subunit, and (3) formation of a putative transient replisome-binding platform...

Molecular dynamics with deterministic and stochastic numerical methods

CERN Document Server

Leimkuhler, Ben

2015-01-01

This book describes the mathematical underpinnings of algorithms used for molecular dynamics simulation, including both deterministic and stochastic numerical methods. Molecular dynamics is one of the most versatile and powerful methods of modern computational science and engineering and is used widely in chemistry, physics, materials science and biology. Understanding the foundations of numerical methods means knowing how to select the best one for a given problem (from the wide range of techniques on offer) and how to create new, efficient methods to address particular challenges as they arise in complex applications.  Aimed at a broad audience, this book presents the basic theory of Hamiltonian mechanics and stochastic differential equations, as well as topics including symplectic numerical methods, the handling of constraints and rigid bodies, the efficient treatment of Langevin dynamics, thermostats to control the molecular ensemble, multiple time-stepping, and the dissipative particle dynamics method...

Molecular dynamics simulation of effects of twin interfaces on Cu/Ni multilayers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fu, Tao; Peng, Xianghe; Weng, Shayuan; Zhao, Yinbo; Gao, Fengshan; Deng, Lijun; Wang, Zhongchang

2016-01-01

We perform molecular dynamics simulation of the indentation on pure Cu and Ni films and Cu/Ni multilayered films with a cylindrical indenter, aimed to investigate the effects of the cubic-on-cubic interface and hetero-twin interface on their mechanical properties. We also investigate systematically the formation of twin boundary in the pure metals and the effects of the cubic-on-cubic and hetero-twin interface on mechanical properties of the multilayers. We find that the slip of the horizontal stacking fault can release the internal stress, resulting in insignificant strengthening. The change in the crystal orientation by horizontal movement of the atoms in a layer-by-layer manner is found to initiate the movement of twin boundary, and the hetero-twin interface is beneficial to the hardening of multilayers. Moreover, we also find that increasing number of hetero-twin interfaces can harden the Cu/Ni multilayers.

Molecular ions, Rydberg spectroscopy and dynamics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jungen, Ch.

2015-01-01

Ion spectroscopy, Rydberg spectroscopy and molecular dynamics are closely related subjects. Multichannel quantum defect theory is a theoretical approach which draws on this close relationship and thereby becomes a powerful tool for the study of systems consisting of a positively charged molecular ion core interacting with an electron which may be loosely bound or freely scattering

Molecular ions, Rydberg spectroscopy and dynamics

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jungen, Ch. [Laboratoire Aimé Cotton, Université de Paris-Sud, 91405 Orsay (France)

2015-01-22

Ion spectroscopy, Rydberg spectroscopy and molecular dynamics are closely related subjects. Multichannel quantum defect theory is a theoretical approach which draws on this close relationship and thereby becomes a powerful tool for the study of systems consisting of a positively charged molecular ion core interacting with an electron which may be loosely bound or freely scattering.

Clustering Molecular Dynamics Trajectories for Optimizing Docking Experiments

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Renata De Paris

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Molecular dynamics simulations of protein receptors have become an attractive tool for rational drug discovery. However, the high computational cost of employing molecular dynamics trajectories in virtual screening of large repositories threats the feasibility of this task. Computational intelligence techniques have been applied in this context, with the ultimate goal of reducing the overall computational cost so the task can become feasible. Particularly, clustering algorithms have been widely used as a means to reduce the dimensionality of molecular dynamics trajectories. In this paper, we develop a novel methodology for clustering entire trajectories using structural features from the substrate-binding cavity of the receptor in order to optimize docking experiments on a cloud-based environment. The resulting partition was selected based on three clustering validity criteria, and it was further validated by analyzing the interactions between 20 ligands and a fully flexible receptor (FFR model containing a 20 ns molecular dynamics simulation trajectory. Our proposed methodology shows that taking into account features of the substrate-binding cavity as input for the k-means algorithm is a promising technique for accurately selecting ensembles of representative structures tailored to a specific ligand.

Molecular dynamics in high electric fields

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Apostol, M.; Cune, L.C.

2016-01-01

Highlights: • New method for rotation molecular spectra in high electric fields. • Parametric resonances – new features in spectra. • New elementary excitations in polar solids from dipolar interaction (“dipolons”). • Discussion about a possible origin of the ferroelectricity from dipolar interactions. - Abstract: Molecular rotation spectra, generated by the coupling of the molecular electric-dipole moments to an external time-dependent electric field, are discussed in a few particular conditions which can be of some experimental interest. First, the spherical-pendulum molecular model is reviewed, with the aim of introducing an approximate method which consists in the separation of the azimuthal and zenithal motions. Second, rotation spectra are considered in the presence of a static electric field. Two particular cases are analyzed, corresponding to strong and weak fields. In both cases the classical motion of the dipoles consists of rotations and vibrations about equilibrium positions; this motion may exhibit parametric resonances. For strong fields a large macroscopic electric polarization may appear. This situation may be relevant for polar matter (like pyroelectrics, ferroelectrics), or for heavy impurities embedded in a polar solid. The dipolar interaction is analyzed in polar condensed matter, where it is shown that new polarization modes appear for a spontaneous macroscopic electric polarization (these modes are tentatively called “dipolons”); one of the polarization modes is related to parametric resonances. The extension of these considerations to magnetic dipoles is briefly discussed. The treatment is extended to strong electric fields which oscillate with a high frequency, as those provided by high-power lasers. It is shown that the effect of such fields on molecular dynamics is governed by a much weaker, effective, renormalized, static electric field.

Atomic and Molecular Dynamics on and in Superfluid Helium Nanodroplets

Science.gov (United States)

Lehmann, Kevin K.

2003-03-01

Studies of intramolecular and intermolecular dynamics is at the core of Molecular Spectroscopic research several decades. Gas phase, particularly molecular beam, studies have greatly illuminated these processes in isolated molecules, bimolecular collisions, or small covalent and van der Waals complexes. Parallel to this effort have been studies in condensed phases, but there has unfortunately been little intellectual contact between these. The recent development of Helium Nanodropet Isolation Spectroscopy is providing an intellectual bridge between gas phase and condensed phase spectroscopy. While droplets of 10,000 He atoms are effectively a condensed phase, their low temperature ( 0.4 K) and ultralow heat capacities combined with their superfluid state make them an almost ideal matrix in which to study both molecular dynamics, including solute induced relaxations. The nsec times scales for many of the relaxation events, orders of magnitude slower than in classical liquids, results in spectra with unprecedented resolution for the liquid state. In this talk, studies of the Princeton group will be highlighted, with particular emphasis on those for which a combination of theory and experiment have combined to reveal dynamics in this unique Quantum Fluid.

A molecular dynamics algorithm for simulation of field theories in the canonical ensemble

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kogut, J.B.; Sinclair, D.K.

1986-01-01

We add a single scalar degree of freedom (''demon'') to the microcanonical ensemble which converts its molecular dynamics into a simulation method for the canonical ensemble (euclidean path integral) of the underlying field theory. This generalization of the microcanonical molecular dynamics algorithm simulates the field theory at fixed coupling with a completely deterministic procedure. We discuss the finite size effects of the method, the equipartition theorem and ergodicity. The method is applied to the planar model in two dimensions and SU(3) lattice gauge theory with four species of light, dynamical quarks in four dimensions. The method is much less sensitive to its discrete time step than conventional Langevin equation simulations of the canonical ensemble. The method is a straightforward generalization of a procedure introduced by S. Nose for molecular physics. (orig.)

Stereochemical errors and their implications for molecular dynamics simulations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Freddolino Peter L

2011-05-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Biological molecules are often asymmetric with respect to stereochemistry, and correct stereochemistry is essential to their function. Molecular dynamics simulations of biomolecules have increasingly become an integral part of biophysical research. However, stereochemical errors in biomolecular structures can have a dramatic impact on the results of simulations. Results Here we illustrate the effects that chirality and peptide bond configuration flips may have on the secondary structure of proteins throughout a simulation. We also analyze the most common sources of stereochemical errors in biomolecular structures and present software tools to identify, correct, and prevent stereochemical errors in molecular dynamics simulations of biomolecules. Conclusions Use of the tools presented here should become a standard step in the preparation of biomolecular simulations and in the generation of predicted structural models for proteins and nucleic acids.

Molecular dynamics study of charged dendrimers in salt-free solution : effect of counterions

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Gurtovenko, A.A.; Lyulin, S.V.; Karttunen, M.E.J.; Vattulainen, I.

2006-01-01

Polyamidoamine dendrimers, being protonated under physiological conditions, represent a promising class of nonviral, nanosized vectors for drug and gene delivery. We performed extensive molecular dynamics simulations of a generic model dendrimer in a salt-free solution with dendrimer’s terminal

A fermionic molecular dynamics technique to model nuclear matter

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vantournhout, K.; Jachowicz, N.; Ryckebusch, J.

2009-01-01

Full text: At sub-nuclear densities of about 10 14 g/cm 3 , nuclear matter arranges itself in a variety of complex shapes. This can be the case in the crust of neutron stars and in core-collapse supernovae. These slab like and rod like structures, designated as nuclear pasta, have been modelled with classical molecular dynamics techniques. We present a technique, based on fermionic molecular dynamics, to model nuclear matter at sub-nuclear densities in a semi classical framework. The dynamical evolution of an antisymmetric ground state is described making the assumption of periodic boundary conditions. Adding the concepts of antisymmetry, spin and probability distributions to classical molecular dynamics, brings the dynamical description of nuclear matter to a quantum mechanical level. Applications of this model vary from investigation of macroscopic observables and the equation of state to the study of fundamental interactions on the microscopic structure of the matter. (author)

Dynamical processes in atomic and molecular physics

CERN Document Server

Ogurtsov, Gennadi

2012-01-01

Atomic and molecular physics underlie a basis for our knowledge of fundamental processes in nature and technology and in such applications as solid state physics, chemistry and biology. In recent years, atomic and molecular physics has undergone a revolutionary change due to great achievements in computing and experimental techniques. As a result, it has become possible to obtain information both on atomic and molecular characteristics and on dynamics of atomic and molecular processes. This e-book highlights the present state of investigations in the field of atomic and molecular physics. Rece

Emission spectroscopic studies on dynamics of molecular excitation and dissociation by controlled electron impact

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ogawa, Teiichiro

1986-01-01

Emission spectrum by controlled electron impact has been a successful technique for the investigation of molecular dynamics. (1) Molecular excitation. Aromatic molecules give an optical emission similar to fluorescence. However, as is shown by the vibrational structure and the electron energy dependence of benzene emission, its excitation process is not necessarily optical. Some aliphatic molecules also exhibit an emission band at the ultraviolet region. (2) Molecular dissociation. Analysis of the Doppler profile, the threshold energy, the excitation function and the isotope effect of the atomic emission produced in electron-molecule collisions has clarified the dynamics of the molecular dissociation. Especially the Doppler profile has given the translational energy distribution of the fragment atom, which is very useful to disclose the potential energy curve. Its angular dependence has recently found to allow determination of the symmetry of the intermediate excited state and the magnetic sublevel distribution of the fragment atom. These finding has revealed detailed state-to-state dynamics of the molecular dissociation. (author)

Theory and application of quantum molecular dynamics

CERN Document Server

Zeng Hui Zhang, John

1999-01-01

This book provides a detailed presentation of modern quantum theories for treating the reaction dynamics of small molecular systems. Its main focus is on the recent development of successful quantum dynamics theories and computational methods for studying the molecular reactive scattering process, with specific applications given in detail for a number of benchmark chemical reaction systems in the gas phase and the gas surface. In contrast to traditional books on collision in physics focusing on abstract theory for nonreactive scattering, this book deals with both the development and the appli

Effects of dynamic heterogeneity and density scaling of molecular dynamics on the relationship among thermodynamic coefficients at the glass transition

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Koperwas, K.; Grzybowski, A.; Grzybowska, K.; Wojnarowska, Z.; Paluch, M.

2015-01-01

In this paper, we define and experimentally verify thermodynamic characteristics of the liquid-glass transition, taking into account a kinetic origin of the process. Using the density scaling law and the four-point measure of the dynamic heterogeneity of molecular dynamics of glass forming liquids, we investigate contributions of enthalpy, temperature, and density fluctuations to spatially heterogeneous molecular dynamics at the liquid-glass transition, finding an equation for the pressure coefficient of the glass transition temperature, dTg/dp. This equation combined with our previous formula for dTg/dp, derived solely from the density scaling criterion, implies a relationship among thermodynamic coefficients at Tg. Since this relationship and both the equations for dTg/dp are very well validated using experimental data at Tg, they are promising alternatives to the classical Prigogine-Defay ratio and both the Ehrenfest equations in case of the liquid-glass transition

Effects of dynamic heterogeneity and density scaling of molecular dynamics on the relationship among thermodynamic coefficients at the glass transition

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Koperwas, K., E-mail: kkoperwas@us.edu.pl; Grzybowski, A.; Grzybowska, K.; Wojnarowska, Z.; Paluch, M. [Institute of Physics, University of Silesia, Uniwersytecka 4, 40-007 Katowice (Poland); Silesian Center for Education and Interdisciplinary Research, 75 Pulku Piechoty 1A, 41-500 Chorzow (Poland)

2015-07-14

In this paper, we define and experimentally verify thermodynamic characteristics of the liquid-glass transition, taking into account a kinetic origin of the process. Using the density scaling law and the four-point measure of the dynamic heterogeneity of molecular dynamics of glass forming liquids, we investigate contributions of enthalpy, temperature, and density fluctuations to spatially heterogeneous molecular dynamics at the liquid-glass transition, finding an equation for the pressure coefficient of the glass transition temperature, dTg/dp. This equation combined with our previous formula for dTg/dp, derived solely from the density scaling criterion, implies a relationship among thermodynamic coefficients at Tg. Since this relationship and both the equations for dTg/dp are very well validated using experimental data at Tg, they are promising alternatives to the classical Prigogine-Defay ratio and both the Ehrenfest equations in case of the liquid-glass transition.

Dynamics and Thermodynamics of Molecular Machines

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Golubeva, Natalia

2014-01-01

to their microscopic size, molecular motors are governed by principles fundamentally different from those describing the operation of man-made motors such as car engines. In this dissertation the dynamic and thermodynamic properties of molecular machines are studied using the tools of nonequilibrium statistical......Molecular machines, or molecular motors, are small biophysical devices that perform a variety of essential metabolic processes such as DNA replication, protein synthesis and intracellular transport. Typically, these machines operate by converting chemical energy into motion and mechanical work. Due...... mechanics. The first part focuses on noninteracting molecular machines described by a paradigmatic continuum model with the aim of comparing and contrasting such a description to the one offered by the widely used discrete models. Many molecular motors, for example, kinesin involved in cellular cargo...

Multiple time step integrators in ab initio molecular dynamics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Luehr, Nathan; Martínez, Todd J.; Markland, Thomas E.

2014-01-01

Multiple time-scale algorithms exploit the natural separation of time-scales in chemical systems to greatly accelerate the efficiency of molecular dynamics simulations. Although the utility of these methods in systems where the interactions are described by empirical potentials is now well established, their application to ab initio molecular dynamics calculations has been limited by difficulties associated with splitting the ab initio potential into fast and slowly varying components. Here we present two schemes that enable efficient time-scale separation in ab initio calculations: one based on fragment decomposition and the other on range separation of the Coulomb operator in the electronic Hamiltonian. We demonstrate for both water clusters and a solvated hydroxide ion that multiple time-scale molecular dynamics allows for outer time steps of 2.5 fs, which are as large as those obtained when such schemes are applied to empirical potentials, while still allowing for bonds to be broken and reformed throughout the dynamics. This permits computational speedups of up to 4.4x, compared to standard Born-Oppenheimer ab initio molecular dynamics with a 0.5 fs time step, while maintaining the same energy conservation and accuracy

Molecular dynamics simulation based on the multi-component molecular orbital method: Application to H5O2+,D5O2+,andT5O2+

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ishimoto, Takayoshi; Koyama, Michihisa

2012-01-01

Graphical abstract: Molecular dynamics method based on multi-component molecular orbital method was applied to basic hydrogen bonding systems, H 5 O 2 + , and its isotopomers (D 5 O 2 + andT 5 O 2 + ). Highlights: ► Molecular dynamics method with nuclear quantum effect was developed. ► Multi-component molecular orbital method was used as ab initio MO calculation. ► Developed method applied to basic hydrogen bonding system, H 5 O 2 + , and isotopomers. ► O ⋯ O vibrational stretching reflected to the distribution of protonic wavefunctions. ► H/D/T isotope effect was also analyzed. - Abstract: We propose a molecular dynamics (MD) method based on the multi-component molecular orbital (MC M O) method, which takes into account the quantum effect of proton directly, for the detailed analyses of proton transfer in hydrogen bonding system. The MC M O based MD (MC M O-MD) method is applied to the basic structures, H 5 O 2 + (called “Zundel ion”), and its isotopomers (D 5 O 2 + andT 5 O 2 + ). We clearly demonstrate the geometrical difference of hydrogen bonded O ⋯ O distance induced by H/D/T isotope effect because the O ⋯ O in H-compound was longer than that in D- or T-compound. We also find the strong relation between stretching vibration of O ⋯ O and the distribution of hydrogen bonded protonic wavefunction because the protonic wavefunction tends to delocalize when the O ⋯ O distance becomes short during the dynamics. Our proposed MC M O-MD simulation is expected as a powerful tool to analyze the proton dynamics in hydrogen bonding systems.

Dynamic signature of molecular association in methanol

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bertrand, C. E.; Copley, J. R. D.; Faraone, A.; Self, J. L.

2016-01-01

Quasielastic neutron scattering measurements and molecular dynamics simulations were combined to investigate the collective dynamics of deuterated methanol, CD 3 OD. In the experimentally determined dynamic structure factor, a slow, non-Fickian mode was observed in addition to the standard density-fluctuation heat mode. The simulation results indicate that the slow dynamical process originates from the hydrogen bonding of methanol molecules. The qualitative behavior of this mode is similar to the previously observed α-relaxation in supercooled water [M. C. Bellissent-Funel et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 85, 3644 (2000)] which also originates from the formation and dissolution of hydrogen-bonded associates (supramolecular clusters). In methanol, however, this mode is distinguishable well above the freezing transition. This finding indicates that an emergent slow mode is not unique to supercooled water, but may instead be a general feature of hydrogen-bonding liquids and associating molecular liquids.

Pattern recognition in molecular dynamics. [FORTRAN

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zurek, W H; Schieve, W C [Texas Univ., Austin (USA)

1977-07-01

An algorithm for the recognition of the formation of bound molecular states in the computer simulation of a dilute gas is presented. Applications to various related problems in physics and chemistry are pointed out. Data structure and decision processes are described. Performance of the FORTRAN program based on the algorithm in cooperation with the molecular dynamics program is described and the results are presented.

Classical molecular dynamics simulation of nuclear fuels

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Devanathan, R.; Krack, M.; Bertolus, M.

2015-01-01

Molecular dynamics simulation using forces calculated from empirical potentials, commonly called classical molecular dynamics, is well suited to study primary damage production by irradiation, defect interactions with fission gas atoms, gas bubble nucleation, grain boundary effects on defect and gas bubble evolution in nuclear fuel, and the resulting changes in thermomechanical properties. This enables one to obtain insights into fundamental mechanisms governing the behaviour of nuclear fuel, as well as parameters that can be used as inputs for mesoscale models. The interaction potentials used for the force calculations are generated by fitting properties of interest to experimental data and electronic structure calculations (see Chapter 12). We present here the different types of potentials currently available for UO 2 and illustrations of applications to the description of the behaviour of this material under irradiation. The results obtained from the present generation of potentials for UO 2 are qualitatively similar, but quantitatively different. There is a need to refine these existing potentials to provide a better representation of the performance of polycrystalline fuel under a variety of operating conditions, develop models that are equipped to handle deviations from stoichiometry, and validate the models and assumptions used. (authors)

Molecular dynamics of mesophilic-like mutants of a cold-adapted enzyme: insights into distal effects induced by the mutations.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Elena Papaleo

Full Text Available Networks and clusters of intramolecular interactions, as well as their "communication" across the three-dimensional architecture have a prominent role in determining protein stability and function. Special attention has been dedicated to their role in thermal adaptation. In the present contribution, seven previously experimentally characterized mutants of a cold-adapted α-amylase, featuring mesophilic-like behavior, have been investigated by multiple molecular dynamics simulations, essential dynamics and analyses of correlated motions and electrostatic interactions. Our data elucidate the molecular mechanisms underlying the ability of single and multiple mutations to globally modulate dynamic properties of the cold-adapted α-amylase, including both local and complex unpredictable distal effects. Our investigation also shows, in agreement with the experimental data, that the conversion of the cold-adapted enzyme in a warm-adapted variant cannot be completely achieved by the introduction of few mutations, also providing the rationale behind these effects. Moreover, pivotal residues, which are likely to mediate the effects induced by the mutations, have been identified from our analyses, as well as a group of suitable candidates for protein engineering. In fact, a subset of residues here identified (as an isoleucine, or networks of mesophilic-like salt bridges in the proximity of the catalytic site should be considered, in experimental studies, to get a more efficient modification of the features of the cold-adapted enzyme.

Viscosity calculations at molecular dynamics simulations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kirova, E M; Norman, G E

2015-01-01

Viscosity and diffusion are chosen as an example to demonstrate the universality of diagnostics methods in the molecular dynamics method. To emphasize the universality, three diverse systems are investigated, which differ from each other drastically: liquids with embedded atom method and pairwise interatomic interaction potentials and dusty plasma with a unique multiparametric interparticle interaction potential. Both the Einstein-Helfand and Green-Kubo relations are used. Such a particular process as glass transition is analysed at the simulation of the aluminium melt. The effect of the dust particle charge fluctuation is considered. The results are compared with the experimental data. (paper)

Multiscale equation-free algorithms for molecular dynamics

Science.gov (United States)

Abi Mansour, Andrew

Molecular dynamics is a physics-based computational tool that has been widely employed to study the dynamics and structure of macromolecules and their assemblies at the atomic scale. However, the efficiency of molecular dynamics simulation is limited because of the broad spectrum of timescales involved. To overcome this limitation, an equation-free algorithm is presented for simulating these systems using a multiscale model cast in terms of atomistic and coarse-grained variables. Both variables are evolved in time in such a way that the cross-talk between short and long scales is preserved. In this way, the coarse-grained variables guide the evolution of the atom-resolved states, while the latter provide the Newtonian physics for the former. While the atomistic variables are evolved using short molecular dynamics runs, time advancement at the coarse-grained level is achieved with a scheme that uses information from past and future states of the system while accounting for both the stochastic and deterministic features of the coarse-grained dynamics. To complete the multiscale cycle, an atom-resolved state consistent with the updated coarse-grained variables is recovered using algorithms from mathematical optimization. This multiscale paradigm is extended to nanofluidics using concepts from hydrodynamics, and it is demonstrated for macromolecular and nanofluidic systems. A toolkit is developed for prototyping these algorithms, which are then implemented within the GROMACS simulation package and released as an open source multiscale simulator.

Scalable Molecular Dynamics for Large Biomolecular Systems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Robert K. Brunner

2000-01-01

Full Text Available We present an optimized parallelization scheme for molecular dynamics simulations of large biomolecular systems, implemented in the production-quality molecular dynamics program NAMD. With an object-based hybrid force and spatial decomposition scheme, and an aggressive measurement-based predictive load balancing framework, we have attained speeds and speedups that are much higher than any reported in literature so far. The paper first summarizes the broad methodology we are pursuing, and the basic parallelization scheme we used. It then describes the optimizations that were instrumental in increasing performance, and presents performance results on benchmark simulations.

Memory effects in nonadiabatic molecular dynamics at metal surfaces

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Olsen, Thomas; Schiøtz, Jakob

2010-01-01

We study the effect of temporal correlation in a Langevin equation describing nonadiabatic dynamics at metal surfaces. For a harmonic oscillator, the Langevin equation preserves the quantum dynamics exactly and it is demonstrated that memory effects are needed in order to conserve the ground state...... energy of the oscillator. We then compare the result of Langevin dynamics in a harmonic potential with a perturbative master equation approach and show that the Langevin equation gives a better description in the nonperturbative range of high temperatures and large friction. Unlike the master equation......, this approach is readily extended to anharmonic potentials. Using density functional theory, we calculate representative Langevin trajectories for associative desorption of N-2 from Ru(0001) and find that memory effects lower the dissipation of energy. Finally, we propose an ab initio scheme to calculate...

Molecular stopwatches, cogwheels and ``spinflakes'': studying the dynamics of molecular superrotors

Science.gov (United States)

Korobenko, Aleksey; Milner, Alexander; Hepburn, John; Milner, Valery

2015-05-01

Using the technique of an optical centrifuge, we excite diatomic molecules to ultrafast synchronous rotation. Femtosecond velocity-map imaging allows us to visualize and study the coherent dynamics of molecular superrotors under field free conditions and in external magnetic field. We demonstrate that when the created rotational wave packet is narrow, its free evolution is nondispersing and follows the motion of a classically rotating dumbbell or a hand of the smallest natural stopwatch. For wider rotational distributions, we observe the breakdown of classical rotation, when a dumbbell shape changes to that of a ``quantum cogwheel'' - a molecular state simultaneously aligned along multiple direction. Our measurements in external magnetic field reveal other peculiar aspects of the rich dynamics of molecular superrotors. The rotation of a non-magnetic molecule interacts with the applied field only weakly, giving rise to slow precession of the molecular angular momentum around the field direction. In contrast, the electronic spin of a paramagnetic superrotor mediates this interaction, causing the initial disk-like angular distribution to split into several spatial components, each precessing with its own frequency determined by the spin projection.

Rheology of liquid n-triacontane: Molecular dynamics simulation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kondratyuk, N D; Norman, G E; Stegailov, V V

2016-01-01

Molecular dynamics is applied to calculate diffusion coefficients of n-triacontane C 30 H 62 using Einstein-Smoluchowski and Green-Kubo relations. The displacement 〈Δr 2 〉( t ) has a subdiffusive part 〈Δr 2 〉 ∼ t α , caused by molecular crowding at low temperatures. Longtime asymptotes of 〈v(0)v(t)〉 are collated with the hydrodynamic tail t -3/2 demonstrated for atomic liquids. The influence of these asymptotes on the compliance of Einstein-Smoluchowski and Green-Kubo methods is analyzed. The effects of the force field parameters on the diffusion process are treated. The results are compared with experimental data. (paper)

Friction tensor for a pair of Brownian particles: Spurious finite-size effects and molecular dynamics estimates

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bocquet, L.; Hansen, J.P.; Piasecki, J.

1997-01-01

In this work, we show that in any finite system, the binary friction tenser for two Brownian particles cannot be directly estimated from an evaluation of the microscopic Green Kubo formula, involving the time integral of force-force autocorrelation functions. This pitfall is associated with a subtle inversion of the thermodynamic and long-time limits and leads to spurious results for the estimates of the friction matrix based on molecular dynamics simulations. Starting from a careful analysis of the coupled Langevin equations for two interacting Brownian particles, we derive a method to circumvent these effects and extract the binary friction tenser from the correlation function matrix of the instantaneous forces exerted by the bath particles on the fixed Brownian particles, and from the relaxation of the total momentum of the bath in a finite system. The general methodology is applied to the case of two hard or soft Brownian spheres in a bath of light particles. Numerical estimates of the relevant correlation functions and of the resulting self and mutual components of the matrix of friction tensors are obtained by molecular dynamics simulations for various spacings between the Brownian particles

STICK AND SLIP BEHAVIOR OF CONFINED OLIGOMER MELTS UNDER SHEAR - A MOLECULAR-DYNAMICS STUDY

NARCIS (Netherlands)

MANIAS, E; HADZIIOANNOU, G; BITSANIS, [No Value; TENBRINKE, G

1993-01-01

The flow behaviour of melts of short chains, confined in molecularly thin Couette flow geometries, is studied with molecular-dynamics simulations. The effect of wall attraction and confinement on the density and velocity profiles is analysed. In these highly inhomogeneous films, a strong correlation

Analyzing the Molecular Kinetics of Water Spreading on Hydrophobic Surfaces via Molecular Dynamics Simulation.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhao, Lei; Cheng, Jiangtao

2017-09-07

In this paper, we report molecular kinetic analyses of water spreading on hydrophobic surfaces via molecular dynamics simulation. The hydrophobic surfaces are composed of amorphous polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) with a static contact angle of ~112.4° for water. On the basis of the molecular kinetic theory (MKT), the influences of both viscous damping and solid-liquid retarding were analyzed in evaluating contact line friction, which characterizes the frictional force on the contact line. The unit displacement length on PTFE was estimated to be ~0.621 nm and is ~4 times as long as the bond length of C-C backbone. The static friction coefficient was found to be ~[Formula: see text] Pa·s, which is on the same order of magnitude as the dynamic viscosity of water, and increases with the droplet size. A nondimensional number defined by the ratio of the standard deviation of wetting velocity to the characteristic wetting velocity was put forward to signify the strength of the inherent contact line fluctuation and unveil the mechanism of enhanced energy dissipation in nanoscale, whereas such effect would become insignificant in macroscale. Moreover, regarding a liquid droplet on hydrophobic or superhydrophobic surfaces, an approximate solution to the base radius development was derived by an asymptotic expansion approach.

Statistical Measures to Quantify Similarity between Molecular Dynamics Simulation Trajectories

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jenny Farmer

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Molecular dynamics simulation is commonly employed to explore protein dynamics. Despite the disparate timescales between functional mechanisms and molecular dynamics (MD trajectories, functional differences are often inferred from differences in conformational ensembles between two proteins in structure-function studies that investigate the effect of mutations. A common measure to quantify differences in dynamics is the root mean square fluctuation (RMSF about the average position of residues defined by C α -atoms. Using six MD trajectories describing three native/mutant pairs of beta-lactamase, we make comparisons with additional measures that include Jensen-Shannon, modifications of Kullback-Leibler divergence, and local p-values from 1-sample Kolmogorov-Smirnov tests. These additional measures require knowing a probability density function, which we estimate by using a nonparametric maximum entropy method that quantifies rare events well. The same measures are applied to distance fluctuations between C α -atom pairs. Results from several implementations for quantitative comparison of a pair of MD trajectories are made based on fluctuations for on-residue and residue-residue local dynamics. We conclude that there is almost always a statistically significant difference between pairs of 100 ns all-atom simulations on moderate-sized proteins as evident from extraordinarily low p-values.

Integrating atomistic molecular dynamics simulations, experiments and network analysis to study protein dynamics: strength in unity

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Elena ePapaleo

2015-05-01

Full Text Available In the last years, we have been observing remarkable improvements in the field of protein dynamics. Indeed, we can now study protein dynamics in atomistic details over several timescales with a rich portfolio of experimental and computational techniques. On one side, this provides us with the possibility to validate simulation methods and physical models against a broad range of experimental observables. On the other side, it also allows a complementary and comprehensive view on protein structure and dynamics. What is needed now is a better understanding of the link between the dynamic properties that we observe and the functional properties of these important cellular machines. To make progresses in this direction, we need to improve the physical models used to describe proteins and solvent in molecular dynamics, as well as to strengthen the integration of experiments and simulations to overcome their own limitations. Moreover, now that we have the means to study protein dynamics in great details, we need new tools to understand the information embedded in the protein ensembles and in their dynamic signature. With this aim in mind, we should enrich the current tools for analysis of biomolecular simulations with attention to the effects that can be propagated over long distances and are often associated to important biological functions. In this context, approaches inspired by network analysis can make an important contribution to the analysis of molecular dynamics simulations.

Excited-state molecular photoionization dynamics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pratt, S.T.

1995-01-01

This review presents a survey of work using resonance-enhanced multiphoton ionization and double-resonance techniques to study excited-state photoionization dynamics in molecules. These techniques routinely provide detail and precision that are difficult to achieve in single-photon ionization from the ground state. The review not only emphasizes new aspects of photoionization revealed in the excited-state experiments but also shows how the excited-state techniques can provide textbook illustrations of some fundamental mechanisms in molecular photoionization dynamics. Most of the examples are confined to diatomic molecules. (author)

Symmetry of quantum molecular dynamics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Burenin, A.V.

2002-01-01

The paper reviews the current state-of-art in describing quantum molecular dynamics based on symmetry principles alone. This qualitative approach is of particular interest as the only method currently available for a broad and topical class of problems in the internal dynamics of molecules. Besides, a molecule is a physical system whose collective internal motions are geometrically structured, and its perturbation theory description requires a symmetry analysis of this structure. The nature of the geometrical symmetry groups crucial for the closed formulation of the qualitative approach is discussed [ru

Molecular dynamics modeling of polymer flammability

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nyden, M.R.; Brown, J.E.; Lomakin, S.M.

1992-01-01

Molecular dynamic simulations were used to identify factors which promote char formation during the thermal degradation of polymers. Computer movies based on these simulations, indicate that cross-linked model polymers tend to undergo further cross-linking when burned, eventually forming a high molecular weight, thermally stable char. This paper reports that the prediction was confirmed by char yield measurements made on γ and e - -irradiated polyethylene and chemically cross-linked poly(methyl methacrylate)

Electron-nuclear dynamics of molecular systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Diz, A.; Oehrn, Y.

1994-01-01

The content of an ab initio time-dependent theory of quantum molecular dynamics of electrons and atomic nuclei is presented. Employing the time-dependent variational principle and a family of approximate state vectors yields a set of dynamical equations approximating the time-dependent Schroedinger equation. These equations govern the time evolution of the relevant state vector parameters as molecular orbital coefficients, nuclear positions, and momenta. This approach does not impose the Born-Oppenheimer approximation, does not use potential energy surfaces, and takes into account electron-nuclear coupling. Basic conservation laws are fully obeyed. The simplest model of the theory employs a single determinantal state for the electrons and classical nuclei and is implemented in the computer code ENDyne. Results from this ab-initio theory are reported for ion-atom and ion-molecule collisions

Thermostating extended Lagrangian Born-Oppenheimer molecular dynamics.

Science.gov (United States)

Martínez, Enrique; Cawkwell, Marc J; Voter, Arthur F; Niklasson, Anders M N

2015-04-21

Extended Lagrangian Born-Oppenheimer molecular dynamics is developed and analyzed for applications in canonical (NVT) simulations. Three different approaches are considered: the Nosé and Andersen thermostats and Langevin dynamics. We have tested the temperature distribution under different conditions of self-consistent field (SCF) convergence and time step and compared the results to analytical predictions. We find that the simulations based on the extended Lagrangian Born-Oppenheimer framework provide accurate canonical distributions even under approximate SCF convergence, often requiring only a single diagonalization per time step, whereas regular Born-Oppenheimer formulations exhibit unphysical fluctuations unless a sufficiently high degree of convergence is reached at each time step. The thermostated extended Lagrangian framework thus offers an accurate approach to sample processes in the canonical ensemble at a fraction of the computational cost of regular Born-Oppenheimer molecular dynamics simulations.

Molecular Dynamics: New Frontier in Personalized Medicine.

Science.gov (United States)

Sneha, P; Doss, C George Priya

2016-01-01

The field of drug discovery has witnessed infinite development over the last decade with the demand for discovery of novel efficient lead compounds. Although the development of novel compounds in this field has seen large failure, a breakthrough in this area might be the establishment of personalized medicine. The trend of personalized medicine has shown stupendous growth being a hot topic after the successful completion of Human Genome Project and 1000 genomes pilot project. Genomic variant such as SNPs play a vital role with respect to inter individual's disease susceptibility and drug response. Hence, identification of such genetic variants has to be performed before administration of a drug. This process requires high-end techniques to understand the complexity of the molecules which might bring an insight to understand the compounds at their molecular level. To sustenance this, field of bioinformatics plays a crucial role in revealing the molecular mechanism of the mutation and thereby designing a drug for an individual in fast and affordable manner. High-end computational methods, such as molecular dynamics (MD) simulation has proved to be a constitutive approach to detecting the minor changes associated with an SNP for better understanding of the structural and functional relationship. The parameters used in molecular dynamic simulation elucidate different properties of a macromolecule, such as protein stability and flexibility. MD along with docking analysis can reveal the synergetic effect of an SNP in protein-ligand interaction and provides a foundation for designing a particular drug molecule for an individual. This compelling application of computational power and the advent of other technologies have paved a promising way toward personalized medicine. In this in-depth review, we tried to highlight the different wings of MD toward personalized medicine. © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Dynamics of molecular superrotors in an external magnetic field

Science.gov (United States)

Korobenko, Aleksey; Milner, Valery

2015-08-01

We excite diatomic oxygen and nitrogen to high rotational states with an optical centrifuge and study their dynamics in an external magnetic field. Ion imaging is employed to directly visualize, and follow in time, the rotation plane of the molecular superrotors. The two different mechanisms of interaction between the magnetic field and the molecular angular momentum in paramagnetic oxygen and non-magnetic nitrogen lead to qualitatively different behaviour. In nitrogen, we observe the precession of the molecular angular momentum around the field vector. In oxygen, strong spin-rotation coupling results in faster and richer dynamics, encompassing the splitting of the rotation plane into three separate components. As the centrifuged molecules evolve with no significant dispersion of the molecular wave function, the observed magnetic interaction presents an efficient mechanism for controlling the plane of molecular rotation.

Femtochemistry and femtobiology ultrafast dynamics in molecular science

CERN Document Server

Douhal, Abderrazzak

2002-01-01

This book contains important contributions from top international scientists on the-state-of-the-art of femtochemistry and femtobiology at the beginning of the new millennium. It consists of reviews and papers on ultrafast dynamics in molecular science.The coverage of topics highlights several important features of molecular science from the viewpoint of structure (space domain) and dynamics (time domain). First of all, the book presents the latest developments, such as experimental techniques for understanding ultrafast processes in gas, condensed and complex systems, including biological mol

Effects of single nucleotide polymorphisms on human N-acetyltransferase 2 structure and dynamics by molecular dynamics simulation.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M Rajasekaran

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Arylamine N-acetyltransferase 2 (NAT2 is an important catalytic enzyme that metabolizes the carcinogenic arylamines, hydrazine drugs and chemicals. This enzyme is highly polymorphic in different human populations. Several polymorphisms of NAT2, including the single amino acid substitutions R64Q, I114T, D122N, L137F, Q145P, R197Q, and G286E, are classified as slow acetylators, whereas the wild-type NAT2 is classified as a fast acetylator. The slow acetylators are often associated with drug toxicity and efficacy as well as cancer susceptibility. The biological functions of these 7 mutations have previously been characterized, but the structural basis behind the reduced catalytic activity and reduced protein level is not clear. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We performed multiple molecular dynamics simulations of these mutants as well as NAT2 to investigate the structural and dynamical effects throughout the protein structure, specifically the catalytic triad, cofactor binding site, and the substrate binding pocket. None of these mutations induced unfolding; instead, their effects were confined to the inter-domain, domain 3 and 17-residue insert region, where the flexibility was significantly reduced relative to the wild-type. Structural effects of these mutations propagate through space and cause a change in catalytic triad conformation, cofactor binding site, substrate binding pocket size/shape and electrostatic potential. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Our results showed that the dynamical properties of all the mutant structures, especially in inter-domain, domain 3 and 17-residue insert region were affected in the same manner. Similarly, the electrostatic potential of all the mutants were altered and also the functionally important regions such as catalytic triad, cofactor binding site, and substrate binding pocket adopted different orientation and/or conformation relative to the wild-type that may affect the functions of the mutants

Local density inhomogeneities and dynamics in supercritical water: A molecular dynamics simulation approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Skarmoutsos, Ioannis; Samios, Jannis

2006-11-02

Molecular dynamics atomistic simulations in the canonical ensemble (NVT-MD) have been used to investigate the "Local Density Inhomogeneities and their Dynamics" in pure supercritical water. The simulations were carried out along a near-critical isotherm (Tr = T/Tc = 1.03) and for a wide range of densities below and above the critical one (0.2 rho(c) - 2.0 rho(c)). The results obtained reveal the existence of significant local density augmentation effects, which are found to be sufficiently larger in comparison to those reported for nonassociated fluids. The time evolution of the local density distribution around each molecule was studied in terms of the appropriate time correlation functions C(Delta)rhol(t). It is found that the shape of these functions changes significantly by increasing the density of the fluid. Finally, the local density reorganization times for the first and second coordination shell derived from these correlations exhibit a decreasing behavior by increasing the density of the system, signifying the density effect upon the dynamics of the local environment around each molecule.

Molecular dynamics simulation of ribosome jam

KAUST Repository

Matsumoto, Shigenori; Takagi, Fumiko; Shimada, Takashi; Ito, Nobuyasu

2011-01-01

We propose a coarse-grained molecular dynamics model of ribosome molecules to study the dependence of translation process on environmental parameters. We found the model exhibits traffic jam property, which is consistent with an ASEP model. We

High-temperature annealing of graphite: A molecular dynamics study

Science.gov (United States)

Petersen, Andrew; Gillette, Victor

2018-05-01

A modified AIREBO potential was developed to simulate the effects of thermal annealing on the structure and physical properties of damaged graphite. AIREBO parameter modifications were made to reproduce Density Functional Theory interstitial results. These changes to the potential resulted in high-temperature annealing of the model, as measured by stored-energy reduction. These results show some resemblance to experimental high-temperature annealing results, and show promise that annealing effects in graphite are accessible with molecular dynamics and reactive potentials.

Characterizing dynamic behavior of carbon dioxide nano-jets using molecular dynamics simulation

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Pei-Hsing; Chou, Chuen-Shii; Hung, Shang-Chao; Jhan, Jhih-Wei

2017-12-01

This paper reports on the use of molecular dynamics (MD) simulations to elucidate the dynamic behavior of CO2 through a Graphene/Au(111) nano-injector. We investigated the effects of jet diameter ( d), system temperature ( T), and the extrusion velocity ( v) of a graphite piston plate on the jet pattern, system pressure ( P), and the number of molecules ( N m) in the outflow. Simulation results show that the combined effects of high v and small d induced a larger jet angle, resulting in an increase in the number of CO2 molecules attached to the surface of the outlet. Increasing d enhanced the formation of the T-junction molecular geometry of CO2 molecules, due to the effects of electrostatic attraction between C (0.5888 e) and O (- 0.2944 e) of CO2, which caused the formation of larger agglomerations of CO2 molecules in the vicinity of the nano-injector orifice in the final extrusion stage. The increase in P within the cylinder of the nano-injector was more pronounced during middle and final stages of extrusion, compared with the effects observed during the initial stages. Despite the fact that N m increased noticeably with an increase in T, the value of N m at d = 1.5 nm and T ≥ 300 K greatly exceeded that at d = 1.0 nm and T = 500 K, regardless of the value of v. The numerical simulations presented in this study could be helpful in the design of nano-injectors for a diversity of applications associated with engineering systems and biomedicine at the nano-scale.

Non-periodic molecular dynamics simulations of coarse grained lipid bilayer in water

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kotsalis, E. M.; Hanasaki, I.; Walther, Jens Honore

2010-01-01

We present a multiscale algorithm that couples coarse grained molecular dynamics (CGMD) with continuum solver. The coupling requires the imposition of non-periodic boundary conditions on the coarse grained Molecular Dynamics which, when not properly enforced, may result in spurious fluctuations o...... in simulating more complex systems by performing a non-periodic Molecular Dynamics simulation of a DPPC lipid in liquid coarse grained water.......We present a multiscale algorithm that couples coarse grained molecular dynamics (CGMD) with continuum solver. The coupling requires the imposition of non-periodic boundary conditions on the coarse grained Molecular Dynamics which, when not properly enforced, may result in spurious fluctuations...... of the material properties of the system represented by CGMD. In this paper we extend a control algorithm originally developed for atomistic simulations [3], to conduct simulations involving coarse grained water molecules without periodic boundary conditions. We demonstrate the applicability of our method...

Dynamics of molecular superrotors in an external magnetic field

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Korobenko, Aleksey; Milner, Valery

2015-01-01

We excite diatomic oxygen and nitrogen to high rotational states with an optical centrifuge and study their dynamics in an external magnetic field. Ion imaging is employed to directly visualize, and follow in time, the rotation plane of the molecular superrotors. The two different mechanisms of interaction between the magnetic field and the molecular angular momentum in paramagnetic oxygen and non-magnetic nitrogen lead to qualitatively different behaviour. In nitrogen, we observe the precession of the molecular angular momentum around the field vector. In oxygen, strong spin–rotation coupling results in faster and richer dynamics, encompassing the splitting of the rotation plane into three separate components. As the centrifuged molecules evolve with no significant dispersion of the molecular wave function, the observed magnetic interaction presents an efficient mechanism for controlling the plane of molecular rotation. (paper)

The Development and Comparison of Molecular Dynamics Simulation and Monte Carlo Simulation

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Jundong

2018-03-01

Molecular dynamics is an integrated technology that combines physics, mathematics and chemistry. Molecular dynamics method is a computer simulation experimental method, which is a powerful tool for studying condensed matter system. This technique not only can get the trajectory of the atom, but can also observe the microscopic details of the atomic motion. By studying the numerical integration algorithm in molecular dynamics simulation, we can not only analyze the microstructure, the motion of particles and the image of macroscopic relationship between them and the material, but can also study the relationship between the interaction and the macroscopic properties more conveniently. The Monte Carlo Simulation, similar to the molecular dynamics, is a tool for studying the micro-molecular and particle nature. In this paper, the theoretical background of computer numerical simulation is introduced, and the specific methods of numerical integration are summarized, including Verlet method, Leap-frog method and Velocity Verlet method. At the same time, the method and principle of Monte Carlo Simulation are introduced. Finally, similarities and differences of Monte Carlo Simulation and the molecular dynamics simulation are discussed.

Kinetics from Replica Exchange Molecular Dynamics Simulations.

Science.gov (United States)

Stelzl, Lukas S; Hummer, Gerhard

2017-08-08

Transitions between metastable states govern many fundamental processes in physics, chemistry and biology, from nucleation events in phase transitions to the folding of proteins. The free energy surfaces underlying these processes can be obtained from simulations using enhanced sampling methods. However, their altered dynamics makes kinetic and mechanistic information difficult or impossible to extract. Here, we show that, with replica exchange molecular dynamics (REMD), one can not only sample equilibrium properties but also extract kinetic information. For systems that strictly obey first-order kinetics, the procedure to extract rates is rigorous. For actual molecular systems whose long-time dynamics are captured by kinetic rate models, accurate rate coefficients can be determined from the statistics of the transitions between the metastable states at each replica temperature. We demonstrate the practical applicability of the procedure by constructing master equation (Markov state) models of peptide and RNA folding from REMD simulations.

AceCloud: Molecular Dynamics Simulations in the Cloud.

Science.gov (United States)

Harvey, M J; De Fabritiis, G

2015-05-26

We present AceCloud, an on-demand service for molecular dynamics simulations. AceCloud is designed to facilitate the secure execution of large ensembles of simulations on an external cloud computing service (currently Amazon Web Services). The AceCloud client, integrated into the ACEMD molecular dynamics package, provides an easy-to-use interface that abstracts all aspects of interaction with the cloud services. This gives the user the experience that all simulations are running on their local machine, minimizing the learning curve typically associated with the transition to using high performance computing services.

Isotope effects in lithium hydride and lithium deuteride crystals by molecular dynamics simulations.

Science.gov (United States)

Dammak, Hichem; Antoshchenkova, Ekaterina; Hayoun, Marc; Finocchi, Fabio

2012-10-31

Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations have been carried out to study isotope effects in lithium hydride and lithium deuteride crystals. Quantum effects on nuclear motion have been included through a quantum thermal bath (QTB). The interatomic forces were described either within the density functional theory (DFT) in the generalized gradient approximation (GGA) or by the phenomenological approach using the shell model. For both models, the isotopic shift in the lattice parameter can be successfully predicted by QTB-MD simulations. The slope of the experimental isotopic shift in pressure is satisfactorily reproduced by QTB-MD within DFT-GGA, in contrast to both density functional perturbation theory and QTB-MD with the shell model. We have analyzed the reasons for these discrepancies through the vibrational densities of states and the isotopic shifts in bulk modulus. The results illustrate the importance of anharmonic contributions to vibrations and to the isotopic pressure shift between LiH and LiD.

Classical molecular dynamics simulation of electronically non-adiabatic processes.

Science.gov (United States)

Miller, William H; Cotton, Stephen J

2016-12-22

Both classical and quantum mechanics (as well as hybrids thereof, i.e., semiclassical approaches) find widespread use in simulating dynamical processes in molecular systems. For large chemical systems, however, which involve potential energy surfaces (PES) of general/arbitrary form, it is usually the case that only classical molecular dynamics (MD) approaches are feasible, and their use is thus ubiquitous nowadays, at least for chemical processes involving dynamics on a single PES (i.e., within a single Born-Oppenheimer electronic state). This paper reviews recent developments in an approach which extends standard classical MD methods to the treatment of electronically non-adiabatic processes, i.e., those that involve transitions between different electronic states. The approach treats nuclear and electronic degrees of freedom (DOF) equivalently (i.e., by classical mechanics, thereby retaining the simplicity of standard MD), and provides "quantization" of the electronic states through a symmetrical quasi-classical (SQC) windowing model. The approach is seen to be capable of treating extreme regimes of strong and weak coupling between the electronic states, as well as accurately describing coherence effects in the electronic DOF (including the de-coherence of such effects caused by coupling to the nuclear DOF). A survey of recent applications is presented to illustrate the performance of the approach. Also described is a newly developed variation on the original SQC model (found universally superior to the original) and a general extension of the SQC model to obtain the full electronic density matrix (at no additional cost/complexity).

Levitation effect in zeolites: Quasielastic neutron scattering and molecular dynamics study of pentane isomers in zeolite NaY.

Science.gov (United States)

Borah, Bhaskar J; Jobic, H; Yashonath, S

2010-04-14

We report the quasielastic neutron scattering (QENS) and molecular dynamics (MD) investigations into diffusion of pentane isomers in zeolite NaY. The molecular cross section perpendicular to the long molecular axis varies for the three isomers while the mass and the isomer-zeolite interaction remains essentially unchanged. Both QENS and MD results show that the branched isomers neopentane and isopentane have higher self-diffusivities as compared with n-pentane at 300 K in NaY zeolite. This result provides direct experimental evidence for the existence of nonmonotonic, anomalous dependence of self-diffusivity on molecular diameter known as the levitation effect. The energetic barrier at the bottleneck derived from MD simulations exists for n-pentane which lies in the linear regime while no such barrier is seen for neopentane which is located clearly in the anomalous regime. Activation energy is in the order E(a)(n-pentane)>E(a)(isopentane)>E(a)(neopentane) consistent with the predictions of the levitation effect. In the liquid phase, it is seen that D(n-pentane)>D(isopentane)>D(neopentane) and E(a)(n-pentane)dynamic structure factor shows a near monotonic decrease with wavenumber. For n-pentane a minimum is seen near k=0.5 A(-1) suggesting a slowing down of motion around the 12-ring window, the bottleneck for diffusion. Finally, the result that the branched isomer has a higher diffusivity as compared with the linear analog is at variation from what is normally seen.

Identification of anti-filarial leads against aspartate semialdehyde dehydrogenase of Wolbachia endosymbiont of Brugia malayi: combined molecular docking and molecular dynamics approaches.

Science.gov (United States)

Amala, Mathimaran; Rajamanikandan, Sundaraj; Prabhu, Dhamodharan; Surekha, Kanagarajan; Jeyakanthan, Jeyaraman

2018-02-06

Lymphatic filariasis is a debilitating vector borne parasitic disease that infects human lymphatic system by nematode Brugia malayi. Currently available anti-filarial drugs are effective only on the larval stages of parasite. So far, no effective drugs are available for humans to treat filarial infections. In this regard, aspartate semialdehyde dehydrogenase (ASDase) in lysine biosynthetic pathway from Wolbachia endosymbiont Brugia malayi represents an attractive therapeutic target for the development of novel anti-filarial agents. In this present study, molecular modeling combined with molecular dynamics simulations and structure-based virtual screening were performed to identify potent lead molecules against ASDase. Based on Glide score, toxicity profile, binding affinity and mode of interactions with the ASDase, five potent lead molecules were selected. The molecular docking and dynamics results revealed that the amino acid residues Arg103, Asn133, Cys134, Gln161, Ser164, Lys218, Arg239, His246, and Asn321 plays a crucial role in effective binding of Top leads into the active site of ASDase. The stability of the ASDase-lead complexes was confirmed by running the 30 ns molecular dynamics simulations. The pharmacokinetic properties of the identified lead molecules are in the acceptable range. Furthermore, density functional theory and binding free energy calculations were performed to rank the lead molecules. Thus, the identified lead molecules can be used for the development of anti-filarial agents to combat the pathogenecity of Brugia malayi.

Molecular dynamics simulations of RNA motifs

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Csaszar, K.; Špačková, Naďa; Šponer, Jiří; Leontis, N. B.

2002-01-01

Roč. 223, - (2002), s. 154 ISSN 0065-7727. [Annual Meeting of the American Chemistry Society /223./. 07.04.2002-11.04.2002, Orlando ] Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z5004920 Keywords : molecular dynamics * RNA * hydration Subject RIV: BO - Biophysics

Control of the dynamics of coupled atomic-molecular Bose-Einstein condensates: Modified Gross-Pitaevskii approach

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gupta, Moumita; Dastidar, Krishna Rai

2009-01-01

We study the dynamics of the atomic and molecular Bose-Einstein condensates (BECs) of 87 Rb in a spherically symmetric trap coupled by stimulated Raman photoassociation process. Considering the higher order nonlinearity in the atom-atom interaction we analyze the dynamics of the system using coupled modified Gross-Pitaevskii (MGP) equations and compare it with mean-field coupled Gross-Pitaevskii (GP) dynamics. Considerable differences in the dynamics are obtained in these two approaches at large scattering length, i.e., for large values of peak-gas parameter x pk ≥10 -3 . We show how the dynamics of the coupled system is affected when the atom-molecule and molecule-molecule interactions are considered together with the atom-atom interaction and also when the strengths of these three interactions are increased. The effect of detuning on the efficiency of conversion of atomic fractions into molecules is demonstrated and the feasibility of maximum molecular BEC formation by varying the Raman detuning parameter at different values of time is explored. Thus by varying the Raman detuning and the scattering length for atom-atom interaction one can control the dynamics of the coupled atomic-molecular BEC system. We have also solved coupled Gross-Pitaevskii equations for atomic to molecular condensate formation through magnetic Feshbach resonance in a BEC of 85 Rb. We found similar features for oscillations between atomic and molecular condensates noted in previous theoretical study and obtained fairly good agreement with the evolution of total atomic condensate observed experimentally.

Monte Carlo-molecular dynamics simulations for two-dimensional magnets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kawabata, C.; takeuchi, M.; Bishop, A.R.

1985-01-01

A combined Monte Carlo-molecular dynamics simulation technique is used to study the dynamic structure factor on a square lattice for isotropic Heisenberg and planar classical ferromagnetic spin Hamiltonians

Molecular dynamics and Monte Carlo calculations in statistical mechanics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wood, W.W.; Erpenbeck, J.J.

1976-01-01

Monte Carlo and molecular dynamics calculations on statistical mechanical systems is reviewed giving some of the more significant recent developments. It is noted that the term molecular dynamics refers to the time-averaging technique for hard-core and square-well interactions and for continuous force-law interactions. Ergodic questions, methodology, quantum mechanical, Lorentz, and one-dimensional, hard-core, and square and triangular-well systems, short-range soft potentials, and other systems are included. 268 references

Petascale molecular dynamics simulation using the fast multipole method on K computer

KAUST Repository

Ohno, Yousuke; Yokota, Rio; Koyama, Hiroshi; Morimoto, Gentaro; Hasegawa, Aki; Masumoto, Gen; Okimoto, Noriaki; Hirano, Yoshinori; Ibeid, Huda; Narumi, Tetsu; Taiji, Makoto

2014-01-01

In this paper, we report all-atom simulations of molecular crowding - a result from the full node simulation on the "K computer", which is a 10-PFLOPS supercomputer in Japan. The capability of this machine enables us to perform simulation of crowded cellular environments, which are more realistic compared to conventional MD simulations where proteins are simulated in isolation. Living cells are "crowded" because macromolecules comprise ∼30% of their molecular weight. Recently, the effects of crowded cellular environments on protein stability have been revealed through in-cell NMR spectroscopy. To measure the performance of the "K computer", we performed all-atom classical molecular dynamics simulations of two systems: target proteins in a solvent, and target proteins in an environment of molecular crowders that mimic the conditions of a living cell. Using the full system, we achieved 4.4 PFLOPS during a 520 million-atom simulation with cutoff of 28 Å. Furthermore, we discuss the performance and scaling of fast multipole methods for molecular dynamics simulations on the "K computer", as well as comparisons with Ewald summation methods. © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Petascale molecular dynamics simulation using the fast multipole method on K computer

KAUST Repository

Ohno, Yousuke

2014-10-01

In this paper, we report all-atom simulations of molecular crowding - a result from the full node simulation on the "K computer", which is a 10-PFLOPS supercomputer in Japan. The capability of this machine enables us to perform simulation of crowded cellular environments, which are more realistic compared to conventional MD simulations where proteins are simulated in isolation. Living cells are "crowded" because macromolecules comprise ∼30% of their molecular weight. Recently, the effects of crowded cellular environments on protein stability have been revealed through in-cell NMR spectroscopy. To measure the performance of the "K computer", we performed all-atom classical molecular dynamics simulations of two systems: target proteins in a solvent, and target proteins in an environment of molecular crowders that mimic the conditions of a living cell. Using the full system, we achieved 4.4 PFLOPS during a 520 million-atom simulation with cutoff of 28 Å. Furthermore, we discuss the performance and scaling of fast multipole methods for molecular dynamics simulations on the "K computer", as well as comparisons with Ewald summation methods. © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

On the Da Vinci size effect in tensile strengths of nanowires: A molecular dynamics study

Science.gov (United States)

Zhao, Ziyu; Liu, Jinxing; Soh, Ai Kah

2018-01-01

In recent decades, size effects caused by grain size, strain gradient, typical defects etc., have been widely investigated. Nevertheless, the dependence of tensile strength on the specimen length, addressed by Da Vinci around 500 hundred years ago, has received rather limited attention, even though it is one unavoidable question to answer if people attempt to bring materials' amazing nano-scale strengths up to macro-level. Therefore, we make efforts to study tensile behaviors of copper nanowires with a common cross-section and various lengths by employing the molecular dynamics simulations. Surprisingly, a strong size effect of Da Vinci type indeed arises. We have shown the influences of lattice orientation, temperature and prescribed notch on such a Da Vinci size effect. Two different theoretical explanations are briefly proposed for a qualitative understanding. Finally, a simple scaling rule is summarized to cover the tendencies observed.

Molecular Dynamics Simulations of Poly(dimethylsiloxane) Properties

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Fojtíková, J.; Kalvoda, L.; Sedlák, Petr

2015-01-01

Roč. 128, č. 4 (2015), s. 637-639 ISSN 0587-4246 R&D Projects: GA ČR GB14-36566G Institutional support: RVO:61388998 Keywords : molecular dynamics * poly(dimethylsiloxane) * dissipative particle dynamics Subject RIV: BM - Solid Matter Physics ; Magnetism Impact factor: 0.525, year: 2015 http://przyrbwn.icm.edu.pl/APP/PDF/128/a128z4p40.pdf

Nanotribology investigations with classical molecular dynamics

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Solhjoo, Soheil

2017-01-01

This thesis presents a number of nanotribological problems investigated by means of classical molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, within the context of the applicability of continuum mechanics contact theories at the atomic scale. Along these lines, three different themes can be recognized herein:

Gas-Phase Molecular Dynamics: Theoretical Studies in Spectroscopy and Chemical Dynamics

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yu, H.G.; Muckerman, J.T.

2010-06-01

The goal of this program is the development and application of computational methods for studying chemical reaction dynamics and molecular spectroscopy in the gas phase. We are interested in developing rigorous quantum dynamics algorithms for small polyatomic systems and in implementing approximate approaches for complex ones. Particular focus is on the dynamics and kinetics of chemical reactions and on the rovibrational spectra of species involved in combustion processes. This research also explores the potential energy surfaces of these systems of interest using state-of-the-art quantum chemistry methods.

A Force Balanced Fragmentation Method for ab Initio Molecular Dynamic Simulation of Protein

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mingyuan Xu

2018-05-01

Full Text Available A force balanced generalized molecular fractionation with conjugate caps (FB-GMFCC method is proposed for ab initio molecular dynamic simulation of proteins. In this approach, the energy of the protein is computed by a linear combination of the QM energies of individual residues and molecular fragments that account for the two-body interaction of hydrogen bond between backbone peptides. The atomic forces on the caped H atoms were corrected to conserve the total force of the protein. Using this approach, ab initio molecular dynamic simulation of an Ace-(ALA9-NME linear peptide showed the conservation of the total energy of the system throughout the simulation. Further a more robust 110 ps ab initio molecular dynamic simulation was performed for a protein with 56 residues and 862 atoms in explicit water. Compared with the classical force field, the ab initio molecular dynamic simulations gave better description of the geometry of peptide bonds. Although further development is still needed, the current approach is highly efficient, trivially parallel, and can be applied to ab initio molecular dynamic simulation study of large proteins.

Multiple time step molecular dynamics in the optimized isokinetic ensemble steered with the molecular theory of solvation: Accelerating with advanced extrapolation of effective solvation forces

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Omelyan, Igor; Kovalenko, Andriy

2013-01-01

We develop efficient handling of solvation forces in the multiscale method of multiple time step molecular dynamics (MTS-MD) of a biomolecule steered by the solvation free energy (effective solvation forces) obtained from the 3D-RISM-KH molecular theory of solvation (three-dimensional reference interaction site model complemented with the Kovalenko-Hirata closure approximation). To reduce the computational expenses, we calculate the effective solvation forces acting on the biomolecule by using advanced solvation force extrapolation (ASFE) at inner time steps while converging the 3D-RISM-KH integral equations only at large outer time steps. The idea of ASFE consists in developing a discrete non-Eckart rotational transformation of atomic coordinates that minimizes the distances between the atomic positions of the biomolecule at different time moments. The effective solvation forces for the biomolecule in a current conformation at an inner time step are then extrapolated in the transformed subspace of those at outer time steps by using a modified least square fit approach applied to a relatively small number of the best force-coordinate pairs. The latter are selected from an extended set collecting the effective solvation forces obtained from 3D-RISM-KH at outer time steps over a broad time interval. The MTS-MD integration with effective solvation forces obtained by converging 3D-RISM-KH at outer time steps and applying ASFE at inner time steps is stabilized by employing the optimized isokinetic Nosé-Hoover chain (OIN) ensemble. Compared to the previous extrapolation schemes used in combination with the Langevin thermostat, the ASFE approach substantially improves the accuracy of evaluation of effective solvation forces and in combination with the OIN thermostat enables a dramatic increase of outer time steps. We demonstrate on a fully flexible model of alanine dipeptide in aqueous solution that the MTS-MD/OIN/ASFE/3D-RISM-KH multiscale method of molecular dynamics

Energy conserving, linear scaling Born-Oppenheimer molecular dynamics.

Science.gov (United States)

Cawkwell, M J; Niklasson, Anders M N

2012-10-07

Born-Oppenheimer molecular dynamics simulations with long-term conservation of the total energy and a computational cost that scales linearly with system size have been obtained simultaneously. Linear scaling with a low pre-factor is achieved using density matrix purification with sparse matrix algebra and a numerical threshold on matrix elements. The extended Lagrangian Born-Oppenheimer molecular dynamics formalism [A. M. N. Niklasson, Phys. Rev. Lett. 100, 123004 (2008)] yields microcanonical trajectories with the approximate forces obtained from the linear scaling method that exhibit no systematic drift over hundreds of picoseconds and which are indistinguishable from trajectories computed using exact forces.

Calcium ions in aqueous solutions: Accurate force field description aided by ab initio molecular dynamics and neutron scattering

Science.gov (United States)

Martinek, Tomas; Duboué-Dijon, Elise; Timr, Štěpán; Mason, Philip E.; Baxová, Katarina; Fischer, Henry E.; Schmidt, Burkhard; Pluhařová, Eva; Jungwirth, Pavel

2018-06-01

We present a combination of force field and ab initio molecular dynamics simulations together with neutron scattering experiments with isotopic substitution that aim at characterizing ion hydration and pairing in aqueous calcium chloride and formate/acetate solutions. Benchmarking against neutron scattering data on concentrated solutions together with ion pairing free energy profiles from ab initio molecular dynamics allows us to develop an accurate calcium force field which accounts in a mean-field way for electronic polarization effects via charge rescaling. This refined calcium parameterization is directly usable for standard molecular dynamics simulations of processes involving this key biological signaling ion.

Machine learning molecular dynamics for the simulation of infrared spectra.

Science.gov (United States)

Gastegger, Michael; Behler, Jörg; Marquetand, Philipp

2017-10-01

Machine learning has emerged as an invaluable tool in many research areas. In the present work, we harness this power to predict highly accurate molecular infrared spectra with unprecedented computational efficiency. To account for vibrational anharmonic and dynamical effects - typically neglected by conventional quantum chemistry approaches - we base our machine learning strategy on ab initio molecular dynamics simulations. While these simulations are usually extremely time consuming even for small molecules, we overcome these limitations by leveraging the power of a variety of machine learning techniques, not only accelerating simulations by several orders of magnitude, but also greatly extending the size of systems that can be treated. To this end, we develop a molecular dipole moment model based on environment dependent neural network charges and combine it with the neural network potential approach of Behler and Parrinello. Contrary to the prevalent big data philosophy, we are able to obtain very accurate machine learning models for the prediction of infrared spectra based on only a few hundreds of electronic structure reference points. This is made possible through the use of molecular forces during neural network potential training and the introduction of a fully automated sampling scheme. We demonstrate the power of our machine learning approach by applying it to model the infrared spectra of a methanol molecule, n -alkanes containing up to 200 atoms and the protonated alanine tripeptide, which at the same time represents the first application of machine learning techniques to simulate the dynamics of a peptide. In all of these case studies we find an excellent agreement between the infrared spectra predicted via machine learning models and the respective theoretical and experimental spectra.

Electroporation of Skin Stratum Corneum Lipid Bilayer and Molecular Mechanism of Drug Transport: A Molecular Dynamics Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Gupta, Rakesh; Rai, Beena

2018-04-30

Skin electroporation has been used significantly to increase the drug permeation. However, molecular mechanism, which resulted in enhancement of flux through skin, is still not known. In this study, extensive atomistic molecular dynamics simulation of skin lipids (made up of ceramide (CER), cholesterol (CHOL) and free fatty acid (FFA)) have been performed at various external electric field. We show for the first time the pore formation in the skin lipid bilayer during the electroporation. We show the effect of applied external electrical field on the pore formation dynamics in lipid bilayer of different size and composition. The pore formation and resealing kinetics were different and was found to be highly dependent on the composition of skin lipid bilayer. The pore formation time decreased with increase in the bilayer size. The pore sustaining electric field was found to be in the range of 0.20-0.25 V/nm for equimolar CER, CHOL and FFA lipid bilayer. The skin lipid bilayer (1:1:1), sealed itself within 20 ns after the removal of external electric field. We also present the molecular mechanism of enhancement of drug permeation in the presence of external field as compared to the passive diffusion. The molecular level understanding obtained here could help in optimizing/designing the electroporation experiments for effective drug delivery. For a given skin composition and size of drug molecule, the combination of pore formation time and pore growth model can be used to know aproiri the desired electric field and time for application of electric field.

Modeling ramp compression experiments using large-scale molecular dynamics simulation.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mattsson, Thomas Kjell Rene; Desjarlais, Michael Paul; Grest, Gary Stephen; Templeton, Jeremy Alan; Thompson, Aidan Patrick; Jones, Reese E.; Zimmerman, Jonathan A.; Baskes, Michael I. (University of California, San Diego); Winey, J. Michael (Washington State University); Gupta, Yogendra Mohan (Washington State University); Lane, J. Matthew D.; Ditmire, Todd (University of Texas at Austin); Quevedo, Hernan J. (University of Texas at Austin)

2011-10-01

Molecular dynamics simulation (MD) is an invaluable tool for studying problems sensitive to atomscale physics such as structural transitions, discontinuous interfaces, non-equilibrium dynamics, and elastic-plastic deformation. In order to apply this method to modeling of ramp-compression experiments, several challenges must be overcome: accuracy of interatomic potentials, length- and time-scales, and extraction of continuum quantities. We have completed a 3 year LDRD project with the goal of developing molecular dynamics simulation capabilities for modeling the response of materials to ramp compression. The techniques we have developed fall in to three categories (i) molecular dynamics methods (ii) interatomic potentials (iii) calculation of continuum variables. Highlights include the development of an accurate interatomic potential describing shock-melting of Beryllium, a scaling technique for modeling slow ramp compression experiments using fast ramp MD simulations, and a technique for extracting plastic strain from MD simulations. All of these methods have been implemented in Sandia's LAMMPS MD code, ensuring their widespread availability to dynamic materials research at Sandia and elsewhere.

Charge-dependent conformations and dynamics of pamam dendrimers revealed by neutron scattering and molecular dynamics

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Bin

, at neutral condition, the exterior residues folding back into interior would necessarily lead to higher entropy and equivalently lower free energy and thereby is energetically favored. As one decreases the pH condition of PAMAM dendrimers, the constituent residues would carry positive charges. The resultant inter-residue Coulomb repulsion would naturally result in conformational evolution. We found from CVSANS analysis that when dendrimers are charged by different acids, this conformational evolution is not the same. For dendrimers charged by DCl, the mass is seen to relocate from molecular interior to periphery. Nevertheless, those acidified by D 2SO4 exhibit surprisingly minor structural change under variation of molecular charge. To explain the above observation, we performed MD simulations and calculated the excess free energy of Cl- and SO 42- counterions. The binding between sulfate ions and charged amines of PAMAM dendrimers are found to be much stronger than the case for chlorides. This more energetic binding would serve as better screening effect among charged residues. Consequently, electrostatic repulsion triggered outstretching tendency is effectively diminished. In order to make direct comparison between MD simulations and neutron scattering experiments, we proposed and implemented a rigorous method, which incorporates the contribution from those invasive water molecules, to calculate scattering functions of a single PAMAM dendrimer using equilibrium MD trajectories. The bridge between neutron scattering experiments and MD simulation is successfully established. Aside from structural comparisons between MD simulations and experiments, we utilized MD simulation to decipher the previously reported QENS experimental observation that the segmental dynamics of PAMAM dendrimer would enhance with increasing molecular charge. We pursued the mechanism from the perspective of hydrocarbon component of dendrimer and solvent (water) interaction as a form similar to

An improved molecular dynamics algorithm to study thermodiffusion in binary hydrocarbon mixtures

Science.gov (United States)

Antoun, Sylvie; Saghir, M. Ziad; Srinivasan, Seshasai

2018-03-01

In multicomponent liquid mixtures, the diffusion flow of chemical species can be induced by temperature gradients, which leads to a separation of the constituent components. This cross effect between temperature and concentration is known as thermodiffusion or the Ludwig-Soret effect. The performance of boundary driven non-equilibrium molecular dynamics along with the enhanced heat exchange (eHEX) algorithm was studied by assessing the thermodiffusion process in n-pentane/n-decane (nC5-nC10) binary mixtures. The eHEX algorithm consists of an extended version of the HEX algorithm with an improved energy conservation property. In addition to this, the transferable potentials for phase equilibria-united atom force field were employed in all molecular dynamics (MD) simulations to precisely model the molecular interactions in the fluid. The Soret coefficients of the n-pentane/n-decane (nC5-nC10) mixture for three different compositions (at 300.15 K and 0.1 MPa) were calculated and compared with the experimental data and other MD results available in the literature. Results of our newly employed MD algorithm showed great agreement with experimental data and a better accuracy compared to other MD procedures.

A Coupling Tool for Parallel Molecular Dynamics-Continuum Simulations

KAUST Repository

Neumann, Philipp; Tchipev, Nikola

2012-01-01

We present a tool for coupling Molecular Dynamics and continuum solvers. It is written in C++ and is meant to support the developers of hybrid molecular - continuum simulations in terms of both realisation of the respective coupling algorithm

Evaluation of uranium dioxide thermal conductivity using molecular dynamics simulations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Woongkee; Kaviany, Massoud; Shim, J. H.

2014-01-01

It can be extended to larger space, time scale and even real reactor situation with fission product as multi-scale formalism. Uranium dioxide is a fluorite structure with Fm3m space group. Since it is insulator, dominant heat carrier is phonon, rather than electrons. So, using equilibrium molecular dynamics (MD) simulation, we present the appropriate calculation parameters in MD simulation by calculating thermal conductivity and application of it to the thermal conductivity of polycrystal. In this work, we investigate thermal conductivity of uranium dioxide and optimize the parameters related to its process. In this process, called Green Kubo formula, there are two parameters i.e correlation length and sampling interval, which effect on ensemble integration in order to obtain thermal conductivity. Through several comparisons, long correlation length and short sampling interval give better results. Using this strategy, thermal conductivity of poly crystal is obtained and comparison with that of pure crystal is made. Thermal conductivity of poly crystal show lower value that that of pure crystal. In further study, we broaden the study to transport coefficient of radiation damaged structures using molecular dynamics. Although molecular dynamics is tools for treating microscopic scale, most macroscopic issues related to nuclear materials such as voids in fuel materials and weakened mechanical properties by radiation are based on microscopic basis. Thus, research on microscopic scale would be expanded in this field and many hidden mechanism in atomic scales will be revealed via both atomic scale simulations and experiments

First-Principles Molecular Dynamics Study on Helium- filled Carbon Nanotube

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Agusta, M K; Prasetiyo, I; Saputro, A G; Dipojono, H K; Maezono, R

2016-01-01

Investigation on carbon nanotube (CNT) filled by Helium (He) atoms is conducted using Density Functional Theory and Molecular Dynamics Simulation. It reveals that He atom is repelled by CNT's wall and find its stable position at the tube center. Vibrational analysis on modes corespond to radial inward and outward breathing movement of CNT shows that He filling tends to pull the CNT wall in inward direction. Furthermore, examination on C-C stretch mode reveals that the existence of He improve the stiffness of CNT's wall. Molecular dynamics calculations which are done on (3,3) and (5,5) nanotube with 0.25 gr/cm 3 and 0.5 gr/cm 3 He density at 300 K and 1500 K confirms the increase of stiffness of CNT wall by interaction with He atoms. Effects of variation of chirality, temperature and He density on CNT wall stiffness is also reported. (paper)

Molecular Dynamics Study of Water Molecules in Interlayer of 14 ^|^Aring; Tobermorite

KAUST Repository

Yoon, Seyoon; Monteiro, Paulo J.M.

2013-01-01

The molecular structure and dynamics of interlayer water of 14 Å tobermorite are investigated based on molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. Calculated structural parameters of the interlayer water configuration are in good agreement with current

Molecular dynamics studies and quantification of the effect of chirality on the formation of liquid crystal mesophases

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Solymosi, Miklos

2002-01-01

Results are presented from theoretical studies and from a series of molecular dynamics simulations undertaken to quantify the effect of chirality on the formation of liquid crystal mesophases. In the theoretical studies we have proposed a scaled chiral index with a formulation which allows comparison to be made between molecules comprising different numbers of atoms. We have undertaken chirality calculations utilizing the proposed scaled chiral index, G 0S , for one optimized static molecular geometry for a range of liquid crystal chiral dopants and ferroelectric liquid crystal molecules. The scaled chiral index, G 0S , allows a rapid calculation to be made of a pseudoscalar quantity which shows a good correlation with the helical twisting power of liquid crystal chiral dopants in a nematic liquid crystal solvent. This could prove a powerful aid in the design of novel dopant molecules where the dopant is rigid and the helical twisting is predominantly a steric effect. The same scaled chirality index, G 0S , calculation for ferroelectric liquid crystal molecules hints at an inverse correlation with spontaneous polarization agreeing with some experimental results. The scaled chiral index is a chemically useful index that can also be decomposed into atomic or functional group contributions, thereby creating a new measure of the asymmetric potential of functional groups and their different possible substitution positions. In the molecular dynamics simulation studies we have investigated two three-site Gay-Berne models, one chiral and the other achiral, each with a rotated central site forming a zigzag shape. In the chiral model one of the end site was additionally rotated out of the plane of the other two sites by a chiral angle θ c . Results from the achiral phase simulations support the theory that steric molecular shape can be associated with a driving force that leads to the smectic A - smectic C phase transition since such a transition was observed in the achiral

Molecular Dynamics Simulations of Kinetic Models for Chiral Dominance in Soft Condensed Matter

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Toxvaerd, Søren

2001-01-01

Molecular dynamics simulation, models for isomerization kinetics, origin of biomolecular chirality......Molecular dynamics simulation, models for isomerization kinetics, origin of biomolecular chirality...

molecular dynamics simulations and quantum chemical calculations

African Journals Online (AJOL)

ABSTRACT. The molecular dynamic (MD) simulation and quantum chemical calculations for the adsorption of [2-(2-Henicos-10- .... electronic properties of molecule clusters, surfaces and ... The local reactivity was analyzed by determining the.

DGR, GGR; molecular dynamical codes for simulating radiation damages in diamond and graphite crystals

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Taji, Yukichi

1984-06-01

Development has been made of molecular dynamical codes DGR and GGR to simulate radiation damages yielded in the diamond and graphite structure crystals, respectively. Though the usual molecular dynamical codes deal only with the central forces as the mutual interactions between atoms, the present codes can take account of noncentral forces to represent the effect of the covalent bonds characteristic of diamond or graphite crystals. It is shown that lattice defects yielded in these crystals are stable by themselves in the present method without any supports of virtual surface forces set on the crystallite surfaces. By this effect the behavior of lattice defects has become possible to be simulated in a more realistic manner. Some examples of the simulation with these codes are shown. (author)

Invariant molecular-dynamics approach to structural phase transitions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wentzcovitch, R.M.

1991-01-01

Two fictitious Lagrangians to be used in molecular-dynamics simulations with variable cell shape and suitable to study problems like structural phase transitions are introduced. Because they are invariant with respect to the choice of the simulation cell edges and eliminate symmetry breaking associated with the fictitious part of the dynamics, they improve the physical content of numerical simulations that up to now have been done by using Parrinello-Rahman dynamics

Extended Lagrangian Density Functional Tight-Binding Molecular Dynamics for Molecules and Solids

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Aradi, Balint; Frauenheim, Thomas

2015-01-01

A computationally fast quantum mechanical molecular dynamics scheme using an extended Lagrangian density functional tight-binding formulation has been developed and implemented in the DFTB+ electronic structure program package for simulations of solids and molecular systems. The scheme combines the computational speed of self-consistent density functional tight-binding theory with the efficiency and long-term accuracy of extended Lagrangian Born-Oppenheimer molecular dynamics. Furthermore, for systems without self-consistent charge instabilities, only a single diagonalization or construction of the single-particle density matrix is required in each time step. The molecular dynamics simulation scheme can also be applied to a broad range of problems in materials science, chemistry, and biology

Easy GROMACS: A Graphical User Interface for GROMACS Molecular Dynamics Simulation Package

Science.gov (United States)

Dizkirici, Ayten; Tekpinar, Mustafa

2015-03-01

GROMACS is a widely used molecular dynamics simulation package. Since it is a command driven program, it is difficult to use this program for molecular biologists, biochemists, new graduate students and undergraduate researchers who are interested in molecular dynamics simulations. To alleviate the problem for those researchers, we wrote a graphical user interface that simplifies protein preparation for a classical molecular dynamics simulation. Our program can work with various GROMACS versions and it can perform essential analyses of GROMACS trajectories as well as protein preparation. We named our open source program `Easy GROMACS'. Easy GROMACS can give researchers more time for scientific research instead of dealing with technical intricacies.

Extended Lagrangian Density Functional Tight-Binding Molecular Dynamics for Molecules and Solids.

Science.gov (United States)

Aradi, Bálint; Niklasson, Anders M N; Frauenheim, Thomas

2015-07-14

A computationally fast quantum mechanical molecular dynamics scheme using an extended Lagrangian density functional tight-binding formulation has been developed and implemented in the DFTB+ electronic structure program package for simulations of solids and molecular systems. The scheme combines the computational speed of self-consistent density functional tight-binding theory with the efficiency and long-term accuracy of extended Lagrangian Born-Oppenheimer molecular dynamics. For systems without self-consistent charge instabilities, only a single diagonalization or construction of the single-particle density matrix is required in each time step. The molecular dynamics simulation scheme can be applied to a broad range of problems in materials science, chemistry, and biology.

NMR investigations of molecular dynamics

Science.gov (United States)

Palmer, Arthur

2011-03-01

NMR spectroscopy is a powerful experimental approach for characterizing protein conformational dynamics on multiple time scales. The insights obtained from NMR studies are complemented and by molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, which provide full atomistic details of protein dynamics. Homologous mesophilic (E. coli) and thermophilic (T. thermophilus) ribonuclease H (RNase H) enzymes serve to illustrate how changes in protein sequence and structure that affect conformational dynamic processes can be monitored and characterized by joint analysis of NMR spectroscopy and MD simulations. A Gly residue inserted within a putative hinge between helices B and C is conserved among thermophilic RNases H, but absent in mesophilic RNases H. Experimental spin relaxation measurements show that the dynamic properties of T. thermophilus RNase H are recapitulated in E. coli RNase H by insertion of a Gly residue between helices B and C. Additional specific intramolecular interactions that modulate backbone and sidechain dynamical properties of the Gly-rich loop and of the conserved Trp residue flanking the Gly insertion site have been identified using MD simulations and subsequently confirmed by NMR spin relaxation measurements. These results emphasize the importance of hydrogen bonds and local steric interactions in restricting conformational fluctuations, and the absence of such interactions in allowing conformational adaptation to substrate binding.

On the Da Vinci size effect in tensile strengths of nanowires: A molecular dynamics study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ziyu Zhao

2018-01-01

Full Text Available In recent decades, size effects caused by grain size, strain gradient, typical defects etc., have been widely investigated. Nevertheless, the dependence of tensile strength on the specimen length, addressed by Da Vinci around 500 hundred years ago, has received rather limited attention, even though it is one unavoidable question to answer if people attempt to bring materials’ amazing nano-scale strengths up to macro-level. Therefore, we make efforts to study tensile behaviors of copper nanowires with a common cross-section and various lengths by employing the molecular dynamics simulations. Surprisingly, a strong size effect of Da Vinci type indeed arises. We have shown the influences of lattice orientation, temperature and prescribed notch on such a Da Vinci size effect. Two different theoretical explanations are briefly proposed for a qualitative understanding. Finally, a simple scaling rule is summarized to cover the tendencies observed.

Molecular dynamics modeling and simulation of void growth in two dimensions

Science.gov (United States)

Chang, H.-J.; Segurado, J.; Rodríguez de la Fuente, O.; Pabón, B. M.; LLorca, J.

2013-10-01

The mechanisms of growth of a circular void by plastic deformation were studied by means of molecular dynamics in two dimensions (2D). While previous molecular dynamics (MD) simulations in three dimensions (3D) have been limited to small voids (up to ≈10 nm in radius), this strategy allows us to study the behavior of voids of up to 100 nm in radius. MD simulations showed that plastic deformation was triggered by the nucleation of dislocations at the atomic steps of the void surface in the whole range of void sizes studied. The yield stress, defined as stress necessary to nucleate stable dislocations, decreased with temperature, but the void growth rate was not very sensitive to this parameter. Simulations under uniaxial tension, uniaxial deformation and biaxial deformation showed that the void growth rate increased very rapidly with multiaxiality but it did not depend on the initial void radius. These results were compared with previous 3D MD and 2D dislocation dynamics simulations to establish a map of mechanisms and size effects for plastic void growth in crystalline solids.

Molecular dynamics modeling and simulation of void growth in two dimensions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chang, H-J; Segurado, J; LLorca, J; Rodríguez de la Fuente, O; Pabón, B M

2013-01-01

The mechanisms of growth of a circular void by plastic deformation were studied by means of molecular dynamics in two dimensions (2D). While previous molecular dynamics (MD) simulations in three dimensions (3D) have been limited to small voids (up to ≈10 nm in radius), this strategy allows us to study the behavior of voids of up to 100 nm in radius. MD simulations showed that plastic deformation was triggered by the nucleation of dislocations at the atomic steps of the void surface in the whole range of void sizes studied. The yield stress, defined as stress necessary to nucleate stable dislocations, decreased with temperature, but the void growth rate was not very sensitive to this parameter. Simulations under uniaxial tension, uniaxial deformation and biaxial deformation showed that the void growth rate increased very rapidly with multiaxiality but it did not depend on the initial void radius. These results were compared with previous 3D MD and 2D dislocation dynamics simulations to establish a map of mechanisms and size effects for plastic void growth in crystalline solids. (paper)

Ab initio molecular dynamics: basic concepts, current trends and novel applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tuckerman, Mark E

2002-01-01

The field of ab initio molecular dynamics (AIMD), in which finite temperature molecular dynamics (MD) trajectories are generated with forces obtained from accurate 'on the fly' electronic structure calculations, is a rapidly evolving and growing technology that allows chemical processes in condensed phases to be studied in an accurate and unbiased way. This article is intended to present the basics of the AIMD method as well as to provide a broad survey of the state of the art of the field and showcase some of its capabilities. Beginning with a derivation of the method from the Born-Oppenheimer approximation, issues including the density functional representation of electronic structure, basis sets, calculation of observables and the Car-Parrinello extended Lagrangian algorithm are discussed. A number of example applications, including liquid structure and dynamics and aqueous proton transport, are presented in order to highlight some of the current capabilities of the approach. Finally, advanced topics such as inclusion of nuclear quantum effects, excited states and scaling issues are addressed. (topical review)

A review of molecular effects in gas-phase KL X-ray emission

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Guillemin, Renaud; Carniato, Stéphane; Journel, Loïc [UPMC Univ Paris 06, UMR 7614, Laboratoire de Chimie Physique Matière et Rayonnement, F-75005 Paris (France); CNRS, UMR 7614, Laboratoire de Chimie Physique Matière et Rayonnement, F-75005 Paris (France); Stolte, Wayne C. [Department of Chemistry, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, NV 89154-4003 (United States); Marchenko, Tatiana; Khoury, Lara El; Kawerk, Elie; Piancastelli, Maria Novella [UPMC Univ Paris 06, UMR 7614, Laboratoire de Chimie Physique Matière et Rayonnement, F-75005 Paris (France); CNRS, UMR 7614, Laboratoire de Chimie Physique Matière et Rayonnement, F-75005 Paris (France); Hudson, Amanda C.; Lindle, Dennis W. [Department of Chemistry, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, NV 89154-4003 (United States); Simon, Marc, E-mail: marc.simon@upmc.fr [UPMC Univ Paris 06, UMR 7614, Laboratoire de Chimie Physique Matière et Rayonnement, F-75005 Paris (France); CNRS, UMR 7614, Laboratoire de Chimie Physique Matière et Rayonnement, F-75005 Paris (France)

2013-06-15

The unique capabilities of resonant inelastic X-ray scattering (RIXS) to provide a deep insight into molecular dynamics following core excitation are reviewed here. Characteristic features of molecular X-ray emission are experimentally observed and theoretically interpreted. Some of our most significant results on molecular dynamics following deep core excitation are presented. In particular, we provide several examples of nuclear dynamics on the femtosecond or subfemtosecond time scale; line-narrowing effects related to the quenching of vibrational structure due to parallelism of intermediate and final state curves; anomalous line dispersion across a resonance, which is due to core-hole lifetime effects; spin–orbit-state populations derived from polarized RIXS experiments. We also show how to connect the RIXS results to the general chemical properties of the investigated systems.

A review of molecular effects in gas-phase KL X-ray emission

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Guillemin, Renaud; Carniato, Stéphane; Journel, Loïc; Stolte, Wayne C.; Marchenko, Tatiana; Khoury, Lara El; Kawerk, Elie; Piancastelli, Maria Novella; Hudson, Amanda C.; Lindle, Dennis W.; Simon, Marc

2013-01-01

The unique capabilities of resonant inelastic X-ray scattering (RIXS) to provide a deep insight into molecular dynamics following core excitation are reviewed here. Characteristic features of molecular X-ray emission are experimentally observed and theoretically interpreted. Some of our most significant results on molecular dynamics following deep core excitation are presented. In particular, we provide several examples of nuclear dynamics on the femtosecond or subfemtosecond time scale; line-narrowing effects related to the quenching of vibrational structure due to parallelism of intermediate and final state curves; anomalous line dispersion across a resonance, which is due to core-hole lifetime effects; spin–orbit-state populations derived from polarized RIXS experiments. We also show how to connect the RIXS results to the general chemical properties of the investigated systems

The nonequilibrium molecular dynamics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hoover, W.G.

1992-03-01

MOLECULAR DYNAMICS has been generalized in order to simulate a variety of NONEQUILIBRIUM systems. This generalization has been achieved by adopting microscopic mechanical definitions of macroscopic thermodynamic and hydrodynamic variables, such as temperature and stress. Some of the problems already treated include rapid plastic deformation, intense heat conduction, strong shockwaves simulation, and far-from-equilibrium phase transformations. Continuing advances in technique and in the modeling of interatomic forces, coupled with qualitative improvements in computer hardware, are enabling such simulations to approximate real-world microscale and nanoscale experiments

Molecular Dynamics Analyses on Microscopic Contact Angle - Effect of Wall Atom Configuration

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Takahiro Ito; Yosuke Hirata; Yutaka Kukita

2006-01-01

Boiling or condensing phenomena of liquid on the solid surface is greatly affected by the wetting condition of the liquid to the solid. Although the contact angle is one of the most important parameter to represent the wetting condition, the behavior of the contact angle is not understood well, especially in the dynamic condition. In this study we made molecular dynamics simulations to investigate the microscopic contact angle behavior under several conditions on the numerical density of the wall atoms. In the analyses, when the number density of the wall is lower, the changing rate of the dynamics contact angles for the variation of ΔV was higher than those for the case where the wall density is higher. This is mainly due to the crystallization of the fluid near the wall and subsequent decrease in the slip between the fluid and the wall. The analyses also show that the static contact angle decreases with increase in the number density of the wall. This was mainly induced by the increase in the number density of the wall itself. (authors)

State-to-state dynamics of molecular energy transfer

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gentry, W.R.; Giese, C.F. [Univ. of Minnesota, Minneapolis (United States)

1993-12-01

The goal of this research program is to elucidate the elementary dynamical mechanisms of vibrational and rotational energy transfer between molecules, at a quantum-state resolved level of detail. Molecular beam techniques are used to isolate individual molecular collisions, and to control the kinetic energy of collision. Lasers are used both to prepare specific quantum states prior to collision by stimulated-emission pumping (SEP), and to measure the distribution of quantum states in the collision products by laser-induced fluorescence (LIF). The results are interpreted in terms of dynamical models, which may be cast in a classical, semiclassical or quantum mechanical framework, as appropriate.

Line-shape theory and molecular dynamics in collision-induced light scattering

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Balucani, U.; Tognetti, V.; Vallauri, R.

1979-01-01

Molecular-dynamics studies in argon at 148 amagats are presented for gaining information on the dynamical properties responsible for the depolarized light scattering from simple fluids. The total and pair-correlation functions are computed within the simple dipole--induced-dipole model of polarizability anisotropy. The pair spectral shape is derived. These results are compared with a theoretical analysis based on a continued-fraction approach. The necessary frequency moments are calculated both in the low-density limit and taking into account first-order density corrections, and compared with the molecular-dynamics data. The agreement between the theoretical spectra and molecular-dynamics data shows the validity of the memory-function approach. The comparison with the real experimental results allows one to test the relevant physical contributions to the polarizability anisotropy

Coulomb interactions via local dynamics: a molecular-dynamics algorithm

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pasichnyk, Igor; Duenweg, Burkhard

2004-01-01

We derive and describe in detail a recently proposed method for obtaining Coulomb interactions as the potential of mean force between charges which are dynamically coupled to a local electromagnetic field. We focus on the molecular dynamics version of the method and show that it is intimately related to the Car-Parrinello approach, while being equivalent to solving Maxwell's equations with a freely adjustable speed of light. Unphysical self-energies arise as a result of the lattice interpolation of charges, and are corrected by a subtraction scheme based on the exact lattice Green function. The method can be straightforwardly parallelized using standard domain decomposition. Some preliminary benchmark results are presented

Protein Dynamics in Organic Media at Varying Water Activity Studied by Molecular Dynamics Simulation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Wedberg, Nils Hejle Rasmus Ingemar; Abildskov, Jens; Peters, Günther H.J.

2012-01-01

In nonaqueous enzymology, control of enzyme hydration is commonly approached by fixing the thermodynamic water activity of the medium. In this work, we present a strategy for evaluating the water activity in molecular dynamics simulations of proteins in water/organic solvent mixtures. The method...... relies on determining the water content of the bulk phase and uses a combination of Kirkwood−Buff theory and free energy calculations to determine corresponding activity coefficients. We apply the method in a molecular dynamics study of Candida antarctica lipase B in pure water and the organic solvents...

Pitfall in quantum mechanical/molecular mechanical molecular dynamics simulation of small solutes in solution.

Science.gov (United States)

Hu, Hao; Liu, Haiyan

2013-05-30

Developments in computing hardware and algorithms have made direct molecular dynamics simulation with the combined quantum mechanical/molecular mechanical methods affordable for small solute molecules in solution, in which much improved accuracy can be obtained via the quantum mechanical treatment of the solute molecule and even sometimes water molecules in the first solvation shell. However, unlike the conventional molecular mechanical simulations of large molecules, e.g., proteins, in solutions, special care must be taken in the technical details of the simulation, including the thermostat of the solute/solvent system, so that the conformational space of the solute molecules can be properly sampled. We show here that the common setup for classical molecular mechanical molecular dynamics simulations, such as the Berendsen or single Nose-Hoover thermostat, and/or rigid water models could lead to pathological sampling of the solutes' conformation. In the extreme example of a methanol molecule in aqueous solution, improper and sluggish setups could generate two peaks in the distribution of the O-H bond length. We discuss the factors responsible for this somewhat unexpected result and evoke a simple and ancient technical fix-up to resolve this problem.

Molecular-dynamics simulation of displacement cascades in Cu: analysis of replacement sequences

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

King, W.E.; Benedek, R.

1981-01-01

Molecular-dynamics computer simulations of displacement cascades in copper have been performed for recoil energies up to 450 eV. Statistical analyses of the atomic replacements are presented. Linear replacement sequence lengths are extremely short on the average. The effect of the cooling phase of the cascade is discussed

The consistency of large concerted motions in proteins in molecular dynamics simulations

NARCIS (Netherlands)

de Groot, B.L.; van Aalten, D.M.F.; Amadei, A; Berendsen, H.J.C.

1996-01-01

A detailed investigation is presented into the effect of limited sampling time and small changes in the force field on molecular dynamics simulations of a protein. Thirteen independent simulations of the B1 IgG-binding domain of streptococcal protein G were performed, with small changes in the

Note: Local thermal conductivities from boundary driven non-equilibrium molecular dynamics simulations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bresme, F.; Armstrong, J.

2014-01-01

We report non-equilibrium molecular dynamics simulations of heat transport in models of molecular fluids. We show that the “local” thermal conductivities obtained from non-equilibrium molecular dynamics simulations agree within numerical accuracy with equilibrium Green-Kubo computations. Our results support the local equilibrium hypothesis for transport properties. We show how to use the local dependence of the thermal gradients to quantify the thermal conductivity of molecular fluids for a wide range of thermodynamic states using a single simulation

Identification of Potential Herbal Inhibitor of Acetylcholinesterase Associated Alzheimer’s Disorders Using Molecular Docking and Molecular Dynamics Simulation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chandrabhan Seniya

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Cholinesterase inhibitors (ChE-Is are the standard for the therapy of AD associated disorders and are the only class of approved drugs by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA. Additionally, acetylcholinesterase (AChE is the target for many Alzheimer’s dementia drugs which block the function of AChE but have some side effects. Therefore, in this paper, an attempt was made to elucidate cholinesterase inhibition potential of secondary metabolite from Cannabis plant which has negligible or no side effect. Molecular docking of 500 herbal compounds, against AChE, was performed using Autodock 4.2 as per the standard protocols. Molecular dynamics simulations have also been carried out to check stability of binding complex in water for 1000 ps. Our molecular docking and simulation have predicted high binding affinity of secondary metabolite (C28H34N2O6 to AChE. Further, molecular dynamics simulations for 1000 ps suggest that ligand interaction with the residues Asp72, Tyr70-121-334, and Phe288 of AChE, all of which fall under active site/subsite or binding pocket, might be critical for the inhibitory activity of AChE. This approach might be helpful to understand the selectivity of the given drug molecule in the treatment of Alzheimer's disease. The study provides evidence for consideration of C28H34N2O6 as a valuable small ligand molecule in treatment and prevention of AD associated disorders and further in vitro and in vivo investigations may prove its therapeutic potential.

Charge Carrier Dynamics at Silver Nanocluster-Molecular Acceptor Interfaces

KAUST Repository

Almansaf, Abdulkhaleq

2017-07-01

A fundamental understanding of interfacial charge transfer at donor-acceptor interfaces is very crucial as it is considered among the most important dynamical processes for optimizing performance in many light harvesting systems, including photovoltaics and photo-catalysis. In general, the photo-generated singlet excitons in photoactive materials exhibit very short lifetimes because of their dipole-allowed spin radiative decay and short diffusion lengths. In contrast, the radiative decay of triplet excitons is dipole forbidden; therefore, their lifetimes are considerably longer. The discussion in this thesis primarily focuses on the relevant parameters that are involved in charge separation (CS), charge transfer (CT), intersystem crossing (ISC) rate, triplet state lifetime, and carrier recombination (CR) at silver nanocluster (NCs) molecular-acceptors interfaces. A combination of steady-state and femto- and nanosecond broadband transient absorption spectroscopies were used to investigate the charge carrier dynamics in various donor-acceptor systems. Additionally, this thesis was prolonged to investigate some important factors that influence the charge carrier dynamics in Ag29 silver NCs donor-acceptor systems, such as the metal doping and chemical structure of the nanocluster and molecular acceptors. Interestingly, clear correlations between the steady-state measurements and timeresolved spectroscopy results are found. In the first study, we have investigated the interfacial charge transfer dynamics in positively charged meso units of 5, 10, 15, 20-tetra (1- methyl-4-pyridino)-porphyrin tetra (p-toluene sulfonate) (TMPyP) and neutral charged 5, 10, 15, 20-tetra (4-pyridyl)-porphyrin (TPyP), with negatively charged undoped and gold (Au)- doped silver Ag29 NCs. Moreover, this study showed the impact of Au doping on the charge carrier dynamics of the system. In the second study, we have investigated the interfacial charge transfer dynamics in [Pt2 Ag23 Cl7 (PPh3

Dispersion and Solvation Effects on the Structure and Dynamics of N719 Adsorbed to Anatase Titania (101) Surfaces in Room-Temperature Ionic Liquids: An ab Initio Molecular Simulation Study

KAUST Repository

Byrne, Aaron; English, Niall J.; Schwingenschlö gl, Udo; Coker, David F.

2015-01-01

Ab initio, density functional theory (DFT)-based molecular dynamics (MD) has been carried out to investigate the effect of explicit solvation on the dynamical and structural properties of a [bmim][NTf2] room-temperature ionic liquid (RTIL

The Design, Synthesis, and Study of Solid-State Molecular Rotors: Structure/Function Relationships for Condensed-Phase Anisotropic Dynamics

Science.gov (United States)

Vogelsberg, Cortnie Sue

strong to direct an assembly of molecular machines, 3) the relative flexibility of the crystal environment proximate to a dynamic component may have a significant effect on its function, and, 4) molecular machines, which possess both solid-state photochemical reactivity and dynamics may show complex reaction kinetics if the correlation time of the dynamic process and the lifetime of the excited state occur on the same time scale and the dynamic moiety inherently participates as a reaction intermediate. The study of periodic mesoporous organosilica with hierarchical order probed molecular dynamics within 2D layers of molecular rotors, organized in only one dimension and with ca. 50% exposed to the mesopore free volume. From their study, it was discovered that: 1) molecular rotors, which comprise the layers of the mesopore walls, form a 2D rotational glass, 2) rotator dynamics within the 2D rotational glass undergo a transition to a 2D rotational fluid, and, 3) a 2D rotational glass transition may be exploited to develop hyper-sensitive thermally activated molecular machines. The study of a metal-organic framework assembled from molecular rotors probed dynamics in a periodic three-dimensional free-volume environment, without the presence of close contacts. From the study of this solid-state material, it was determined that: 1) the intrinsic electronic barrier is one of the few factors, which may affect functional dynamics in a true free-volume environment, and, 2) molecular machines with dynamic barriers <

Fermionic molecular dynamics for colliding and decaying nuclei

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Feldmeier, H.; Schnack, J.

1993-11-01

Fermionic Molecular Dynamics models a system of fermions by means of a trial many-body state composed of an antisymmetrized product of single-particle states which are localized gaussians in coordinate and momentum space. The parameters specifying them are the analogue to the variables in classical molecular dynamics. The time-dependent variational principle yields the equations of motion which are solved for collisions of 12 C+ 12 C and deexcitations of 12 C. The collisions show a great variety of phenomena including explosion, sequential fragmentation and multifragmentation. The deexcitation for nuclei with E * /A ∼ 5MeV is dominated by particle evaporation on time scales of the order of 10 -20 s or longer. (orig.)

Optical spectra and lattice dynamics of molecular crystals

CERN Document Server

Zhizhin, GN

1995-01-01

The current volume is a single topic volume on the optical spectra and lattice dynamics of molecular crystals. The book is divided into two parts. Part I covers both the theoretical and experimental investigations of organic crystals. Part II deals with the investigation of the structure, phase transitions and reorientational motion of molecules in organic crystals. In addition appendices are given which provide the parameters for the calculation of the lattice dynamics of molecular crystals, procedures for the calculation of frequency eigenvectors of utilizing computers, and the frequencies and eigenvectors of lattice modes for several organic crystals. Quite a large amount of Russian literature is cited, some of which has previously not been available to scientists in the West.

Diverging effects of isotopic fractionation upon molecular diffusion of noble gases in water: mechanistic insights through ab initio molecular dynamics simulations.

Science.gov (United States)

Pinto de Magalhães, Halua; Brennwald, Matthias S; Kipfer, Rolf

2017-03-22

Atmospheric noble gases are routinely used as natural tracers to analyze gas transfer processes in aquatic systems. Their isotopic ratios can be employed to discriminate between different physical transport mechanisms by comparison to the unfractionated atmospheric isotope composition. In many applications of aquatic systems molecular diffusion was thought to cause a mass dependent fractionation of noble gases and their isotopes according to the square root ratio of their masses. However, recent experiments focusing on isotopic fractionation within a single element challenged this broadly accepted assumption. The determined fractionation factors of Ne, Ar, Kr and Xe isotopes revealed that only Ar follows the prediction of the so-called square root relation, whereas within the Ne, Kr and Xe elements no mass-dependence was found. The reason for this unexpected divergence of Ar is not yet understood. The aim of our computational exercise is to establish the molecular-resolved mechanisms behind molecular diffusion of noble gases in water. We make the hypothesis that weak intermolecular interactions are relevant for the dynamical properties of noble gases dissolved in water. Therefore, we used ab initio molecular dynamics to explicitly account for the electronic degrees of freedom. Depending on the size and polarizability of the hydrophobic particles such as noble gases, their motion in dense and polar liquids like water is subject to different diffusive regimes: the inter-cavity hopping mechanism of small particles (He, Ne) breaks down if a critical particle size achieved. For the case of large particles (Kr, Xe), the motion through the water solvent is governed by mass-independent viscous friction leading to hydrodynamical diffusion. Finally, Ar falls in between the two diffusive regimes, where particle dispersion is propagated at the molecular collision time scale of the surrounding water molecules.

The hydrophobic effect: Molecular dynamics simulations of water confined between extended hydrophobic and hydrophilic surfaces

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jensen, Morten Østergaard; Mouritsen, Ole G.; Peters, Günther H.J.

2004-01-01

Structural and dynamic properties of water confined between two parallel, extended, either hydrophobic or hydrophilic crystalline surfaces of n-alkane C36H74 or n-alcohol C35H71OH, are studied by molecular dynamics simulations. Electron density profiles, directly compared with corresponding......-correlation functions reveal that water molecules have characteristic diffusive behavior and orientational ordering due to the lack of hydrogen bonding interactions with the surface. These observations suggest that the altered dynamical properties of water in contact with extended hydrophobic surfaces together...... at both surfaces. The ordering is characteristically different between the surfaces and of longer range at the hydrophilic surface. Furthermore, the dynamic properties of water are different at the two surfaces and different from the bulk behavior. In particular, at the hydrophobic surface, time...

Molecular dynamics studies of the dynamics of supercooled Lennard-Jones liquids

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

De Leeuw, S.W.; Brakkee, M.J.D.

1990-01-01

Results are presented of molecular dynamics experiments, in which the Lennard-Jones liquid is cooled isobarically into the metastable temperature region below the freezing temperature. The variation of the density-density and transverse current correlation functions with temperature is studied. We observed a power-law behaviour for the temperature dependence of dynamical properties (viscosity and coefficienty of self-diffusion) with an exponent in good agreement with prediction of mode coupling theories and recent experimental results. (author). 23 refs, 5 figs

Sex speeds adaptation by altering the dynamics of molecular evolution.

Science.gov (United States)

McDonald, Michael J; Rice, Daniel P; Desai, Michael M

2016-03-10

Sex and recombination are pervasive throughout nature despite their substantial costs. Understanding the evolutionary forces that maintain these phenomena is a central challenge in biology. One longstanding hypothesis argues that sex is beneficial because recombination speeds adaptation. Theory has proposed several distinct population genetic mechanisms that could underlie this advantage. For example, sex can promote the fixation of beneficial mutations either by alleviating interference competition (the Fisher-Muller effect) or by separating them from deleterious load (the ruby in the rubbish effect). Previous experiments confirm that sex can increase the rate of adaptation, but these studies did not observe the evolutionary dynamics that drive this effect at the genomic level. Here we present the first, to our knowledge, comparison between the sequence-level dynamics of adaptation in experimental sexual and asexual Saccharomyces cerevisiae populations, which allows us to identify the specific mechanisms by which sex speeds adaptation. We find that sex alters the molecular signatures of evolution by changing the spectrum of mutations that fix, and confirm theoretical predictions that it does so by alleviating clonal interference. We also show that substantially deleterious mutations hitchhike to fixation in adapting asexual populations. In contrast, recombination prevents such mutations from fixing. Our results demonstrate that sex both speeds adaptation and alters its molecular signature by allowing natural selection to more efficiently sort beneficial from deleterious mutations.

Orbital free molecular dynamics; Approche sans orbitale des plasmas denses

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lambert, F

2007-08-15

The microscopic properties of hot and dense plasmas stay a field essentially studied thanks to classical theories like the One Component Plasma, models which rely on free parameters, particularly ionization. In order to investigate these systems, we have used, in this PhD work, a semi-classical model, without free parameters, that is based on coupling consistently classical molecular dynamics for the nuclei and orbital free density functional theory for the electrons. The electronic fluid is represented by a free energy entirely determined by the local density. This approximation was validated by a comparison with an ab initio technique, quantum molecular dynamics. This one is identical to the previous except for the description of the free energy that depends on a quantum-independent-particle model. Orbital free molecular dynamics was then used to compute equation of state of boron and iron plasmas in the hot and dense regime. Furthermore, comparisons with classical theories were performed on structural and dynamical properties. Finally, equation of state and transport coefficients mixing laws were studied by direct simulation of a plasma composed of deuterium and copper. (author)

Preserving the Boltzmann ensemble in replica-exchange molecular dynamics.

Science.gov (United States)

Cooke, Ben; Schmidler, Scott C

2008-10-28

We consider the convergence behavior of replica-exchange molecular dynamics (REMD) [Sugita and Okamoto, Chem. Phys. Lett. 314, 141 (1999)] based on properties of the numerical integrators in the underlying isothermal molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. We show that a variety of deterministic algorithms favored by molecular dynamics practitioners for constant-temperature simulation of biomolecules fail either to be measure invariant or irreducible, and are therefore not ergodic. We then show that REMD using these algorithms also fails to be ergodic. As a result, the entire configuration space may not be explored even in an infinitely long simulation, and the simulation may not converge to the desired equilibrium Boltzmann ensemble. Moreover, our analysis shows that for initial configurations with unfavorable energy, it may be impossible for the system to reach a region surrounding the minimum energy configuration. We demonstrate these failures of REMD algorithms for three small systems: a Gaussian distribution (simple harmonic oscillator dynamics), a bimodal mixture of Gaussians distribution, and the alanine dipeptide. Examination of the resulting phase plots and equilibrium configuration densities indicates significant errors in the ensemble generated by REMD simulation. We describe a simple modification to address these failures based on a stochastic hybrid Monte Carlo correction, and prove that this is ergodic.

Orthonormal Wavelet Bases for Quantum Molecular Dynamics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tymczak, C.; Wang, X.

1997-01-01

We report on the use of compactly supported, orthonormal wavelet bases for quantum molecular-dynamics (Car-Parrinello) algorithms. A wavelet selection scheme is developed and tested for prototypical problems, such as the three-dimensional harmonic oscillator, the hydrogen atom, and the local density approximation to atomic and molecular systems. Our method shows systematic convergence with increased grid size, along with improvement on compression rates, thereby yielding an optimal grid for self-consistent electronic structure calculations. copyright 1997 The American Physical Society

Molecular dynamics simulations of the dielectric properties of fructose aqueous solutions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sonoda, Milton T; Dolores Elola, M; Skaf, Munir S

2016-01-01

The static dielectric permittivity and dielectric relaxation properties of fructose aqueous solutions of different concentrations ranging from 1.0 to 4.0 mol l −1 are investigated by means of molecular dynamics simulations. The contributions from intra- and interspecies molecular correlations were computed individually for both the static and frequency-dependent dielectric properties, and the results were compared with the available experimental data. Simulation results in the time- and frequency-domains were analyzed and indicate that the presence of fructose has little effect on the position of the fast, high-frequency (>500 cm −1 ) components of the dielectric response spectrum. The low-frequency (<0.1 cm −1 ) components, however, are markedly influenced by sugar concentration. Our analysis indicates that fructose–fructose and fructose–water interactions strongly affect the rotational-diffusion regime of molecular motions in the solutions. Increasing fructose concentration not only enhances sugar–sugar and sugar-water low frequency contributions to the dielectric loss spectrum but also slows down the reorientational dynamics of water molecules. These results are consistent with previous computer simulations carried out for other disaccharide aqueous solutions. (paper)

Dynamic combinatorial libraries based on hydrogen-bonde molecular boxes

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kerckhoffs, J.M.C.A.; Mateos timoneda, Miguel; Reinhoudt, David; Crego Calama, Mercedes

2007-01-01

This article describes two different types of dynamic combinatorial libraries of host and guest molecules. The first part of this article describes the encapsulation of alizarin trimer 2 a3 by dynamic mixtures of up to twenty different self-assembled molecular receptors together with the

Molecular dynamics for reactions of heterogeneous catalysis

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Jansen, A.P.J.; Brongersma, H.H.; Santen, van R.A.

1991-01-01

An overview is given of Molecular Dynamics, and numerical integration techniques, system initialization, boundary conditions, force representation, statistics, system size, and simulations duration are discussed. Examples from surface science are used to illustrate the pros and cons of the method.

Path integral centroid molecular dynamics simulations of semiinfinite slab and bulk liquid of para-hydrogen

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kinugawa, Kenichi [Nara Women`s Univ., Nara (Japan). Dept. of Chemistry

1998-10-01

It has been unsuccessful to solve a set of time-dependent Schroedinger equations numerically for many-body quantum systems which involve, e.g., a number of hydrogen molecules, protons, and excess electrons at a low temperature, where quantum effect evidently appears. This undesirable situation is fatal for the investigation of real low-temperature chemical systems because they are essentially composed of many quantum degrees of freedom. However, if we use a new technique called `path integral centroid molecular dynamics (CMD) simulation` proposed by Cao and Voth in 1994, the real-time semi-classical dynamics of many degrees of freedom can be computed by utilizing the techniques already developed in the traditional classical molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. Therefore, the CMD simulation is expected to be very powerful tool for the quantum dynamics studies or real substances. (J.P.N.)

Molecular dynamics simulations on PGLa using NMR orientational constraints

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sternberg, Ulrich, E-mail: ulrich.sternberg@partner.kit.edu; Witter, Raiker [Tallinn University of Technology, Technomedicum (Estonia)

2015-11-15

NMR data obtained by solid state NMR from anisotropic samples are used as orientational constraints in molecular dynamics simulations for determining the structure and dynamics of the PGLa peptide within a membrane environment. For the simulation the recently developed molecular dynamics with orientational constraints technique (MDOC) is used. This method introduces orientation dependent pseudo-forces into the COSMOS-NMR force field. Acting during a molecular dynamics simulation these forces drive molecular rotations, re-orientations and folding in such a way that the motional time-averages of the tensorial NMR properties are consistent with the experimentally measured NMR parameters. This MDOC strategy does not depend on the initial choice of atomic coordinates, and is in principle suitable for any flexible and mobile kind of molecule; and it is of course possible to account for flexible parts of peptides or their side-chains. MDOC has been applied to the antimicrobial peptide PGLa and a related dimer model. With these simulations it was possible to reproduce most NMR parameters within the experimental error bounds. The alignment, conformation and order parameters of the membrane-bound molecule and its dimer were directly derived with MDOC from the NMR data. Furthermore, this new approach yielded for the first time the distribution of segmental orientations with respect to the membrane and the order parameter tensors of the dimer systems. It was demonstrated the deuterium splittings measured at the peptide to lipid ratio of 1/50 are consistent with a membrane spanning orientation of the peptide.

Molecular dynamics simulations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Alder, B.J.

1985-07-01

The molecular dynamics computer simulation discovery of the slow decay of the velocity autocorrelation function in fluids is briefly reviewed in order to contrast that long time tail with those observed for the stress autocorrelation function in fluids and the velocity autocorrelation function in the Lorentz gas. For a non-localized particle in the Lorentz gas it is made plausible that even if it behaved quantum mechanically its long time tail would be the same as the classical one. The generalization of Fick's law for diffusion for the Lorentz gas, necessary to avoid divergences due to the slow decay of correlations, is presented. For fluids, that generalization has not yet been established, but the region of validity of generalized hydrodynamics is discussed. 20 refs., 5 figs

Hydration dynamics in water clusters via quantum molecular dynamics simulations

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Turi, László, E-mail: turi@chem.elte.hu [Department of Physical Chemistry, Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest 112, P. O. Box 32, H-1518 (Hungary)

2014-05-28

We have investigated the hydration dynamics in size selected water clusters with n = 66, 104, 200, 500, and 1000 water molecules using molecular dynamics simulations. To study the most fundamental aspects of relaxation phenomena in clusters, we choose one of the simplest, still realistic, quantum mechanically treated test solute, an excess electron. The project focuses on the time evolution of the clusters following two processes, electron attachment to neutral equilibrated water clusters and electron detachment from an equilibrated water cluster anion. The relaxation dynamics is significantly different in the two processes, most notably restoring the equilibrium final state is less effective after electron attachment. Nevertheless, in both scenarios only minor cluster size dependence is observed. Significantly different relaxation patterns characterize electron detachment for interior and surface state clusters, interior state clusters relaxing significantly faster. This observation may indicate a potential way to distinguish surface state and interior state water cluster anion isomers experimentally. A comparison of equilibrium and non-equilibrium trajectories suggests that linear response theory breaks down for electron attachment at 200 K, but the results converge to reasonable agreement at higher temperatures. Relaxation following electron detachment clearly belongs to the linear regime. Cluster relaxation was also investigated using two different computational models, one preferring cavity type interior states for the excess electron in bulk water, while the other simulating non-cavity structure. While the cavity model predicts appearance of several different hydrated electron isomers in agreement with experiment, the non-cavity model locates only cluster anions with interior excess electron distribution. The present simulations show that surface isomers computed with the cavity predicting potential show similar dynamical behavior to the interior clusters of

A new algorithm for extended nonequilibrium molecular dynamics simulations of mixed flow

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hunt, T.A.; Hunt, Thomas A.; Bernardi, Stefano; Todd, B.D.

2010-01-01

In this work, we develop a new algorithm for nonequilibrium molecular dynamics of fluids under planar mixed flow, a linear combination of planar elongational flow and planar Couette flow. To date, the only way of simulating mixed flow using nonequilibrium molecular dynamics techniques was to impose

A Flexible, Grid-Enabled Web Portal for GROMACS Molecular Dynamics Simulations

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van Dijk, Marc; Wassenaar, Tsjerk A; Bonvin, Alexandre M J J

2012-01-01

Molecular dynamics simulations are becoming a standard part of workflows in structural biology. They are used for tasks as diverse as assessing molecular flexibility, probing conformational changes, assessing the impact of mutations, or gaining information about molecular interactions. However,

A flexible, grid-enabled web portal for GROMACS molecular dynamics simulations

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van Dijk, M.; Wassenaar, T.A.; Bonvin, A.M.J.J.

2012-01-01

Molecular dynamics simulations are becoming a standard part of workflows in structural biology. They are used for tasks as diverse as assessing molecular flexibility, probing conformational changes, assessing the impact of mutations, or gaining information about molecular interactions. However,

Reaction dynamics in polyatomic molecular systems

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Miller, W.H. [Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, CA (United States)

1993-12-01

The goal of this program is the development of theoretical methods and models for describing the dynamics of chemical reactions, with specific interest for application to polyatomic molecular systems of special interest and relevance. There is interest in developing the most rigorous possible theoretical approaches and also in more approximate treatments that are more readily applicable to complex systems.

Energy conservation in molecular dynamics simulations of classical systems

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Toxværd, Søren; Heilmann, Ole; Dyre, J. C.

2012-01-01

Classical Newtonian dynamics is analytic and the energy of an isolated system is conserved. The energy of such a system, obtained by the discrete “Verlet” algorithm commonly used in molecular dynamics simulations, fluctuates but is conserved in the mean. This is explained by the existence...

Exploring the Local Elastic Properties of Bilayer Membranes Using Molecular Dynamics Simulations

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pieffet, Gilles; Botero, Alonso; Peters, Günther H.J.

2014-01-01

Membrane mechanical elastic properties regulate a variety of cellular processes involving local membrane deformation, such as ion channel function and vesicle fusion. In this work, we used molecular dynamics simulations to estimate the local elastic properties of a membrane. For this, we calculated...... the stretching process in molecular detail, allowing us to fit this profile to a previously proposed continuum elastic model. Through this approach, we calculated an effective membrane spring constant of 42 kJ-2.mol-1, which is in good agreement with the PMF calculation. Furthermore, the solvation energy we...

Effect of solvent on proton location and dynamic behavior in short intramolecular hydrogen bonds studied by molecular dynamics simulations and NMR experiments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mori, Yukie; Masuda, Yuichi

2015-01-01

Highlights: • MD simulations were performed to study dynamics of strong hydrogen bonds. • Nuclear magnetic relaxation times of proton were measured in solution. • The hydrogen bond of dibenzoylmethane enol is asymmetric in methanol solution. • Formation or breakage of intermolecular hydrogen bonds can trigger proton transfer. • Dimethylsulfoxide may form a bifurcated hydrogen bond with a hydrogen-bonded system. - Abstract: Hydrogen phthalate anion has a short strong O–H–O hydrogen bond (H-bond). According to previous experimental studies, the H-bond is asymmetric and two tautomers are interconverted in aqueous solutions. In the present study, the effects of polar solvents on the H-bond in a zwitterionic hydrogen phthalate derivative 1 were investigated by quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. The analyses of the trajectories for the methanol solution showed that the H-bonding proton tends to be located closer to the carboxylate group that forms fewer intermolecular H-bonds, than to the other carboxylate group and that the intramolecular proton transfer in 1 is triggered by the breakage and/or formation of an intermolecular H-bond. The enol form of dibenzoylmethane (2) also has a short H-bond, and the OH bond is reported to be rather long (>1.1 Å) in the crystal. In the present study, the effects of the solvent on the H-bond in 2 were investigated by molecular orbital (MO) calculations, MD simulations and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations for 2 in vacuum indicated that the barrier height for the intramolecular proton transfer is almost the same as the zero-point energy of the vibrational ground state, resulting in broad distribution of the proton density along the H-bond, owing to the nuclear quantum effect. The OH distances were determined in CCl 4 , acetonitrile, and dimethylsulfoxide solutions from the magnetic dipolar interactions between the 17 O and 1

Effect of solvent on proton location and dynamic behavior in short intramolecular hydrogen bonds studied by molecular dynamics simulations and NMR experiments

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mori, Yukie, E-mail: mori.yukie@ocha.ac.jp; Masuda, Yuichi

2015-09-08

Highlights: • MD simulations were performed to study dynamics of strong hydrogen bonds. • Nuclear magnetic relaxation times of proton were measured in solution. • The hydrogen bond of dibenzoylmethane enol is asymmetric in methanol solution. • Formation or breakage of intermolecular hydrogen bonds can trigger proton transfer. • Dimethylsulfoxide may form a bifurcated hydrogen bond with a hydrogen-bonded system. - Abstract: Hydrogen phthalate anion has a short strong O–H–O hydrogen bond (H-bond). According to previous experimental studies, the H-bond is asymmetric and two tautomers are interconverted in aqueous solutions. In the present study, the effects of polar solvents on the H-bond in a zwitterionic hydrogen phthalate derivative 1 were investigated by quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. The analyses of the trajectories for the methanol solution showed that the H-bonding proton tends to be located closer to the carboxylate group that forms fewer intermolecular H-bonds, than to the other carboxylate group and that the intramolecular proton transfer in 1 is triggered by the breakage and/or formation of an intermolecular H-bond. The enol form of dibenzoylmethane (2) also has a short H-bond, and the OH bond is reported to be rather long (>1.1 Å) in the crystal. In the present study, the effects of the solvent on the H-bond in 2 were investigated by molecular orbital (MO) calculations, MD simulations and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations for 2 in vacuum indicated that the barrier height for the intramolecular proton transfer is almost the same as the zero-point energy of the vibrational ground state, resulting in broad distribution of the proton density along the H-bond, owing to the nuclear quantum effect. The OH distances were determined in CCl{sub 4}, acetonitrile, and dimethylsulfoxide solutions from the magnetic dipolar interactions between the {sup 17

Implementation of surface hopping molecular dynamics using semiempirical methods

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fabiano, E.; Keal, T.W.; Thiel, W.

2008-01-01

A molecular dynamics driver and surface hopping algorithm for nonadiabatic dynamics has been implemented in a development version of the MNDO semiempirical electronic structure package. The required energies, gradients and nonadiabatic couplings are efficiently evaluated on the fly using semiempirical configuration interaction methods. The choice of algorithms for the time evolution of the nuclear motion and quantum amplitudes is discussed, and different schemes for the computation of nonadiabatic couplings are analysed. The importance of molecular orbital tracking and electronic state following is underlined in the context of configuration interaction calculations. The method is applied to three case studies (ethylene, methaniminium ion, and methanimine) using the orthogonalization corrected OM2 Hamiltonian. In all three cases decay times and dynamics paths similar to high-level ab initio results are obtained

Ab Initio molecular dynamics with excited electrons

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Alavi, A.; Kohanoff, J.; Parrinello, M.; Frenkel, D.

1994-01-01

A method to do ab initio molecular dynamics suitable for metallic and electronically hot systems is described. It is based on a density functional which is costationary with the finite-temperature functional of Mermin, with state being included with possibly fractional occupation numbers.

Effect of chaotic movements of nanoparticles for nanofluid heat transfer augmentation by molecular dynamics simulation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cui, Wenzheng; Shen, Zhaojie; Yang, Jianguo; Wu, Shaohua

2015-01-01

Through Molecular Dynamics simulation, the chaotic movements of nanoparticles in base fluid are investigated. Based on the simulated results of translational and rotational velocities of nanoparticles, the effect of nanoparticle movements for heat transfer in nanofluids is discussed. Furthermore, the influence of nanoparticle movements for the base fluid is studied. The fluid near a nanoparticle is divided into three levels: (1) absorption layer, (2) rotating fluid, and (3) spherical existential space, or called rotating fluid element. And the microscopic structure of nanofluid which is composed of countless rotating fluid elements is proposed. - Highlights: • The orders of magnitude of translational and rotational motions for nanoparticles are given. • The microscopic structure around a nanoparticle is proposed. • Mechanisms of heat transfer enhancement in nanofluids are discussed

Infrared and Raman Spectroscopy of Liquid Water through "First-Principles" Many-Body Molecular Dynamics.

Science.gov (United States)

Medders, Gregory R; Paesani, Francesco

2015-03-10

Vibrational spectroscopy is a powerful technique to probe the structure and dynamics of water. However, deriving an unambiguous molecular-level interpretation of the experimental spectral features remains a challenge due to the complexity of the underlying hydrogen-bonding network. In this contribution, we present an integrated theoretical and computational framework (named many-body molecular dynamics or MB-MD) that, by systematically removing uncertainties associated with existing approaches, enables a rigorous modeling of vibrational spectra of water from quantum dynamical simulations. Specifically, we extend approaches used to model the many-body expansion of interaction energies to develop many-body representations of the dipole moment and polarizability of water. The combination of these "first-principles" representations with centroid molecular dynamics simulations enables the simulation of infrared and Raman spectra of liquid water under ambient conditions that, without relying on any ad hoc parameters, are in good agreement with the corresponding experimental results. Importantly, since the many-body energy, dipole, and polarizability surfaces employed in the simulations are derived independently from accurate fits to correlated electronic structure data, MB-MD allows for a systematic analysis of the calculated spectra in terms of both electronic and dynamical contributions. The present analysis suggests that, while MB-MD correctly reproduces both the shifts and the shapes of the main spectroscopic features, an improved description of quantum dynamical effects possibly combined with a dissociable water potential may be necessary for a quantitative representation of the OH stretch band.

Molecular packing in 1-hexanol-DMPC bilayers studied by molecular dynamics simulation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pedersen, U.R.; Peters, Günther H.j.; Westh, P.

2007-01-01

The structure and molecular packing density of a “mismatched” solute, 1-hexanol, in lipid membranes of dimyristoyl phosphatidylcholine (DMPC) was studied by molecular dynamics simulations. We found that the average location and orientation of the hexanol molecules matched earlier experimental data...... on comparable systems. The local density or molecular packing in DMPC–hexanol was elucidated through the average Voronoi volumes of all heavy (non-hydrogen) atoms. Analogous analysis was conducted on trajectories from simulations of pure 1-hexanol and pure (hydrated) DMPC bilayers. The results suggested...... of the alcohol upon partitioning and an even stronger loosening in the packing of the lipid. Furthermore, analysis of Voronoi volumes along the membrane normal identifies a distinctive depth dependence of the changes in molecular packing. The outer (interfacial) part of the lipid acyl chains (up to C8...

Nanomaterials under extreme environments: A study of structural and dynamic properties using reactive molecular dynamics simulations

Science.gov (United States)

Shekhar, Adarsh

Nanotechnology is becoming increasingly important with the continuing advances in experimental techniques. As researchers around the world are trying to expand the current understanding of the behavior of materials at the atomistic scale, the limited resolution of equipment, both in terms of time and space, act as roadblocks to a comprehensive study. Numerical methods, in general and molecular dynamics, in particular act as able compliment to the experiments in our quest for understanding material behavior. In this research work, large scale molecular dynamics simulations to gain insight into the mechano-chemical behavior under extreme conditions of a variety of systems with many real world applications. The body of this work is divided into three parts, each covering a particular system: 1) Aggregates of aluminum nanoparticles are good solid fuel due to high flame propagation rates. Multi-million atom molecular dynamics simulations reveal the mechanism underlying higher reaction rate in a chain of aluminum nanoparticles as compared to an isolated nanoparticle. This is due to the penetration of hot atoms from reacting nanoparticles to an adjacent, unreacted nanoparticle, which brings in external heat and initiates exothermic oxidation reactions. 2) Cavitation bubbles readily occur in fluids subjected to rapid changes in pressure. We use billion-atom reactive molecular dynamics simulations on a 163,840-processor BlueGene/P supercomputer to investigate chemical and mechanical damages caused by shock-induced collapse of nanobubbles in water near amorphous silica. Collapse of an empty nanobubble generates high-speed nanojet, resulting in the formation of a pit on the surface. The pit contains a large number of silanol groups and its volume is found to be directly proportional to the volume of the nanobubble. The gas-filled bubbles undergo partial collapse and consequently the damage on the silica surface is mitigated. 3) The structure and dynamics of water confined in

A molecular dynamics study of nuclear quantum effect on the diffusion of hydrogen in condensed phase

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nagashima, Hiroki; Tokumasu, Takashi; Tsuda, Shin-ichi; Tsuboi, Nobuyuki; Koshi, Mitsuo; Hayashie, A. Koichi

2014-01-01

In this paper, the quantum effect of hydrogen molecule on its diffusivity is analyzed using Molecular Dynamics (MD) method. The path integral centroid MD (CMD) method is applied for the reproduction method of time evolution of the molecules. The diffusion coefficient of liquid hydrogen is calculated using the Green-Kubo method. The simulation is performed at wide temperature region and the temperature dependence of the quantum effect of hydrogen molecule is addressed. The calculation results are compared with those of classical MD results. As a result, it is confirmed that the diffusivity of hydrogen molecule is changed depending on temperature by the quantum effect. It is clarified that this result can be explained that the dominant factor by quantum effect on the diffusivity of hydrogen changes from the swollening the potential to the shallowing the potential well around 30 K. Moreover, it is found that this tendency is related to the temperature dependency of the ratio of the quantum kinetic energy and classical kinetic energy

Gas-Phase Molecular Dynamics: Theoretical Studies In Spectroscopy and Chemical Dynamics

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yu H. G.; Muckerman, J.T.

2012-05-29

The main goal of this program is the development and application of computational methods for studying chemical reaction dynamics and molecular spectroscopy in the gas phase. We are interested in developing rigorous quantum dynamics algorithms for small polyatomic systems and in implementing approximate approaches for complex ones. Particular focus is on the dynamics and kinetics of chemical reactions and on the rovibrational spectra of species involved in combustion processes. This research also explores the potential energy surfaces of these systems of interest using state-of-the-art quantum chemistry methods, and extends them to understand some important properties of materials in condensed phases and interstellar medium as well as in combustion environments.

Haptization of molecular dynamics simulation with thermal display

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tamura, Yuichi; Fujiwara, Susumu; Nakamura, Hiroaki

2010-01-01

Thermal display, which is a type of haptic display, is effective in providing intuitive information of temperature. However, in many studies, the user has assumed a sitting position during the use of these devices. In contrast, the user generally watches 3D objects while standing and walking around in large-scale virtual reality system, In addition, in scientific visualization, the response time is very important for observing physical phenomena, especially for dynamic numerical simulation. One solution is to provide two types of thermal information: information about the rate of thermal change and information about the actual temperature. We propose a thermal display with two Peltier elements which can show above two pairs of information and the result (for example energy and temperature, as thermal information) of numerical simulation. Finally, we represent an example of visualizing and haptizing the result of molecular dynamics simulation. (author)

Molecular dynamics simulation of self-diffusion coefficients for liquid metals

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ju Yuan-Yuan; Zhang Qing-Ming; Gong Zi-Zheng; Ji Guang-Fu

2013-01-01

The temperature-dependent coefficients of self-diffusion for liquid metals are simulated by molecular dynamics methods based on the embedded-atom-method (EAM) potential function. The simulated results show that a good inverse linear relation exists between the natural logarithm of self-diffusion coefficients and temperature, though the results in the literature vary somewhat, due to the employment of different potential functions. The estimated activation energy of liquid metals obtained by fitting the Arrhenius formula is close to the experimental data. The temperature-dependent shear-viscosities obtained from the Stokes—Einstein relation in conjunction with the results of molecular dynamics simulation are generally consistent with other values in the literature. (atomic and molecular physics)

Thermal conductivity of water: Molecular dynamics and generalized hydrodynamics results

Science.gov (United States)

Bertolini, Davide; Tani, Alessandro

1997-10-01

Equilibrium molecular dynamics simulations have been carried out in the microcanonical ensemble at 300 and 255 K on the extended simple point charge (SPC/E) model of water [Berendsen et al., J. Phys. Chem. 91, 6269 (1987)]. In addition to a number of static and dynamic properties, thermal conductivity λ has been calculated via Green-Kubo integration of the heat current time correlation functions (CF's) in the atomic and molecular formalism, at wave number k=0. The calculated values (0.67+/-0.04 W/mK at 300 K and 0.52+/-0.03 W/mK at 255 K) are in good agreement with the experimental data (0.61 W/mK at 300 K and 0.49 W/mK at 255 K). A negative long-time tail of the heat current CF, more apparent at 255 K, is responsible for the anomalous decrease of λ with temperature. An analysis of the dynamical modes contributing to λ has shown that its value is due to two low-frequency exponential-like modes, a faster collisional mode, with positive contribution, and a slower one, which determines the negative long-time tail. A comparison of the molecular and atomic spectra of the heat current CF has suggested that higher-frequency modes should not contribute to λ in this temperature range. Generalized thermal diffusivity DT(k) decreases as a function of k, after an initial minor increase at k=kmin. The k dependence of the generalized thermodynamic properties has been calculated in the atomic and molecular formalisms. The observed differences have been traced back to intramolecular or intermolecular rotational effects and related to the partial structure functions. Finally, from the results we calculated it appears that the SPC/E model gives results in better agreement with experimental data than the transferable intermolecular potential with four points TIP4P water model [Jorgensen et al., J. Chem. Phys. 79, 926 (1983)], with a larger improvement for, e.g., diffusion, viscosities, and dielectric properties and a smaller one for thermal conductivity. The SPC/E model shares

Study of the nucleon-induced preequilibrium reactions by the quantum molecular dynamics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chiba, Satoshi; Chadwick, M.B.; Niita, Koji; Maruyama, Toshiki; Maruyama, Tomoyuki; Iwamoto, Akira

1996-01-01

The preequilibrium (nucleon-in, nucleon-out) angular distributions have been analyzed in the energy region around 100 to 200 MeV in terms of the Quantum Molecular Dynamics (QMD) theory. The step-wise contribution to the angular distribution, the effects of momentum distribution and surface refraction/reflection to the quasifree scattering have been studied. (author)

Molecular dynamics simulation of nonlinear spectroscopies of intermolecular motions in liquid water.

Science.gov (United States)

Yagasaki, Takuma; Saito, Shinji

2009-09-15

Water is the most extensively studied of liquids because of both its ubiquity and its anomalous thermodynamic and dynamic properties. The properties of water are dominated by hydrogen bonds and hydrogen bond network rearrangements. Fundamental information on the dynamics of liquid water has been provided by linear infrared (IR), Raman, and neutron-scattering experiments; molecular dynamics simulations have also provided insights. Recently developed higher-order nonlinear spectroscopies open new windows into the study of the hydrogen bond dynamics of liquid water. For example, the vibrational lifetimes of stretches and a bend, intramolecular features of water dynamics, can be accurately measured and are found to be on the femtosecond time scale at room temperature. Higher-order nonlinear spectroscopy is expressed by a multitime correlation function, whereas traditional linear spectroscopy is given by a one-time correlation function. Thus, nonlinear spectroscopy yields more detailed information on the dynamics of condensed media than linear spectroscopy. In this Account, we describe the theoretical background and methods for calculating higher order nonlinear spectroscopy; equilibrium and nonequilibrium molecular dynamics simulations, and a combination of both, are used. We also present the intermolecular dynamics of liquid water revealed by fifth-order two-dimensional (2D) Raman spectroscopy and third-order IR spectroscopy. 2D Raman spectroscopy is sensitive to couplings between modes; the calculated 2D Raman signal of liquid water shows large anharmonicity in the translational motion and strong coupling between the translational and librational motions. Third-order IR spectroscopy makes it possible to examine the time-dependent couplings. The 2D IR spectra and three-pulse photon echo peak shift show the fast frequency modulation of the librational motion. A significant effect of the translational motion on the fast frequency modulation of the librational motion is

Molecular mechanism of allosteric communication in Hsp70 revealed by molecular dynamics simulations.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Federica Chiappori

Full Text Available Investigating ligand-regulated allosteric coupling between protein domains is fundamental to understand cell-life regulation. The Hsp70 family of chaperones represents an example of proteins in which ATP binding and hydrolysis at the Nucleotide Binding Domain (NBD modulate substrate recognition at the Substrate Binding Domain (SBD. Herein, a comparative analysis of an allosteric (Hsp70-DnaK and a non-allosteric structural homolog (Hsp110-Sse1 of the Hsp70 family is carried out through molecular dynamics simulations, starting from different conformations and ligand-states. Analysis of ligand-dependent modulation of internal fluctuations and local deformation patterns highlights the structural and dynamical changes occurring at residue level upon ATP-ADP exchange, which are connected to the conformational transition between closed and open structures. By identifying the dynamically responsive protein regions and specific cross-domain hydrogen-bonding patterns that differentiate Hsp70 from Hsp110 as a function of the nucleotide, we propose a molecular mechanism for the allosteric signal propagation of the ATP-encoded conformational signal.

Molecular dynamics study on the effect of boundary heating rate on the phase change characteristics of thin film liquid

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hasan, Mohammad Nasim, E-mail: nasim@me.buet.ac.bd.com; Morshed, A. K. M. Monjur, E-mail: shavik@me.buet.ac.bd.com; Rabbi, Kazi Fazle, E-mail: rabbi35.me10@gmail.com; Haque, Mominul, E-mail: mominulmarup@gmail.com [Department of Mechanical Engineering, Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) Dhaka-1000 (Bangladesh)

2016-07-12

In this study, theoretical investigation of thin film liquid phase change phenomena under different boundary heating rates has been conducted with the help of molecular dynamics simulation. To do this, the case of argon boiling over a platinum surface has been considered. The study has been conducted to get a better understanding of the nano-scale physics of evaporation/boiling for a three phase system with particular emphasis on the effect of boundary heating rate. The simulation domain consisted of liquid and vapor argon atoms placed over a platinum wall. Initially the whole system was brought to an equilibrium state at 90 K with the help of equilibrium molecular dynamics and then the temperature of the bottom wall was increased to a higher temperature (250 K/130 K) over a finite heating period. Depending on the heating period, the boundary heating rate has been varied in the range of 1600×10{sup 9} K/s to 8×10{sup 9} K/s. The variations of argon region temperature, pressure, net evaporation number with respect to time under different boundary heating rates have been determined and discussed. The heat fluxes normal to platinum wall for different cases were also calculated and compared with theoretical upper limit of maximum possible heat transfer to elucidate the effect of boundary heating rate.

Catalysis and communication in dynamic molecular networks

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Fanlo Virgos, Hugo

2015-01-01

The interactions of a Dynamic Combinatorial Library (DCL) of molecules with specific targets leads to composition changes of the library which can reveal potential guests and / or catalysts. In this thesis some chemical systems have been proposed to achieve a certain level of molecular complexity

Bridging the gap between molecular dynamics simulations and phase-field modelling: dynamics of a [NixZr1-x]liquid-Zrcrystal solidification front

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Danilov, Denis; Nestler, Britta; Guerdane, Mohammed; Teichler, Helmar

2009-01-01

Results are presented from phase-field modelling and molecular dynamics simulations concerning the relaxation dynamics in a finite-temperature two-phase crystal-liquid sample subjected to an abrupt temperature drop. Relaxation takes place by propagation of the solidification front under formation of a spatially varying concentration profile in the melt. The molecular dynamics simulations are carried out with an interatomic model appropriate for the NiZr alloy system and provide the thermophysical data required for setting up the phase-field simulations. Regarding the concentration profile and velocity of the solidification front, best agreement between the phase-field model and molecular dynamics simulation is obtained when increasing the apparent diffusion coefficients in the phase-field treatment by a factor of four against their molecular dynamics estimates.

Visualizing functional motions of membrane transporters with molecular dynamics simulations.

Science.gov (United States)

Shaikh, Saher A; Li, Jing; Enkavi, Giray; Wen, Po-Chao; Huang, Zhijian; Tajkhorshid, Emad

2013-01-29

Computational modeling and molecular simulation techniques have become an integral part of modern molecular research. Various areas of molecular sciences continue to benefit from, indeed rely on, the unparalleled spatial and temporal resolutions offered by these technologies, to provide a more complete picture of the molecular problems at hand. Because of the continuous development of more efficient algorithms harvesting ever-expanding computational resources, and the emergence of more advanced and novel theories and methodologies, the scope of computational studies has expanded significantly over the past decade, now including much larger molecular systems and far more complex molecular phenomena. Among the various computer modeling techniques, the application of molecular dynamics (MD) simulation and related techniques has particularly drawn attention in biomolecular research, because of the ability of the method to describe the dynamical nature of the molecular systems and thereby to provide a more realistic representation, which is often needed for understanding fundamental molecular properties. The method has proven to be remarkably successful in capturing molecular events and structural transitions highly relevant to the function and/or physicochemical properties of biomolecular systems. Herein, after a brief introduction to the method of MD, we use a number of membrane transport proteins studied in our laboratory as examples to showcase the scope and applicability of the method and its power in characterizing molecular motions of various magnitudes and time scales that are involved in the function of this important class of membrane proteins.

Dynamics and diffusive-conformational coupling in polymer bulk samples and surfaces: a molecular dynamics study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vree, C; Mayr, S G

2010-01-01

The impact of free surfaces on the mobility and conformational fluctuations of model polymer chains is investigated with the help of classical molecular dynamics simulations over a broad temperature range. Below a critical temperature, T*, similar to the critical temperature of the mode coupling theory, the center-of-mass displacements and temporal fluctuations of the radius of gyration of individual chains-as a fingerprint of structural reconfigurations-reveal a strong enhancement close to surfaces, while this effect diminishes with increasing temperature and observation time. Interpreting conformational fluctuations as a random walk in conformational space, identical activation enthalpies for structural reconfigurations and diffusion are obtained within the error bars in the bulk and at the surfaces, thus indicating a coupling of diffusive and conformational dynamics.

Molecular dynamics studies of the ion beam induced crystallization in silicon

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Marques, L.A.; Caturla, M.J.; Huang, H.

1995-01-01

We have studied the ion bombardment induced amorphous-to-crystal transition in silicon using molecular dynamics techniques. The growth of small crystal seeds embedded in the amorphous phase has been monitored for several temperatures in order to get information on the effect of the thermal temperature increase introduced by the incoming ion. The role of ion-induced defects on the growth has been also studied

Molecular Dynamics Investigation of the Effects of Concentration on Hydrogen Bonding in Aqueous Solutions of Methanol, Ethylene Glycol and Glycerol

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang, Ning; Li, Weizhong; Chen, Cong; Zuo, Jianguo; Weng, Lindong

2013-01-01

Hydrogen bonding interaction between alcohols and water molecules is an important characteristic in the aqueous solutions of alcohols. In this paper, a series of molecular dynamics simulations have been performed to investigate the aqueous solutions of low molecular weight alcohols (methanol, ethylene glycol and glycerol) at the concentrations covering a broad range from 1 to 90 mol %. The work focuses on studying the effect of the alcohols molecules on the hydrogen bonding of water molecules in binary mixtures. By analyzing the hydrogen bonding ability of the hydroxyl (-OH) groups for the three alcohols, it is found that the hydroxyl group of methanol prefers to form more hydrogen bonds than that of ethylene glycol and glycerol due to the intra-and intermolecular effects. It is also shown that concentration has significant effect on the ability of alcohol molecule to hydrogen bond water molecules. Understanding the hydrogen bonding characteristics of the aqueous solutions is helpful to reveal the cryoprotective mechanisms of methanol, ethylene glycol and glycerol in aqueous solutions

Molecular Dynamics Simulation for the Mechanical Properties of CNT/Polymer Nanocomposites

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yang, Seung Hwa; Cho, Maeg Hyo

2007-01-01

In order to obtain mechanical properties of CNT/Polymer nano-composites, molecular dynamics simulation is performed. Overall system was modeled as a flexible unit cell in which carbon nanotubes are embedded into a polyethylene matrix for N σ T ensemble simulation. COMPASS force field was chosen to describe inter and intra molecular potential and bulk effect was achieved via periodic boundary conditions. In CNT-polymer interface, only Lennard-Jones non-bond potential was considered. Using Parrinello-Rahman fluctuation method, mechanical properties of orthotropic nano-composites under various temperatures were successfully obtained. Also, we investigated thermal behavior of the short CNT reinforced nanocomposites system with predicting glass transition temperature

Laser Controlled Molecular Orientation Dynamics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Atabek, O.

2004-01-01

Molecular orientation is a challenging control issue covering a wide range of applications from reactive collisions, high order harmonic generation, surface processing and catalysis, to nanotechnologies. The laser control scenario rests on the following three steps: (i) depict some basic mechanisms producing dynamical orientation; (ii) use them both as computational and interpretative tools in optimal control schemes involving genetic algorithms; (iii) apply what is learnt from optimal control to improve the basic mechanisms. The existence of a target molecular rotational state combining the advantages of efficient and post-pulse long duration orientation is shown. A strategy is developed for reaching such a target in terms of a train of successive short laser pulses applied at predicted time intervals. Each individual pulse imparts a kick to the molecule which orients. Transposition of such strategies to generic systems is now under investigation

Structural phase transition and dynamical properties of PbTiO3 simulated by molecular dynamics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Costa, S C; Pizani, P S; Rino, J P; Borges, D S

2005-01-01

The temperature- and pressure-induced structural phase transition in PbTiO 3 is studied with the isoenthalpic-isobaric molecular-dynamics method, using an effective two-body interaction potential. The tetragonal to cubic transformation is successfully reproduced with both temperature and pressure. The behaviour of lattice parameters, vibrational density of states, and phonon anharmonicity with temperature and pressure are in very good agreement with experimental data. Two- and three-body correlations were analysed through pair distribution functions, coordination numbers and bond-angle distributions

The 2011 Dynamics of Molecular Collisions Conference

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nesbitt, David J. [JILA, NIST

2011-07-11

The Dynamics of Molecular Collisions Conference focuses on all aspects of molecular collisions--experimental & theoretical studies of elastic, inelastic, & reactive encounters involving atoms, molecules, ions, clusters, & surfaces--as well as half collisions--photodissociation, photo-induced reaction, & photodesorption. The scientific program for the meeting in 2011 included exciting advances in both the core & multidisciplinary forefronts of the study of molecular collision processes. Following the format of the 2009 meeting, we also invited sessions in special topics that involve interfacial dynamics, novel emerging spectroscopies, chemical dynamics in atmospheric, combustion & interstellar environments, as well as a session devoted to theoretical & experimental advances in ultracold molecular samples. Researchers working inside & outside the traditional core topics of the meeting are encouraged to join the conference. We invite contributions of work that seeks understanding of how inter & intra-molecular forces determine the dynamics of the phenomena under study. In addition to invited oral sessions & contributed poster sessions, the scientific program included a formal session consisting of five contributed talks selected from the submitted poster abstracts. The DMC has distinguished itself by having the Herschbach Medal Symposium as part of the meeting format. This tradition of the Herschbach Medal was first started in the 2007 meeting chaired by David Chandler, based on a generous donation of funds & artwork design by Professor Dudley Herschbach himself. There are two such awards made, one for experimental & one for theoretical contributions to the field of Molecular Collision Dynamics, broadly defined. The symposium is always held on the last night of the meeting & has the awardees are asked to deliver an invited lecture on their work. The 2011 Herschbach Medal was dedicated to the contributions of two long standing leaders in Chemical Physics, Professor

Lattice dynamics of a crystal with a molecular impurity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sahoo, D.; Venkataraman, G.

1975-01-01

The dynamics of a crystal containing a molecular impurity is discussed with allowance for the effects of internal vibrations of the molecule. Cartesian coordinates are used to describe internal vibrations, angular oscillations and centre of mass translations of the impurity, and the displacement of atoms of the host lattice. Next the Hamiltonian is set up and the equations of motion derived. In this process, use is made of Dirac brackets when dealing with vibrational coordinates (of the molecule) which have redundancy and constraints. A method of solution of the normal modes of the system is indicated by using the defect space matrixpartitioning technique. The special case of a rigid molecular impurity is then discussed along with the relevance of the present formalism in the interpretation of a recent neutron scattering experiment. It is also shown how the results of crystal-field approximation model and those of the molecular model approximation are obtained as further special cases of the present formalism. A comparison of the present work with those of others has been made. (author)

The effect of copolymers on the interfaces in incompatible homopolymers blend: Molecular dynamics study

Science.gov (United States)

Ryu, Jiho; Lee, Won Bo

2015-03-01

Using molecular dynamics simulations the effect of copolymers as compatibilizer for reducing interfacial tension and enhancement of interfacial adhesion at the interface of thermodynamic unfavorable homopolymers blend is studied with block- and graft-copolymers. We have calculated local pressure tensor of system along the axis perpendicular to interface, varying bending potential energy of one part, which consist of just one kind of beads, of copolymer chain to examine the effect of stiffness of surfactin molecules. Here we consider symmetric diblock copolymer (f =1/2) having 1/2 N make of beads of type A and the other part made of beads of type B, and graft copolymer having backbone linear chain consist of 1/2 N beads of type of A and branched with two side-chain consist of 1/4 N beads of type B. All simulations were performed under the constant NPT ensemble at T* =1, ρ* ~0.85. Also we studied changes of effect of copolymers with increasing pairwise repulsive interaction potential between two beads of types A and B while homopolymers chain length are fixed, N =30. Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Sogang University, Seoul, South Korea.

A stochastic phase-field model determined from molecular dynamics

KAUST Repository

von Schwerin, Erik

2010-03-17

The dynamics of dendritic growth of a crystal in an undercooled melt is determined by macroscopic diffusion-convection of heat and by capillary forces acting on the nanometer scale of the solid-liquid interface width. Its modelling is useful for instance in processing techniques based on casting. The phase-field method is widely used to study evolution of such microstructural phase transformations on a continuum level; it couples the energy equation to a phenomenological Allen-Cahn/Ginzburg-Landau equation modelling the dynamics of an order parameter determining the solid and liquid phases, including also stochastic fluctuations to obtain the qualitatively correct result of dendritic side branching. This work presents a method to determine stochastic phase-field models from atomistic formulations by coarse-graining molecular dynamics. It has three steps: (1) a precise quantitative atomistic definition of the phase-field variable, based on the local potential energy; (2) derivation of its coarse-grained dynamics model, from microscopic Smoluchowski molecular dynamics (that is Brownian or over damped Langevin dynamics); and (3) numerical computation of the coarse-grained model functions. The coarse-grained model approximates Gibbs ensemble averages of the atomistic phase-field, by choosing coarse-grained drift and diffusion functions that minimize the approximation error of observables in this ensemble average. © EDP Sciences, SMAI, 2010.

A stochastic phase-field model determined from molecular dynamics

KAUST Repository

von Schwerin, Erik; Szepessy, Anders

2010-01-01

The dynamics of dendritic growth of a crystal in an undercooled melt is determined by macroscopic diffusion-convection of heat and by capillary forces acting on the nanometer scale of the solid-liquid interface width. Its modelling is useful for instance in processing techniques based on casting. The phase-field method is widely used to study evolution of such microstructural phase transformations on a continuum level; it couples the energy equation to a phenomenological Allen-Cahn/Ginzburg-Landau equation modelling the dynamics of an order parameter determining the solid and liquid phases, including also stochastic fluctuations to obtain the qualitatively correct result of dendritic side branching. This work presents a method to determine stochastic phase-field models from atomistic formulations by coarse-graining molecular dynamics. It has three steps: (1) a precise quantitative atomistic definition of the phase-field variable, based on the local potential energy; (2) derivation of its coarse-grained dynamics model, from microscopic Smoluchowski molecular dynamics (that is Brownian or over damped Langevin dynamics); and (3) numerical computation of the coarse-grained model functions. The coarse-grained model approximates Gibbs ensemble averages of the atomistic phase-field, by choosing coarse-grained drift and diffusion functions that minimize the approximation error of observables in this ensemble average. © EDP Sciences, SMAI, 2010.

A molecular dynamics study of thermal transport in nanoparticle doped Argon like solid

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Shahadat, Muhammad Rubayat Bin, E-mail: rubayat37@gmail.com; Ahmed, Shafkat; Morshed, A. K. M. M. [Department of Mechanical Engineering Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) Dhaka (Bangladesh)

2016-07-12

Interfacial phenomena such as mass and type of the interstitial atom, nano scale material defect influence heat transfer and the effect become very significant with the reduction of the material size. Non Equilibrium Molecular Dynamics (NEMD) simulation was carried out in this study to investigate the effect of the interfacial phenomena on solid. Argon like solid was considered in this study and LJ potential was used for atomic interaction. Nanoparticles of different masses and different molecular defects were inserted inside the solid. From the molecular simulation, it was observed that a large interfacial mismatch due to change in mass in the homogenous solid causes distortion of the phonon frequency causing increase in thermal resistance. Position of the doped nanoparticles have more profound effect on the thermal conductivity of the solid whereas influence of the mass ratio is not very significant. Interstitial atom positioned perpendicular to the heat flow causes sharp reduction in thermal conductivity. Structural defect caused by the molecular defect (void) also observed to significantly affect the thermal conductivity of the solid.

Molecular dynamics studies of radiation effects in silicon carbide

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Diaz de la Rubia, T.; Caturla, M.J.; Tobin, M.

1995-01-01

We discuss results of molecular dynamics computer simulation studies of 3 keV and 5 keV displacement cascades in β-SIC, and compare them to results of 5 keV cascades in pure silicon. The SiC simulations are performed with the Tersoff potential. For silicon we use the Stillinger-Weber potential. Simulations were carried out for Si recoils in 3 dimensional cubic computational cells With periodic boundary conditions and up to 175,616 atoms. The cascade lifetime in SiC is found to be extremely short. This, combined with the high melting temperature of SiC, precludes direct lattice amorphization during the cascade. Although large disordered regions result, these retain their basic crystalline structure. These results are in contrast with observations in pure silicon where direct-impact amorphization from the cascade is seen to take place. The SiC results also show anisotropy in the number of Si and C recoils as well as in the number of replacements in each sublattice. Details of the damage configurations obtained will be discussed

Field theoretic approach to dynamical orbital localization in ab initio molecular dynamics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Thomas, Jordan W.; Iftimie, Radu; Tuckerman, Mark E.

2004-01-01

Techniques from gauge-field theory are employed to derive an alternative formulation of the Car-Parrinello ab initio molecular-dynamics method that allows maximally localized Wannier orbitals to be generated dynamically as the calculation proceeds. In particular, the Car-Parrinello Lagrangian is mapped onto an SU(n) non-Abelian gauge-field theory and the fictitious kinetic energy in the Car-Parrinello Lagrangian is modified to yield a fully gauge-invariant form. The Dirac gauge-fixing method is then employed to derive a set of equations of motion that automatically maintain orbital locality by restricting the orbitals to remain in the 'Wannier gauge'. An approximate algorithm for integrating the equations of motion that is stable and maintains orbital locality is then developed based on the exact equations of motion. It is shown in a realistic application (64 water molecules plus one hydrogen-chloride molecule in a periodic box) that orbital locality can be maintained with only a modest increase in CPU time. The ability to keep orbitals localized in an ab initio molecular-dynamics calculation is a crucial ingredient in the development of emerging linear scaling approaches

Extended Lagrangian Born-Oppenheimer molecular dynamics simulations of the shock-induced chemistry of phenylacetylene

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cawkwell, M. J., E-mail: cawkwell@lanl.gov; Niklasson, Anders M. N. [Theoretical Division, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico 87545 (United States); Dattelbaum, Dana M. [Weapons Experiments Division, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico 87545 (United States)

2015-02-14

The initial chemical events that occur during the shock compression of liquid phenylacetylene have been investigated using self-consistent tight binding molecular dynamics simulations. The extended Lagrangian Born-Oppenheimer molecular dynamics formalism enabled us to compute microcanonical trajectories with precise conservation of the total energy. Our simulations revealed that the first density-increasing step under shock compression arises from the polymerization of phenylacetylene molecules at the acetylene moiety. The application of electronic structure-based molecular dynamics with long-term conservation of the total energy enabled us to identify electronic signatures of reactivity via monitoring changes in the HOMO-LUMO gap, and to capture directly adiabatic shock heating, transient non-equilibrium states, and changes in temperature arising from exothermic chemistry in classical molecular dynamics trajectories.

Extended Lagrangian Born-Oppenheimer molecular dynamics simulations of the shock-induced chemistry of phenylacetylene.

Science.gov (United States)

Cawkwell, M J; Niklasson, Anders M N; Dattelbaum, Dana M

2015-02-14

The initial chemical events that occur during the shock compression of liquid phenylacetylene have been investigated using self-consistent tight binding molecular dynamics simulations. The extended Lagrangian Born-Oppenheimer molecular dynamics formalism enabled us to compute microcanonical trajectories with precise conservation of the total energy. Our simulations revealed that the first density-increasing step under shock compression arises from the polymerization of phenylacetylene molecules at the acetylene moiety. The application of electronic structure-based molecular dynamics with long-term conservation of the total energy enabled us to identify electronic signatures of reactivity via monitoring changes in the HOMO-LUMO gap, and to capture directly adiabatic shock heating, transient non-equilibrium states, and changes in temperature arising from exothermic chemistry in classical molecular dynamics trajectories.

A MOLECULAR-DYNAMICS STUDY OF LECITHIN MONOLAYERS

NARCIS (Netherlands)

AHLSTROM, P; BERENDSEN, HJC

1993-01-01

Two monolayers of didecanoyllecithin at the air-water interface have been studied using molecular dynamics simulations. The model system consisted of two monolayers of 42 lecithin molecules each separated by a roughly 4 nm thick slab of SPC water. The area per lecithin molecule was 0.78 nm(2)

Molecular dynamics simulation of effect of hydrogen atoms on crack propagation behavior of α-Fe

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Song, H.Y., E-mail: gsfshy@sohu.com; Zhang, L.; Xiao, M.X.

2016-12-16

The effect of the hydrogen concentration and hydrogen distribution on the mechanical properties of α-Fe with a pre-existing unilateral crack under tensile loading is investigated by molecular dynamics simulation. The results reveal that the models present good ductility when the front region of crack tip has high local hydrogen concentration. The peak stress of α-Fe decreases with increasing hydrogen concentration. The studies also indicate that for the samples with hydrogen atoms, the crack propagation behavior is independent of the model size and boundaries. In addition, the crack propagation behavior is significantly influenced by the distribution of hydrogen atoms. - Highlights: • The distribution of hydrogen plays a critical role in the crack propagation. • The peak stress decrease with the hydrogen concentration increasing. • The crack deformation behavior is disclosed and analyzed.

Molecular dynamics simulation of impact test

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Akahoshi, Y.; Schmauder, S.; Ludwig, M.

1998-01-01

This paper describes an impact test by molecular dynamics (MD) simulation to evaluate embrittlement of bcc Fe at different temperatures. A new impact test model is developed for MD simulation. The typical fracture behaviors show transition from brittle to ductile fracture, and a history of the impact loads also demonstrates its transition. We conclude that the impact test by MD could be feasible. (orig.)

Molecular dynamics simulation of impact test

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Akahoshi, Y. [Kyushu Inst. of Tech., Kitakyushu, Fukuoka (Japan); Schmauder, S.; Ludwig, M. [Stuttgart Univ. (Germany). Staatliche Materialpruefungsanstalt

1998-11-01

This paper describes an impact test by molecular dynamics (MD) simulation to evaluate embrittlement of bcc Fe at different temperatures. A new impact test model is developed for MD simulation. The typical fracture behaviors show transition from brittle to ductile fracture, and a history of the impact loads also demonstrates its transition. We conclude that the impact test by MD could be feasible. (orig.)

How to remove the spurious resonances from ring polymer molecular dynamics

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rossi, Mariana; Manolopoulos, David E. [Physical and Theoretical Chemistry Laboratory, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3QZ (United Kingdom); Ceriotti, Michele [Laboratory of Computational Science and Modeling, IMX, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, 1015 Lausanne (Switzerland)

2014-06-21

Two of the most successful methods that are presently available for simulating the quantum dynamics of condensed phase systems are centroid molecular dynamics (CMD) and ring polymer molecular dynamics (RPMD). Despite their conceptual differences, practical implementations of these methods differ in just two respects: the choice of the Parrinello-Rahman mass matrix and whether or not a thermostat is applied to the internal modes of the ring polymer during the dynamics. Here, we explore a method which is halfway between the two approximations: we keep the path integral bead masses equal to the physical particle masses but attach a Langevin thermostat to the internal modes of the ring polymer during the dynamics. We justify this by showing analytically that the inclusion of an internal mode thermostat does not affect any of the established features of RPMD: thermostatted RPMD is equally valid with respect to everything that has actually been proven about the method as RPMD itself. In particular, because of the choice of bead masses, the resulting method is still optimum in the short-time limit, and the transition state approximation to its reaction rate theory remains closely related to the semiclassical instanton approximation in the deep quantum tunneling regime. In effect, there is a continuous family of methods with these properties, parameterised by the strength of the Langevin friction. Here, we explore numerically how the approximation to quantum dynamics depends on this friction, with a particular emphasis on vibrational spectroscopy. We find that a broad range of frictions approaching optimal damping give similar results, and that these results are immune to both the resonance problem of RPMD and the curvature problem of CMD.

How to remove the spurious resonances from ring polymer molecular dynamics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rossi, Mariana; Manolopoulos, David E.; Ceriotti, Michele

2014-01-01

Two of the most successful methods that are presently available for simulating the quantum dynamics of condensed phase systems are centroid molecular dynamics (CMD) and ring polymer molecular dynamics (RPMD). Despite their conceptual differences, practical implementations of these methods differ in just two respects: the choice of the Parrinello-Rahman mass matrix and whether or not a thermostat is applied to the internal modes of the ring polymer during the dynamics. Here, we explore a method which is halfway between the two approximations: we keep the path integral bead masses equal to the physical particle masses but attach a Langevin thermostat to the internal modes of the ring polymer during the dynamics. We justify this by showing analytically that the inclusion of an internal mode thermostat does not affect any of the established features of RPMD: thermostatted RPMD is equally valid with respect to everything that has actually been proven about the method as RPMD itself. In particular, because of the choice of bead masses, the resulting method is still optimum in the short-time limit, and the transition state approximation to its reaction rate theory remains closely related to the semiclassical instanton approximation in the deep quantum tunneling regime. In effect, there is a continuous family of methods with these properties, parameterised by the strength of the Langevin friction. Here, we explore numerically how the approximation to quantum dynamics depends on this friction, with a particular emphasis on vibrational spectroscopy. We find that a broad range of frictions approaching optimal damping give similar results, and that these results are immune to both the resonance problem of RPMD and the curvature problem of CMD

Opposite photo-induced deformations in azobenzene-containing polymers with different molecular architecture: Molecular dynamics study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ilnytskyi, Jaroslav M.; Neher, Dieter; Saphiannikova, Marina

2011-01-01

Photo-induced deformations in azobenzene-containing polymers (azo-polymers) are central to a number of applications, such as optical storage and fabrication of diffractive elements. The microscopic nature of the underlying opto-mechanical coupling is yet not clear. In this study, we address the experimental finding that the scenario of the effects depends on molecular architecture of the used azo-polymer. Typically, opposite deformations in respect to the direction of light polarization are observed for liquid crystalline and amorphous azo-polymers. In this study, we undertake molecular dynamics simulations of two different models that mimic these two types of azo-polymers. We employ hybrid force field modeling and consider only trans-isomers of azobenzene, represented as Gay-Berne sites. The effect of illumination on the orientation of the chromophores is considered on the level of orientational hole burning and emphasis is given to the resulting deformation of the polymer matrix. We reproduce deformations of opposite sign for the two models being considered here and discuss the relevant microscopic mechanisms in both cases.

Nano-confined water in the interlayers of hydrocalumite: Reorientational dynamics probed by neutron spectroscopy and molecular dynamics computer simulations

Science.gov (United States)

Kalinichev, A. G.; Faraone, A.; Udovic, T.; Kolesnikov, A. I.; de Souza, N. R.; Reinholdt, M. X.; Kirkpatrick, R.

2008-12-01

Layered double hydroxides (LDHs, anionic clays) represent excellent model systems for detailed molecular- level studies of the structure, dynamics, and energetics of nano-confined water in mineral interlayers and nano-pores, because LDH interlayers can have a well-defined structures and contain H2O molecules and a wide variety of anions in structurally well-defined positions and coordinations. [Ca2Al(OH)6]Cl·2H2O, also known as hydrocalumite or Friedel's salt, has a well- ordered Ca,Al distribution in the hydroxide layer and a very high degree of H2O,Cl ordering in the interlayer. It is also one of the only LDH phase for which a single crystal structure refinement is available. Thus, it is currently the best model compound for understanding the structure and dynamical behavior of interlayer and surface species in other, less-ordered, LDHs. We investigated the structural and dynamic behavior of water in the interlayers of hydrocalumite using inelastic (INS) and quasielastic (QENS) neutron scattering and molecular dynamics computer simulations. The comperehensive neutron scattering studies were performed for one fully hydrated and one dehydrated sample of hydrocalumite using several complementary instruments (HFBS, DCS and FANS at NCNR; HRMECS and QENS at IPNS) at temperatures above and below the previously discovered order-disorder interlayer phase transition. Together the experimental and molecular modeling results capture the important details of the dynamics of nano-confined water and the effects of the orientational ordering of H2O molecules above and below the phase transition. They provide otherwise unobtainable experimental information about the transformation of H2O librational and diffusional modes across the order-disorder phase transition and significantly add to our current understanding of the structure and dynamics of water in LDH phases based on the earlier NMR, IR, X-ray, and calorimetric measurements. The approach can now be extended to probe the

Molecular Dynamics Simulations of a Linear Nanomotor Driven by Thermophoretic Forces

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Zambrano, Harvey A; Walther, Jens Honore; Jaffe, Richard L.

Molecular Dynamics of a Linear Nanomotor Driven by Thermophoresis Harvey A. Zambrano1, Jens H. Walther1,2 and Richard L. Jaffe3 1Department of Mechanical Engineering, Fluid Mechanics, Technical University of Denmark, DK-2800 Lyngby, Denmark; 2Computational Science and Engineering Laboratory, ETH...... future molecular machines a complete understanding of the friction forces involved on the transport process at the molecular level have to be addressed.18 In this work we perform Molecular Dynamics (MD) simulations using the MD package FASTTUBE19 to study a molecular linear motor consisting of coaxial...... the valence forces within the CNT using Morse, harmonic angle and torsion potentials.19We include a nonbonded carbon-carbon Lennard-Jones potential to describe the vdW interaction between the carbon atoms within the double wall portion of the system. We equilibrate the system at 300K for 0.1 ns, by coupling...

Non equilibrium effects in nuclear dynamics

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Papa, M.; Arena, N.; Cardella, G.; Lanzano, G.; Filippo, E. de; Lanzalone, G.; Pagano, A.; Pirrone, S.; Politi, G. [Catania Univ., INFN Catania and Dipartimento di Fisica e Astronomia (Italy); Amorini, F.; Anzalone, A.; Bonasera, A.; Cavallaro, S.; Di Pietro, A.; Figuera, P.; Giustolisi, F.; Iacono Manno, M.; La Guidara, E.; Maiolino, C.; Porto, F.; Rizzo, F.; Sperduto, M.L. [Catania Univ., INFN-LNS and Dipartimento di Fisica e Astronomia (Italy); Auditore, L.; Trifiro, A.; Trimarchi, M. [Messina Univ., INFN and Dipartimento di Fisica (Italy)

2003-07-01

A Constraint Molecular Dynamics (CoMD) approach is used to study dynamical effects related to both the average dynamics and the fluctuations around it. Data obtained in the REVERSE and in TRASMARAD experiments were compared with the theoretical simulations. The concept of temperature, as derived from a fully dynamical description of the GDR (giant dipole resonance) mode, is also discussed. In this contribution we have discussed the comparison between the CoMD model and two classes of phenomena, induced by heavy ion collisions. The first one is related to the IMF (intermediate mass fragment) production in semi-peripheral collisions for the {sup 124}Sn + {sup 64}Ni system at 35 MeV/nucleon. The comparison put in evidence clear preequilibrium effects in the fragment production mechanism which are essentially related to the behavior of the average dynamics. The second one concerns the high {gamma}-ray productions, due to dipolar resonant mechanisms, in the {sup 40}Ca + {sup 48}Ca system at 25 MeV/nucleon. In this case the comparisons with the model allows to put in evidence preequilibrium effects related both to the average dynamics and to the fluctuating one.

Accounting for Electronic Polarization Effects in Aqueous Sodium Chloride via Molecular Dynamics Aided by Neutron Scattering

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Kohagen, Miriam; Mason, Philip E.; Jungwirth, Pavel

2016-01-01

Roč. 120, č. 8 (2016), s. 1454-1460 ISSN 1520-6106 R&D Projects: GA ČR GBP208/12/G016 Institutional support: RVO:61388963 Keywords : molecular dynamics * neutron scattering * agueous sodium chloride Subject RIV: CF - Physical ; Theoretical Chemistry Impact factor: 3.177, year: 2016

Combined Molecular Dynamics Simulation-Molecular-Thermodynamic Theory Framework for Predicting Surface Tensions.

Science.gov (United States)

Sresht, Vishnu; Lewandowski, Eric P; Blankschtein, Daniel; Jusufi, Arben

2017-08-22

A molecular modeling approach is presented with a focus on quantitative predictions of the surface tension of aqueous surfactant solutions. The approach combines classical Molecular Dynamics (MD) simulations with a molecular-thermodynamic theory (MTT) [ Y. J. Nikas, S. Puvvada, D. Blankschtein, Langmuir 1992 , 8 , 2680 ]. The MD component is used to calculate thermodynamic and molecular parameters that are needed in the MTT model to determine the surface tension isotherm. The MD/MTT approach provides the important link between the surfactant bulk concentration, the experimental control parameter, and the surfactant surface concentration, the MD control parameter. We demonstrate the capability of the MD/MTT modeling approach on nonionic alkyl polyethylene glycol surfactants at the air-water interface and observe reasonable agreement of the predicted surface tensions and the experimental surface tension data over a wide range of surfactant concentrations below the critical micelle concentration. Our modeling approach can be extended to ionic surfactants and their mixtures with both ionic and nonionic surfactants at liquid-liquid interfaces.

Molecular dynamics simulation of a phospholipid membrane

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Egberts, Egbert; Marrink, Siewert-Jan; Berendsen, Herman J.C.

We present the results of molecular dynamics (MD) simulations of a phospholipid membrane in water, including full atomic detail. The goal of the simulations was twofold: first we wanted to set up a simulation system which is able to reproduce experimental results and can serve as a model membrane in

Structural, dynamic, and vibrational properties during heat transfer in Si/Ge superlattices: A Car-Parrinello molecular dynamics study

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ji, Pengfei; Zhang, Yuwen, E-mail: zhangyu@missouri.edu [Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri 65211 (United States); Yang, Mo [College of Energy and Power Engineering, University of Shanghai for Science and Technology, Shanghai 200093 (China)

2013-12-21

The structural, dynamic, and vibrational properties during heat transfer process in Si/Ge superlattices are studied by analyzing the trajectories generated by the ab initio Car-Parrinello molecular dynamics simulation. The radial distribution functions and mean square displacements are calculated and further discussions are made to explain and probe the structural changes relating to the heat transfer phenomenon. Furthermore, the vibrational density of states of the two layers (Si/Ge) are computed and plotted to analyze the contributions of phonons with different frequencies to the heat conduction. Coherent heat conduction of the low frequency phonons is found and their contributions to facilitate heat transfer are confirmed. The Car-Parrinello molecular dynamics simulation outputs in the work show reasonable thermophysical results of the thermal energy transport process and shed light on the potential applications of treating the heat transfer in the superlattices of semiconductor materials from a quantum mechanical molecular dynamics simulation perspective.

Structural, dynamic, and vibrational properties during heat transfer in Si/Ge superlattices: A Car-Parrinello molecular dynamics study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ji, Pengfei; Zhang, Yuwen; Yang, Mo

2013-01-01

The structural, dynamic, and vibrational properties during heat transfer process in Si/Ge superlattices are studied by analyzing the trajectories generated by the ab initio Car-Parrinello molecular dynamics simulation. The radial distribution functions and mean square displacements are calculated and further discussions are made to explain and probe the structural changes relating to the heat transfer phenomenon. Furthermore, the vibrational density of states of the two layers (Si/Ge) are computed and plotted to analyze the contributions of phonons with different frequencies to the heat conduction. Coherent heat conduction of the low frequency phonons is found and their contributions to facilitate heat transfer are confirmed. The Car-Parrinello molecular dynamics simulation outputs in the work show reasonable thermophysical results of the thermal energy transport process and shed light on the potential applications of treating the heat transfer in the superlattices of semiconductor materials from a quantum mechanical molecular dynamics simulation perspective

Structural, dynamic, and vibrational properties during heat transfer in Si/Ge superlattices: A Car-Parrinello molecular dynamics study

Science.gov (United States)

Ji, Pengfei; Zhang, Yuwen; Yang, Mo

2013-12-01

The structural, dynamic, and vibrational properties during heat transfer process in Si/Ge superlattices are studied by analyzing the trajectories generated by the ab initio Car-Parrinello molecular dynamics simulation. The radial distribution functions and mean square displacements are calculated and further discussions are made to explain and probe the structural changes relating to the heat transfer phenomenon. Furthermore, the vibrational density of states of the two layers (Si/Ge) are computed and plotted to analyze the contributions of phonons with different frequencies to the heat conduction. Coherent heat conduction of the low frequency phonons is found and their contributions to facilitate heat transfer are confirmed. The Car-Parrinello molecular dynamics simulation outputs in the work show reasonable thermophysical results of the thermal energy transport process and shed light on the potential applications of treating the heat transfer in the superlattices of semiconductor materials from a quantum mechanical molecular dynamics simulation perspective.

Understanding water: Molecular dynamics simulations of solubilized and crystallized myoglobin

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wei Gu; Garcia, A.E.; Schoenborn, B.P. [Los Alamos National Laboratory, NM (United States)

1994-12-31

Molecular dynamics simulations were performed on CO myoglobin to evaluate the stability of the bound water molecules as determined in a neutron diffraction analysis. The myoglobin structure derived from the neutron analysis provided the starting coordinate set used in the simulations. The simulations show that only a few water molecules are tightly bound to protein atoms, while most solvent molecules are labile, breaking and reforming hydrogen bonds. Comparison between myoglobin in solution and in a single crystal highlighted some of the packing effects on the solvent structure and shows that water solvent plays an indispensable role in protein dynamics and structural stability. The described observations explain some of the differences in the experimental results of protein hydration as observed in NMR, neutron and X-ray diffraction studies.

Understanding water: Molecular dynamics simulations of solubilized and crystallized myoglobin

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wei Gu; Garcia, A.E.; Schoenborn, B.P.

1994-01-01

Molecular dynamics simulations were performed on CO myoglobin to evaluate the stability of the bound water molecules as determined in a neutron diffraction analysis. The myoglobin structure derived from the neutron analysis provided the starting coordinate set used in the simulations. The simulations show that only a few water molecules are tightly bound to protein atoms, while most solvent molecules are labile, breaking and reforming hydrogen bonds. Comparison between myoglobin in solution and in a single crystal highlighted some of the packing effects on the solvent structure and shows that water solvent plays an indispensable role in protein dynamics and structural stability. The described observations explain some of the differences in the experimental results of protein hydration as observed in NMR, neutron and X-ray diffraction studies

Solvent effect on the synthesis of clarithromycin: A molecular dynamics study

Science.gov (United States)

Duran, Dilek; Aviyente, Viktorya; Baysal, Canan

2004-02-01

Clarithromycin (6- O-methylerythromycin A) is a 14-membered macrolide antibiotic which is active in vitro against clinically important gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria. The selectivity of the methylation of the C-6 OH group is studied on erythromycin A derivatives. To understand the effect of the solvent on the methylation process, detailed molecular dynamics (MD) simulations are performed in pure DMSO, pure THF and DMSO:THF (1:1) mixture by using the anions at the C-6, C-11 and C-12 positions of 2',4''-[ O-bis(TMS)]erythromycin A 9-[ O-(dimethylthexylsilyl)oxime] under the assumption that the anions are stable on the sub-nanosecond time scale. The conformations of the anions are not affected by the presence of the solvent mixture. The radial distribution functions are computed for the distribution of different solvent molecules around the `O-' of the anions. At distances shorter than 5 Å, DMSO molecules are found to cluster around the C-11 anion, whereas the anion at the C-12 position is surrounded by the THF molecules. The anion at the C-6 position is not blocked by the solvent molecules. The results are consistent with the experimental finding that the methylation yield at the latter position is increased in the presence of a DMSO:THF (1:1) solvent mixture. Thus, the effect of the solvent in enhancing the yield during the synthesis is not by changing the conformational properties of the anions, but rather by creating a suitable environment for methylation at the C-6 position.

Nonequilibrium Chemical Effects in Single-Molecule SERS Revealed by Ab Initio Molecular Dynamics Simulations

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fischer, Sean A.; Apra, Edoardo; Govind, Niranjan; Hess, Wayne P.; El-Khoury, Patrick Z.

2017-02-03

Recent developments in nanophotonics have paved the way for achieving significant advances in the realm of single molecule chemical detection, imaging, and dynamics. In particular, surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) is a powerful analytical technique that is now routinely used to identify the chemical identity of single molecules. Understanding how nanoscale physical and chemical processes affect single molecule SERS spectra and selection rules is a challenging task, and is still actively debated. Herein, we explore underappreciated chemical phenomena in ultrasensitive SERS. We observe a fluctuating excited electronic state manifold, governed by the conformational dynamics of a molecule (4,4’-dimercaptostilbene, DMS) interacting with a metallic cluster (Ag20). This affects our simulated single molecule SERS spectra; the time trajectories of a molecule interacting with its unique local environment dictates the relative intensities of the observable Raman-active vibrational states. Ab initio molecular dynamics of a model Ag20-DMS system are used to illustrate both concepts in light of recent experimental results.

Shapiro like steps reveals molecular nanomagnets’ spin dynamics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Abdollahipour, Babak; Abouie, Jahanfar; Ebrahimi, Navid

2015-01-01

We present an accurate way to detect spin dynamics of a nutating molecular nanomagnet by inserting it in a tunnel Josephson junction and studying the current voltage (I-V) characteristic. The spin nutation of the molecular nanomagnet is generated by applying two circularly polarized magnetic fields. We demonstrate that modulation of the Josephson current by the nutation of the molecular nanomagnet’s spin appears as a stepwise structure like Shapiro steps in the I-V characteristic of the junction. Width and heights of these Shapiro-like steps are determined by two parameters of the spin nutation, frequency and amplitude of the nutation, which are simply tuned by the applied magnetic fields

Molecular dynamics investigation on adsorption layer of alcohols at the air/brine interface.

Science.gov (United States)

Nguyen, Cuong V; Phan, Chi M; Ang, Ha M; Nakahara, Hiromichi; Shibata, Osamu; Moroi, Yoshikiyo

2015-01-01

Alcohols are a significant group of surfactants which have been employed extensively in industry to improve the interfacial effects. Recently, the change in surface potential (ΔV) of two isomeric hexanols, methyl isobutyl carbinol (MIBC) and 1-hexanol, was investigated by using an ionizing (241)Am electrode. It clearly showed the opposite effects between MIBC and 1-hexanol in the interfacial zone: one enhanced the presence of cations, whereas the other enhanced the presence of anions. This study employs molecular dynamics simulation to provide new insights into the interactions between alcohol molecules and ions as well as water at the molecular level. The results qualitatively agreed with the experimental data and verified the significance of MIBC branching structure on the molecular arrangement within the interfacial zone. The results also highlighted the role of the second water layer on the interfacial properties.

Molecular Dynamics Simulations on Evaporation of Droplets with Dissolved Salts

OpenAIRE

Jin-Liang Xu; Min Chen; Xiao-Dong Wang; Bing-Bing Wang

2013-01-01

Molecular dynamics simulations are used to study the evaporation of water droplets containing either dissolved LiCl, NaCl or KCl salt in a gaseous surrounding (nitrogen) with a constant high temperature of 600 K. The initial droplet has 298 K temperature and contains 1,120 water molecules, 0, 40, 80 or 120 salt molecules. The effects of the salt type and concentration on the evaporation rate are examined. Three stages with different evaporation rates are observed for all cases. In the initial...

Multiscale Modeling of Complex Molecular Structure and Dynamics with MBN Explorer

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Solov'yov, Ilia A.; Korol, Andrei V.; Solov'yov, Andrey V.

-up of input files, controls the simulations, and supports the subsequent visualization and analysis of the results obtained. The book subsequently provides a systematic description of the capabilities of this universal and powerful software package within the framework of computational molecular science...... of molecular and random walk dynamics. The package allows the use of a broad variety of interatomic potentials and can, e.g., be configured to select any subset of a molecular system as rigid fragments, whenever a significant reduction in the number of dynamical degrees of freedom is required for computational...... practicalities. MBN Studio enables users to easily construct initial geometries for the molecular, liquid, crystalline, gaseous and hybrid systems that serve as input for the subsequent simulations of their physical and chemical properties using MBN Explorer. Despite its universality, the computational...

Electron-nuclear corellations for photoinduced dynamics in molecular dimers

Science.gov (United States)

Kilin, Dmitri S.; Pereversev, Yuryi V.; Prezhdo, Oleg V.

2003-03-01

Ultrafast photoinduced dynamics of electronic excitation in molecular dimers is drastically affected by dynamic reorganization of of inter- and intra- molecular nuclear configuration modelled by quantized nuclear degree of freedom [1]. The dynamics of the electronic population and nuclear coherence is analyzed with help of both numerical solution of the chain of coupled differential equations for mean coordinate, population inversion, electronic-vibrational correlation etc.[2] and by propagating the Gaussian wavepackets in relevant adiabatic potentials. Intriguing results were obtained in the approximation of small energy difference and small change of nuclear equilibrium configuration for excited electronic states. In the limiting case of resonance between electronic states energy difference and frequency of the nuclear mode these results have been justified by comparison to exactly solvable Jaynes-Cummings model. It has been found that the photoinduced processes in dimer are arranged according to their time scales:(i) fast scale of nuclear motion,(ii) intermediate scale of dynamical redistribution of electronic population between excited states as well as growth and dynamics of electronic -nuclear correlation,(iii) slow scale of electronic population approaching to the quasiequilibrium distribution, decay of electronic-nuclear correlation, and diminishing the amplitude of mean coordinate oscillations, accompanied by essential growth of the nuclear coordinate dispersion associated with the overall nuclear wavepacket width. Demonstrated quantum-relaxational features of photoinduced vibronic dinamical processess in molecular dimers are obtained by simple method, applicable to large biological systems with many degrees of freedom. [1] J. A. Cina, D. S. Kilin, T. S. Humble, J. Chem. Phys. (2003) in press. [2] O. V. Prezhdo, J. Chem. Phys. 117, 2995 (2002).

Molecular Binding Contributes to Concentration Dependent Acrolein Deposition in Rat Upper Airways: CFD and Molecular Dynamics Analyses

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jinxiang Xi

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Existing in vivo experiments show significantly decreased acrolein uptake in rats with increasing inhaled acrolein concentrations. Considering that high-polarity chemicals are prone to bond with each other, it is hypothesized that molecular binding between acrolein and water will contribute to the experimentally observed deposition decrease by decreasing the effective diffusivity. The objective of this study is to quantify the probability of molecular binding for acrolein, as well as its effects on acrolein deposition, using multiscale simulations. An image-based rat airway geometry was used to predict the transport and deposition of acrolein using the chemical species model. The low Reynolds number turbulence model was used to simulate the airflows. Molecular dynamic (MD simulations were used to study the molecular binding of acrolein in different media and at different acrolein concentrations. MD results show that significant molecular binding can happen between acrolein and water molecules in human and rat airways. With 72 acrolein embedded in 800 water molecules, about 48% of acrolein compounds contain one hydrogen bond and 10% contain two hydrogen bonds, which agreed favorably with previous MD results. The percentage of hydrogen-bonded acrolein compounds is higher at higher acrolein concentrations or in a medium with higher polarity. Computational dosimetry results show that the size increase caused by the molecular binding reduces the effective diffusivity of acrolein and lowers the chemical deposition onto the airway surfaces. This result is consistent with the experimentally observed deposition decrease at higher concentrations. However, this size increase can only explain part of the concentration-dependent variation of the acrolein uptake and acts as a concurrent mechanism with the uptake-limiting tissue ration rate. Intermolecular interactions and associated variation in diffusivity should be considered in future dosimetry modeling of

Molecular Binding Contributes to Concentration Dependent Acrolein Deposition in Rat Upper Airways: CFD and Molecular Dynamics Analyses.

Science.gov (United States)

Xi, Jinxiang; Hu, Qin; Zhao, Linlin; Si, Xiuhua April

2018-03-27

Existing in vivo experiments show significantly decreased acrolein uptake in rats with increasing inhaled acrolein concentrations. Considering that high-polarity chemicals are prone to bond with each other, it is hypothesized that molecular binding between acrolein and water will contribute to the experimentally observed deposition decrease by decreasing the effective diffusivity. The objective of this study is to quantify the probability of molecular binding for acrolein, as well as its effects on acrolein deposition, using multiscale simulations. An image-based rat airway geometry was used to predict the transport and deposition of acrolein using the chemical species model. The low Reynolds number turbulence model was used to simulate the airflows. Molecular dynamic (MD) simulations were used to study the molecular binding of acrolein in different media and at different acrolein concentrations. MD results show that significant molecular binding can happen between acrolein and water molecules in human and rat airways. With 72 acrolein embedded in 800 water molecules, about 48% of acrolein compounds contain one hydrogen bond and 10% contain two hydrogen bonds, which agreed favorably with previous MD results. The percentage of hydrogen-bonded acrolein compounds is higher at higher acrolein concentrations or in a medium with higher polarity. Computational dosimetry results show that the size increase caused by the molecular binding reduces the effective diffusivity of acrolein and lowers the chemical deposition onto the airway surfaces. This result is consistent with the experimentally observed deposition decrease at higher concentrations. However, this size increase can only explain part of the concentration-dependent variation of the acrolein uptake and acts as a concurrent mechanism with the uptake-limiting tissue ration rate. Intermolecular interactions and associated variation in diffusivity should be considered in future dosimetry modeling of high

Vectorization, parallelization and implementation of Quantum molecular dynamics codes (QQQF, MONTEV)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kato, Kaori [High Energy Accelerator Research Organization, Tsukuba, Ibaraki (Japan); Kunugi, Tomoaki; Kotake, Susumu; Shibahara, Masahiko

1998-03-01

This report describes parallelization, vectorization and implementation for two simulation codes, Quantum molecular dynamics simulation code QQQF and Photon montecalro molecular dynamics simulation code MONTEV, that have been developed for the analysis of the thermalization of photon energies in the molecule or materials. QQQF has been vectorized and parallelized on Fujitsu VPP and has been implemented from VPP to Intel Paragon XP/S and parallelized. MONTEV has been implemented from VPP to Paragon and parallelized. (author)

On the hydration of subnanometric antifouling organosilane adlayers: a molecular dynamics simulation.

Science.gov (United States)

Sheikh, Sonia; Blaszykowski, Christophe; Nolan, Robert; Thompson, Damien; Thompson, Michael

2015-01-01

The connection between antifouling and surface hydration is a fascinating but daunting question to answer. Herein, we use molecular dynamics (MD) computer simulations to gain further insight into the role of surface functionalities in the molecular-level structuration of water (surface kosmotropicity)--within and atop subnanometric organosilane adlayers that were shown in previous experimental work to display varied antifouling behavior. Our simulations support the hypothesized intimate link between surface hydration and antifouling, in particular the importance of both internal and interfacial hydrophilicity and kosmotropicity. The antifouling mechanism is also discussed in terms of surface dehydration energy and water dynamicity (lability and mobility), notably the crucial requirement for clustered water molecules to remain tightly bound for extensive periods of time--i.e. exhibit slow exchange dynamics. A substrate effect on surface hydration, which would also participate in endowing antifouling adlayers with hydrogel-like characteristics, is also proposed. In contrast, the role of adlayer flexibility, if any, is assigned a secondary role in these ultrathin structures made of short building blocks. The conclusions from this work are well in line with those previously drawn in the literature. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Molecular dynamics simulations from putative transition states of alpha-spectrin SH3 domain

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Periole, Xavier; Vendruscolo, Michele; Mark, Alan E.

2007-01-01

A series of molecular dynamics simulations in explicit solvent were started from nine structural models of the transition state of the SH3 domain of alpha-spectrin, which were generated by Lindorff Larsen et al. (Nat Struct Mol Biol 2004;11:443-449) using molecular dynamics simulations in which

Droplet spreading driven by van der Waals force: a molecular dynamics study

KAUST Repository

Wu, Congmin

2010-07-07

The dynamics of droplet spreading is investigated by molecular dynamics simulations for two immiscible fluids of equal density and viscosity. All the molecular interactions are modeled by truncated Lennard-Jones potentials and a long-range van der Waals force is introduced to act on the wetting fluid. By gradually increasing the coupling constant in the attractive van der Waals interaction between the wetting fluid and the substrate, we observe a transition in the initial stage of spreading. There exists a critical value of the coupling constant, above which the spreading is pioneered by a precursor film. In particular, the dynamically determined critical value quantitatively agrees with that determined by the energy criterion that the spreading coefficient equals zero. The latter separates partial wetting from complete wetting. In the regime of complete wetting, the radius of the spreading droplet varies with time as R(t) ∼ √t, a behavior also found in molecular dynamics simulations where the wetting dynamics is driven by the short-range Lennard-Jones interaction between liquid and solid. © 2010 IOP Publishing Ltd.

Effect of strain field on displacement cascade in tungsten studied by molecular dynamics simulation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wang, D. [Institute of Modern Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000 (China); University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049 (China); Gao, N., E-mail: ning.gao@impcas.ac.cn [Institute of Modern Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000 (China); Wang, Z.G., E-mail: zhgwang@impcas.ac.cn [Institute of Modern Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000 (China); Gao, X. [Institute of Modern Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000 (China); He, W.H. [Institute of Modern Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000 (China); University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049 (China); Cui, M.H.; Pang, L.L.; Zhu, Y.B. [Institute of Modern Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000 (China)

2016-10-01

Using atomistic methods, the coupling effect of strain field and displacement cascade in body-centered cubic (BCC) tungsten is directly simulated by molecular dynamics (MD) simulations at different temperatures. The values of the hydrostatic and uniaxial (parallel or perpendicular to primary knock-on atom (PKA) direction) strains are from −2% to 2% and the temperature is from 100 to 1000 K. Because of the annealing effect, the influence of strain on radiation damage at low temperature has been proved to be more significant than that at high temperature. When the cascade proceeds under the hydrostatic strain, the Frenkel Pair (FP) production, the fraction of defect in cluster and the average size of the defect cluster, all increase at tensile state and decrease at compressive state. When the cascade is under uniaxial strain, the effect of strain parallel to PKA direction is less than the effect of hydrostatic strain, while the effect of strain perpendicular to PKA direction can be negligible. Under the uniaxial strain along 〈1 1 1〉 direction, the SIA and SIA cluster is observed to orientate along the strain direction at tensile state and the uniaxial compressive strain with direction perpendicular to 〈1 1 1〉 has led to the similar preferred nucleation. All these results indicate that under irradiation, the tensile state should be avoided for materials used in nuclear power plants.

Magnetic nanoparticles in fluid environment: combining molecular dynamics and Lattice-Boltzmann

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Melenev, Petr, E-mail: melenev@icmm.ru [Ural Federal University, 4, Turgeneva str., 620000 Ekaterinburg (Russian Federation); Institute of Continuous Media Mechanics, 1, Koroleva str., 614013 Perm (Russian Federation)

2017-06-01

Hydrodynamic interactions between magnetic nanoparticles suspended in the Newtonian liquid are accounted for using a combination of the lattice Boltzmann method and molecular dynamics simulations. Nanoparticle is modelled by the system of molecular dynamics material points (which form structure resembles raspberry) coupled to the lattice Boltzmann fluid. The hydrodynamic coupling between the colloids is studied by simulations of the thermo-induced rotational diffusion of two raspberry objects. It was found that for the considered range of model parameters the approaching of the raspberries leads to slight retard of the relaxation process. The presence of the weak magnetic dipolar interaction between the objects leads to modest decrease of the relaxation time and the extent of the acceleration of the diffusion is intensified along with magnetic forces. - Highlights: • The combination of molecular dynamics and lattice Boltzmann method is utilized for the reveal of the role of hydrodynamic interaction in rotational dynamics of colloid particles. • The verification of the model parameters is done based on the comparison with the results of Langevin dynamics. • For the task of free rotational diffusion of the pair of colloid particles the influence of the hydrodynamic interactions on the relaxation time is examined in the case of nonmagnetic particles and at the presence of weak dipolar interaction.

Semiclassical Monte Carlo: A first principles approach to non-adiabatic molecular dynamics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

White, Alexander J.; Gorshkov, Vyacheslav N.; Wang, Ruixi; Tretiak, Sergei; Mozyrsky, Dmitry

2014-01-01

Modeling the dynamics of photophysical and (photo)chemical reactions in extended molecular systems is a new frontier for quantum chemistry. Many dynamical phenomena, such as intersystem crossing, non-radiative relaxation, and charge and energy transfer, require a non-adiabatic description which incorporate transitions between electronic states. Additionally, these dynamics are often highly sensitive to quantum coherences and interference effects. Several methods exist to simulate non-adiabatic dynamics; however, they are typically either too expensive to be applied to large molecular systems (10's-100's of atoms), or they are based on ad hoc schemes which may include severe approximations due to inconsistencies in classical and quantum mechanics. We present, in detail, an algorithm based on Monte Carlo sampling of the semiclassical time-dependent wavefunction that involves running simple surface hopping dynamics, followed by a post-processing step which adds little cost. The method requires only a few quantities from quantum chemistry calculations, can systematically be improved, and provides excellent agreement with exact quantum mechanical results. Here we show excellent agreement with exact solutions for scattering results of standard test problems. Additionally, we find that convergence of the wavefunction is controlled by complex valued phase factors, the size of the non-adiabatic coupling region, and the choice of sampling function. These results help in determining the range of applicability of the method, and provide a starting point for further improvement

Microsecond atomic-scale molecular dynamics simulations of polyimides

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Lyulin, S.V.; Gurtovenko, A.A.; Larin, S.V.; Nazarychev, V.M.; Lyulin, A.V.

2013-01-01

We employ microsecond atomic-scale molecular dynamics simulations to get insight into the structural and thermal properties of heat-resistant bulk polyimides. As electrostatic interactions are essential for the polyimides considered, we propose a two-step equilibration protocol that includes long

Glass transition temperature of PMMA/modified alumina nanocomposite: Molecular dynamic study

OpenAIRE

Mohammadi, Maryam; Davoodi, Jamal; Javanbakht, Mahdi; Rezaei, Hamidreza

2017-01-01

In this study, the effect of alumina and modified alumina nanoparticles in a PMMA/alumina nanocomposite was investigated. To attain this goal, the glass transition behavior of poly methyl methacrylate (PMMA), PMMA/alumina and PMMA/hydroxylated alumina nanocomposites were investigated by molecular dynamic simulations (MD). All the MD simulations were performed using the Materials Studio 6.0 software package of Accelrys. To obtain the glass transition temperature, the variation of density vs. t...

Moving contact lines: linking molecular dynamics and continuum-scale modelling.

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, Edward R; Theodorakis, Panagiotis E; Craster, Richard V; Matar, Omar K

2018-05-04

Despite decades of research, the modelling of moving contact lines has remained a formidable challenge in fluid dynamics whose resolution will impact numerous industrial, biological, and daily-life applications. On the one hand, molecular dynamics (MD) simulation has the ability to provide unique insight into the microscopic details that determine the dynamic behavior of the contact line, which is not possible with either continuum-scale simulations or experiments. On the other hand, continuum-based models provide the link to the macroscopic description of the system. In this Feature Article, we explore the complex range of physical factors, including the presence of surfactants, which govern the contact line motion through MD simulations. We also discuss links between continuum- and molecular-scale modelling, and highlight the opportunities for future developments in this area.

Dynamic combinatorial libraries: from exploring molecular recognition to systems chemistry.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Jianwei; Nowak, Piotr; Otto, Sijbren

2013-06-26

Dynamic combinatorial chemistry (DCC) is a subset of combinatorial chemistry where the library members interconvert continuously by exchanging building blocks with each other. Dynamic combinatorial libraries (DCLs) are powerful tools for discovering the unexpected and have given rise to many fascinating molecules, ranging from interlocked structures to self-replicators. Furthermore, dynamic combinatorial molecular networks can produce emergent properties at systems level, which provide exciting new opportunities in systems chemistry. In this perspective we will highlight some new methodologies in this field and analyze selected examples of DCLs that are under thermodynamic control, leading to synthetic receptors, catalytic systems, and complex self-assembled supramolecular architectures. Also reviewed are extensions of the principles of DCC to systems that are not at equilibrium and may therefore harbor richer functional behavior. Examples include self-replication and molecular machines.

Communication: Influence of external static and alternating electric fields on water from long-time non-equilibrium ab initio molecular dynamics

Science.gov (United States)

Futera, Zdenek; English, Niall J.

2017-07-01

The response of water to externally applied electric fields is of central relevance in the modern world, where many extraneous electric fields are ubiquitous. Historically, the application of external fields in non-equilibrium molecular dynamics has been restricted, by and large, to relatively inexpensive, more or less sophisticated, empirical models. Here, we report long-time non-equilibrium ab initio molecular dynamics in both static and oscillating (time-dependent) external electric fields, therefore opening up a new vista in rigorous studies of electric-field effects on dynamical systems with the full arsenal of electronic-structure methods. In so doing, we apply this to liquid water with state-of-the-art non-local treatment of dispersion, and we compute a range of field effects on structural and dynamical properties, such as diffusivities and hydrogen-bond kinetics.

The effect of interatomic potential in molecular dynamics simulation of low energy ion implantation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chan, H.Y.; Nordlund, K.; Peltola, J.; Gossmann, H.-J.L.; Ma, N.L.; Srinivasan, M.P.; Benistant, F.; Chan, Lap

2005-01-01

Being able to accurately predict dopant profiles at sub-keV implant energies is critical for the microelectronic industry. Molecular Dynamics (MD), with its capability to account for multiple interactions as energy lowers, is an increasingly popular simulation method. We report our work on sub-keV implantation using MD and investigate the effect of different interatomic potentials on the range profiles. As an approximation, only pair potentials are considered in this work. Density Functional Theory (DFT) is used to calculate the pair potentials for a wide range of dopants (B, C, N, F, Si, P, Ga, Ge, As, In and Sb) in single crystalline silicon. A commonly used repulsive potential is also included in the study. Importance of the repulsive and attractive regions of the potential has been investigated with different elements and we show that a potential depicting the right attractive forces is especially important for heavy elements at low energies

Effect of point defects on the thermal conductivity of UO2: molecular dynamics simulations

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Liu, Xiang-Yang [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States); Stanek, Christopher Richard [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States); Andersson, Anders David Ragnar [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)

2015-07-21

The thermal conductivity of uranium dioxide (UO₂) fuel is an important materials property that affects fuel performance since it is a key parameter determining the temperature distribution in the fuel, thus governing, e.g., dimensional changes due to thermal expansion, fission gas release rates, etc. [1] The thermal conductivity of UO₂ nuclear fuel is also affected by fission gas, fission products, defects, and microstructural features such as grain boundaries. Here, molecular dynamics (MD) simulations are carried out to determine quantitatively, the effect of irradiation induced point defects on the thermal conductivity of UO₂, as a function of defect concentrations, for a range of temperatures, 300 – 1500 K. The results will be used to develop enhanced continuum thermal conductivity models for MARMOT and BISON by INL. These models express the thermal conductivity as a function of microstructure state-variables, thus enabling thermal conductivity models with closer connection to the physical state of the fuel [2].

Molecular dynamics investigation of carbon nanotube junctions in non-aqueous solutions

KAUST Repository

Gkionis, Konstantinos

2014-07-23

The properties of liquids in a confined environment are known to differ from those in the bulk. Extending this knowledge to geometries defined by two metallic layers in contact with the ends of a carbon nanotube is important for describing a large class of nanodevices that operate in non-aqueous environments. Here we report a series of classical molecular dynamics simulations for gold-electrode junctions in acetone, cyclohexane and N,N-dimethylformamide solutions and analyze the structure and the dynamics of the solvents in different regions of the nanojunction. The presence of the nanotube has little effect on the ordering of the solvents along its axis, while in the transversal direction deviations are observed. Importantly, the orientational dynamics of the solvents at the electrode-nanotube interface differ dramatically from that found when only the electrodes are present.

Tight-binding molecular dynamics simulation of charge state effects in semiconductors

CERN Document Server

Khakimov, Z M; Sulaymonov, N T; Kiv, A E; Levin, A A

2002-01-01

New model of Si-H bond dissociation has been proposed and tested in the cluster Si sub 1 sub 0 H sub 1 sub 6 by the simulation approach that combines classical molecular dynamics method and the self-consistent tight-binding electronic and total energy calculation one. It is shown that the monohydride Si-H bond is unstable with respect to formation of silicon dangling bond and bend bridge Si-H-Si bond when this cluster traps the single positive charge. In this case hydrogen atom migrates rather rotating around Si-Si bond than crossing the center of this bond (the bond-centered position). The model can be useful for understanding hydrogen related phenomena at surfaces, interfaces, internal voids of various hydrogenated silicon systems: electronic devices, silicon solar cells, and nanocrystalline and porous silicon. (author)

Molecular dynamics study of lubricant depletion by pulsed laser heating

Science.gov (United States)

Seo, Young Woo; Rosenkranz, Andreas; Talke, Frank E.

2018-05-01

In this study, molecular dynamics simulations were performed to numerically investigate the effect of pulsed laser heating on lubricant depletion. The maximum temperature, the lubricant depletion width, the number of evaporated lubricant beads and the number of fragmented lubricant chains were studied as a function of laser peak power, pulse duration and repetition rate. A continuous-wave laser and a square pulse laser were simulated and compared to a Gaussian pulse laser. With increasing repetition rate, pulsed laser heating was found to approach continuous-wave laser heating.

The structure of molecular liquids. Neutron diffraction and molecular dynamics simulations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bianchi, L.

2000-05-01

Neutron diffraction (ND) measurements on liquid methanol (CD 3 OD, CD 3 O(H/D), CD 3 OH) under ambient conditions were performed to obtain the distinct (intra- + inter-molecular), G dist (r) and inter-molecular, G inter (r) radial distribution functions (rdfs) for the three samples. The H/D substitution on hydroxyl-hydrogen (Ho) has been used to extract the partial distribution functions, G XHo (r) (X=C, O, and H - a methyl hydrogen) and G XX (r) at both the distinct and inter-molecular levels from the difference techniques of ND. The O-Ho bond length, which has been the subject of controversy in the past, is found purely from the distinct partial distribution function, G XHo (r) to be 0.98 ± 0.01 A. The C-H distance obtained from the distinct G XX (r) partial is 1.08 ± 0.01 A. These distances determined by fitting an intra-molecular model to the total distinct structure functions are 0.961 ± 0.001 A and 1.096 ± 0.001 A, respectively. The inter-molecular G XX (r) function, dominated by contributions from the methyl groups, apart from showing broad oscillations extending up to ∼14 A is featureless, mainly because of cancellation effects from six contributing pairs. The Ho-Ho partial pair distribution function (pdf), g HoHo (r), determined from the second order difference, shows that only one other Ho atom can be found within a mean Ho-Ho separation of 2.36 A. The average position of the O-Ho hydrogen bond determined for the first time purely from experimental inter-molecular G XHo (r) partial distribution function is found to be at 1.75 ± 0.03 A. The experimental structural results at the partial distribution level are compared with those obtained from molecular dynamics (MD) simulations performed in NVE ensemble by using both 3- and 6-site force field models for the first time in this study. The MD simulations with both the models reproduce the ND rdfs rather well. However, discrepancies begin to appear between the simulated and the experimental partial

Semiquantum molecular dynamics simulation of thermal properties and heat transport in low-dimensional nanostructures

Science.gov (United States)

Savin, Alexander V.; Kosevich, Yuriy A.; Cantarero, Andres

2012-08-01

We present a detailed description of semiquantum molecular dynamics simulation of stochastic dynamics of a system of interacting particles. Within this approach, the dynamics of the system is described with the use of classical Newtonian equations of motion in which the effects of phonon quantum statistics are introduced through random Langevin-like forces with a specific power spectral density (the color noise). The color noise describes the interaction of the molecular system with the thermostat. We apply this technique to the simulation of thermal properties and heat transport in different low-dimensional nanostructures. We describe the determination of temperature in quantum lattice systems, to which the equipartition limit is not applied. We show that one can determine the temperature of such a system from the measured power spectrum and temperature- and relaxation-rate-independent density of vibrational (phonon) states. We simulate the specific heat and heat transport in carbon nanotubes, as well as the heat transport in molecular nanoribbons with perfect (atomically smooth) and rough (porous) edges, and in nanoribbons with strongly anharmonic periodic interatomic potentials. We show that the effects of quantum statistics of phonons are essential for the carbon nanotube in the whole temperature range T<500K, in which the values of the specific heat and thermal conductivity of the nanotube are considerably less than that obtained within the description based on classical statistics of phonons. This conclusion is also applicable to other carbon-based materials and systems with high Debye temperature like graphene, graphene nanoribbons, fullerene, diamond, diamond nanowires, etc. We show that the existence of rough edges and quantum statistics of phonons change drastically the low-temperature thermal conductivity of the nanoribbon in comparison with that of the nanoribbon with perfect edges and classical phonon dynamics and statistics. The semiquantum molecular

Nonequilibrium molecular dynamics theory, algorithms and applications

CERN Document Server

Todd, Billy D

2017-01-01

Written by two specialists with over twenty-five years of experience in the field, this valuable text presents a wide range of topics within the growing field of nonequilibrium molecular dynamics (NEMD). It introduces theories which are fundamental to the field - namely, nonequilibrium statistical mechanics and nonequilibrium thermodynamics - and provides state-of-the-art algorithms and advice for designing reliable NEMD code, as well as examining applications for both atomic and molecular fluids. It discusses homogenous and inhomogenous flows and pays considerable attention to highly confined fluids, such as nanofluidics. In addition to statistical mechanics and thermodynamics, the book covers the themes of temperature and thermodynamic fluxes and their computation, the theory and algorithms for homogenous shear and elongational flows, response theory and its applications, heat and mass transport algorithms, applications in molecular rheology, highly confined fluids (nanofluidics), the phenomenon of slip and...

Molecular dynamics simulation of the formation, structure, and dynamics of small phospholipid vesicles

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Marrink, SJ; Mark, AE

2003-01-01

Here, we use coarse grained molecular dynamics (MD) simulations to study the spontaneous aggregation of dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine (DPPC) lipids into small unilamellar vesicles. We show that the aggregation process occurs on a nanosecond time scale, with bicelles and cuplike vesicles formed at

Pressure-area isotherm of a lipid monolayer from molecular dynamics simulations

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Baoukina, Svetlana; Monticelli, Luca; Marrink, Siewert J.; Tieleman, D. Peter

2007-01-01

We calculated the pressure-area isotherm of a dipalmitoyl-phosphatidylcholine (DPPC) lipid monolayer from molecular dynamics simulations using a coarse-grained molecular model. We characterized the monolayer structure, geometry, and phases directly from the simulations and compared the calculated

Quantum molecular dynamics study of the Su-Schrieffer-Heeger model

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Michielsen, Kristel; Raedt, Hans De

A quantum molecular dynamics technique is presented to compute the static and dynamic properties of a system of fermions coupled to classical degrees of freedom. The method is employed to investigate the properties of the Su-Schrieffer-Heeger model, an electron-phonon model which is often used to

A comparative molecular dynamics study of diffusion of n-decane ...

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Administrator

Abstract. Molecular dynamics simulations are reported on the structure and dynamics of n-decane and. 3-methylpentane in zeolite NaY. We have calculated several properties such as the center of mass-center of mass rdf, the end-end distance distribution, bond angle distribution and dihedral angle distribution. We.

Friction in Carborane-Based Molecular Rotors Driven by Gas Flow or Electric Field: Classical Molecular Dynamics

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Prokop, Alexandr; Vacek, Jaroslav; Michl, Josef

2012-01-01

Roč. 6, č. 3 (2012), s. 1901-1914 ISSN 1936-0851 R&D Projects: GA ČR GA203/09/1802; GA MŠk ME09020 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z40550506 Keywords : molecular rotors * molecular dynamics * potential energy barriers * friction * intramolecular vibrational redistribution Subject RIV: CC - Organic Chemistry Impact factor: 12.062, year: 2012

Spin nutation effects in molecular nanomagnet–superconductor tunnel junctions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Abouie, J; Abdollahipour, B; Rostami, A A

2013-01-01

We study the spin nutation effects of a molecular nanomagnet on the Josephson current through a superconductor|molecular nanomagnet|superconductor tunnel junction. We explicitly demonstrate that, due to the spin nutation of the molecular nanomagnet, two oscillatory terms emerge in the ac Josephson current in addition to the conventional ac Josephson current. Some resonances occur in the junction due to the interactions of the transported quasiparticles with the bias voltage and molecular nanomagnet spin dynamics. Their appearance indicates that the energy exchanged during these interactions is in the range of the superconducting energy gap. We also show that the spin nutation is able to convert the ac Josephson current to a dc current, which is interesting for applications. (paper)

Classical molecular dynamics simulations of fusion and fragmentation in fullerene-fullerene collisions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Verkhovtsev, A.; Korol, A.V.; Solovyov, A.V.

2017-01-01

We present the results of classical molecular dynamics simulations of collision-induced fusion and fragmentation of C 60 fullerenes, performed by means of the MBN Explorer software package. The simulations provide information on structural differences of the fused compound depending on kinematics of the collision process. The analysis of fragmentation dynamics at different initial conditions shows that the size distributions of produced molecular fragments are peaked for dimers, which is in agreement with a well-established mechanism of C 60 fragmentation via preferential C 2 emission. Atomic trajectories of the colliding particles are analyzed and different fragmentation patterns are observed and discussed. On the basis of the performed simulations, characteristic time of C 2 emission is estimated as a function of collision energy. The results are compared with experimental time-of-flight distributions of molecular fragments and with earlier theoretical studies. Considering the widely explored case study of C 60 -C 60 collisions, we demonstrate broad capabilities of the MBN Explorer software, which can be utilized for studying collisions of a broad variety of nano-scale and bio-molecular systems by means of classical molecular dynamics. (authors)

Balancing an accurate representation of the molecular surface in generalized Born formalisms with integrator stability in molecular dynamics simulations

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Chocholoušová, Jana; Feig, M.

2006-01-01

Roč. 27, č. 6 (2006), s. 719-729 ISSN 0192-8651 Keywords : molecular surface * generalized Born formalisms * molecular dynamic simulations Subject RIV: CC - Organic Chemistry Impact factor: 4.893, year: 2006

Stability of nanofluids: Molecular dynamic approach and experimental study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Farzaneh, H.; Behzadmehr, A.; Yaghoubi, M.; Samimi, A.; Sarvari, S.M.H.

2016-01-01

Highlights: • Nanofluid stability is investigated and discussed. • A molecular dynamic approach, considering different forces on the nanoparticles, is adopted. • Stability diagrams are presented for different thermo-fluid conditions. • An experimental investigation is carried out to confirm the theoretical approach. - Abstract: Nanofluids as volumetric absorbent in solar energy conversion devices or as working fluid in different heat exchangers have been proposed by various researchers. However, dispersion stability of nanofluids is an important issue that must be well addressed before any industrial applications. Conditions such as severe temperature gradient, high temperature of heat transfer fluid, nanoparticle mean diameters and types of nanoparticles and base fluid are among the most effective parameters on the stability of nanofluid. A molecular dynamic approach, considering kinetic energy of nanoparticles and DLVO potential energy between nanoparticles, is adopted to study the nanofluid stability for different nanofluids at different working conditions. Different forces such as Brownian, thermophoresis, drag and DLVO are considered to introduce the stability diagrams. The latter presents the conditions for which a nanofluid can be stable. In addition an experimental investigation is carried out to find a stable nanofluid and to show the validity of the theoretical approach. There is a good agreement between the experimental and theoretical results that confirms the validity of our theoretical approach.

Molecular Dynamic Simulations of Nanostructured Ceramic Materials on Parallel Computers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vashishta, Priya; Kalia, Rajiv

2005-01-01

Large-scale molecular-dynamics (MD) simulations have been performed to gain insight into: (1) sintering, structure, and mechanical behavior of nanophase SiC and SiO2; (2) effects of dynamic charge transfers on the sintering of nanophase TiO2; (3) high-pressure structural transformation in bulk SiC and GaAs nanocrystals; (4) nanoindentation in Si3N4; and (5) lattice mismatched InAs/GaAs nanomesas. In addition, we have designed a multiscale simulation approach that seamlessly embeds MD and quantum-mechanical (QM) simulations in a continuum simulation. The above research activities have involved strong interactions with researchers at various universities, government laboratories, and industries. 33 papers have been published and 22 talks have been given based on the work described in this report

Pressure and cooling rate effect on polyhedron clusters in Cu-Al alloy by using molecular dynamics simulation

Science.gov (United States)

Celik, Fatih Ahmet

2014-10-01

In this study, the microstructural evolution of crystal-type and icosahedral (icos)-type polyhedrons in Cu-50 at%Al alloy based on the embedded atom method (EAM) model is studied at two cooling rates under normal and high pressures by using the molecular dynamics (MD) simulation method. The cluster-type index method (CTIM) which describes icos and defective icos polyhedrons and the new cluster-type index method (CTIM-2) which describes crystal-type polyhedrons have been used to perform polyhedron analysis in the model alloy system. The results of our simulations demonstrate that the effects of the cooling rate and pressure play an important role in the numbers of polyhedrons and their structures in the system.

Pressure and cooling rate effect on polyhedron clusters in Cu–Al alloy by using molecular dynamics simulation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Celik, Fatih Ahmet, E-mail: facelik@beu.edu.tr

2014-10-01

In this study, the microstructural evolution of crystal-type and icosahedral (icos)-type polyhedrons in Cu–50 at%Al alloy based on the embedded atom method (EAM) model is studied at two cooling rates under normal and high pressures by using the molecular dynamics (MD) simulation method. The cluster-type index method (CTIM) which describes icos and defective icos polyhedrons and the new cluster-type index method (CTIM-2) which describes crystal-type polyhedrons have been used to perform polyhedron analysis in the model alloy system. The results of our simulations demonstrate that the effects of the cooling rate and pressure play an important role in the numbers of polyhedrons and their structures in the system.

Crossed molecular beam studies of unimolecular reaction dynamics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Buss, R.J.

1979-04-01

The study of seven radical-molecule reactions using the crossed molecular beam technique with supersonic nozzle beams is reported. Product angular and velocity distributions were obtained and compared with statistical calculations in order to identify dynamical features of the reactions. In the reaction of chlorine and fluorine atoms with vinyl bromide, the product energy distributions are found to deviate from predictions of the statistical model. A similar effect is observed in the reaction of chlorine atoms with 1, 2 and 3-bromopropene. The reaction of oxygen atoms with ICl and CF 3 I has been used to obtain an improved value of the IO bond energy, 55.0 +- 2.0 kcal mol -1 . In all reactions studied, the product energy and angular distributions are found to be coupled, and this is attributed to a kinematic effect of the conservation of angular momentum

Atomistic modeling of metal surfaces under electric fields: direct coupling of electric fields to a molecular dynamics algorithm

CERN Document Server

Djurabekova, Flyura; Pohjonen, Aarne; Nordlund, Kai

2011-01-01

The effect of electric fields on metal surfaces is fairly well studied, resulting in numerous analytical models developed to understand the mechanisms of ionization of surface atoms observed at very high electric fields, as well as the general behavior of a metal surface in this condition. However, the derivation of analytical models does not include explicitly the structural properties of metals, missing the link between the instantaneous effects owing to the applied field and the consequent response observed in the metal surface as a result of an extended application of an electric field. In the present work, we have developed a concurrent electrodynamic–molecular dynamic model for the dynamical simulation of an electric-field effect and subsequent modification of a metal surface in the framework of an atomistic molecular dynamics (MD) approach. The partial charge induced on the surface atoms by the electric field is assessed by applying the classical Gauss law. The electric forces acting on the partially...

Molecular Dynamics Pinpoint the Global Fluorine Effect in Balanoid Binding to PKCε and PKA.

Science.gov (United States)

Hardianto, Ari; Liu, Fei; Ranganathan, Shoba

2018-02-26

(-)-Balanol is an adenosine triphosphate mimic that inhibits protein kinase C (PKC) isozymes and cAMP-dependent protein kinase (PKA) with limited selectivity. While PKA is known as a tumor promoter, PKC isozymes can be tumor promoters or suppressors. In particular, PKCε is frequently involved in tumorigenesis and a potential target for anticancer drugs. We recently reported that stereospecific fluorination of balanol yielded a balanoid with enhanced selectivity for PKCε over other PKC isozymes and PKA, although the global fluorine effect behind the selectivity enhancement is not fully understood. Interestingly, in contrast to PKA, PKCε is more sensitive to this fluorine effect. Here we investigate the global fluorine effect on the different binding responses of PKCε and PKA to balanoids using molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. For the first time to the best of our knowledge, we found that a structurally equivalent residue in each kinase, Thr184 in PKA and Ala549 in PKCε, is essential for the different binding responses. Furthermore, the study revealed that the invariant Lys, Lys73 in PKA and Lys437 in PKCε, already known to have a crucial role in the catalytic activity of kinases, serves as the main anchor for balanol binding. Overall, while Thr184 in PKA attenuates the effect of fluorination, Ala549 permits remote response of PKCε to fluorine substitution, with implications for rational design of future balanol-based PKCε inhibitors.

Computing the blood brain barrier (BBB) diffusion coefficient: A molecular dynamics approach

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Shamloo, Amir, E-mail: shamloo@sharif.edu; Pedram, Maysam Z.; Heidari, Hossein; Alasty, Aria, E-mail: aalasti@sharif.edu

2016-07-15

Various physical and biological aspects of the Blood Brain Barrier (BBB) structure still remain unfolded. Therefore, among the several mechanisms of drug delivery, only a few have succeeded in breaching this barrier, one of which is the use of Magnetic Nanoparticles (MNPs). However, a quantitative characterization of the BBB permeability is desirable to find an optimal magnetic force-field. In the present study, a molecular model of the BBB is introduced that precisely represents the interactions between MNPs and the membranes of Endothelial Cells (ECs) that form the BBB. Steered Molecular Dynamics (SMD) simulations of the BBB crossing phenomenon have been carried out. Mathematical modeling of the BBB as an input-output system has been considered from a system dynamics modeling viewpoint, enabling us to analyze the BBB behavior based on a robust model. From this model, the force profile required to overcome the barrier has been extracted for a single NP from the SMD simulations at a range of velocities. Using this data a transfer function model has been obtained and the diffusion coefficient is evaluated. This study is a novel approach to bridge the gap between nanoscale models and microscale models of the BBB. The characteristic diffusion coefficient has the nano-scale molecular effects inherent, furthermore reducing the computational costs of a nano-scale simulation model and enabling much more complex studies to be conducted. - Highlights: • Molecular dynamics simulation of crossing nano-particles through the BBB membrane at different velocities. • Recording the position of nano-particle and the membrane-NP interaction force profile. • Identification of a frequency domain model for the membrane. • Calculating the diffusion coefficient based on MD simulation and identified model. • Obtaining a relation between continuum medium and discrete medium.

Mapping the Protein Fold Universe Using the CamTube Force Field in Molecular Dynamics Simulations.

Science.gov (United States)

Kukic, Predrag; Kannan, Arvind; Dijkstra, Maurits J J; Abeln, Sanne; Camilloni, Carlo; Vendruscolo, Michele

2015-10-01

It has been recently shown that the coarse-graining of the structures of polypeptide chains as self-avoiding tubes can provide an effective representation of the conformational space of proteins. In order to fully exploit the opportunities offered by such a 'tube model' approach, we present here a strategy to combine it with molecular dynamics simulations. This strategy is based on the incorporation of the 'CamTube' force field into the Gromacs molecular dynamics package. By considering the case of a 60-residue polyvaline chain, we show that CamTube molecular dynamics simulations can comprehensively explore the conformational space of proteins. We obtain this result by a 20 μs metadynamics simulation of the polyvaline chain that recapitulates the currently known protein fold universe. We further show that, if residue-specific interaction potentials are added to the CamTube force field, it is possible to fold a protein into a topology close to that of its native state. These results illustrate how the CamTube force field can be used to explore efficiently the universe of protein folds with good accuracy and very limited computational cost.

Influence of thermal barrier effect of grain boundaries on bulk cascades in alpha-zirconium revealed by molecular dynamics simulation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jin, Yanan; Lai, Wensheng, E-mail: wslai@tsinghua.edu.cn

2016-03-15

The effect of grain boundaries (GBs) on bulk cascades in nano-structured alpha-zirconium has been studied by molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. It turns out that the existence of GBs increases the defect productivity in grains, suggesting that the GBs may act as a thermal barrier and postpone the annihilation of defects within grains. Moreover, it is found that the thermal barrier effect of GBs facilitates the shift of symmetric tilt GBs to the grain with higher temperature, and the smaller the tilt angle is, the easier the boundary shift will be. Thus, the influence of GBs on radiation damage in the nano-structured materials comes from the competition between damage increase in grains and defect annihilation at GBs.

Accelerating convergence of molecular dynamics-based structural relaxation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Christensen, Asbjørn

2005-01-01

We describe strategies to accelerate the terminal stage of molecular dynamics (MD)based relaxation algorithms, where a large fraction of the computational resources are used. First, we analyze the qualitative and quantitative behavior of the QuickMin family of MD relaxation algorithms and explore...

Molecular Dynamics Investigation of Efficient SO₂ Absorption by ...

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Ionic liquids are appropriate candidates for the absorption of acid gases such as SO₂. Six anion functionalized ionic liquids with different basicities have been studied for SO₂ absorption capacity by employing quantum chemical calculations and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. Gas phase quantum calculations ...

DyNet: visualization and analysis of dynamic molecular interaction networks.

Science.gov (United States)

Goenawan, Ivan H; Bryan, Kenneth; Lynn, David J

2016-09-01

: The ability to experimentally determine molecular interactions on an almost proteome-wide scale under different conditions is enabling researchers to move from static to dynamic network analysis, uncovering new insights into how interaction networks are physically rewired in response to different stimuli and in disease. Dynamic interaction data presents a special challenge in network biology. Here, we present DyNet, a Cytoscape application that provides a range of functionalities for the visualization, real-time synchronization and analysis of large multi-state dynamic molecular interaction networks enabling users to quickly identify and analyze the most 'rewired' nodes across many network states. DyNet is available at the Cytoscape (3.2+) App Store (http://apps.cytoscape.org/apps/dynet). david.lynn@sahmri.com Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press.

Molecular dynamics simulations of the effect of waviness and agglomeration of CNTs on interface strength of thermoset nanocomposites.

Science.gov (United States)

Alian, A R; Meguid, S A

2017-02-08

Most existing molecular dynamics simulations in nanoreinforced composites assume carbon nanotubes (CNTs) to be straight and uniformly dispersed within thermoplastics. In reality, however, CNTs are typically curved, agglomerated and aggregated as a result of van der Waal interactions and electrostatic forces. In this paper, we account for both curvature and agglomeration of CNTs in extensive molecular dynamic (MD) simulations. The purpose of these simulations is to evaluate the influence of waviness and agglomeration of these curved and agglomerated CNTs on the interfacial strength of thermoset nanocomposite and upon their load transfer capability. Two aspects of the work were accordingly examined. In the first, realistic carbon nanotubes (CNTs) of the same length but varied curvatures were embedded in thermoset polymer composites and simulations of pull-out tests were conducted to evaluate the corresponding interfacial shear strength (ISS). In the second, the effect of the agglomerate size upon the ISS was determined using bundles of CNTs of different diameters. The results of our MD simulations revealed the following. The pull-out force of the curved CNTs is significantly higher than its straight counterpart and increases further with the increase in the waviness of the CNTs. This is attributed to the added pull-out energy dissipated in straightening the CNTs during the pull-out process. It also reveals that agglomeration of CNTs leads to a reduction in the ISS and poor load transferability, and that this reduction is governed by the size of the agglomerate. The simulation results were also used to develop a generalized relation for the ISS that takes into consideration the effect of waviness and agglomeration of CNTs of CNT-polymer composites.

Effects of deformability and thermal motion of lipid membrane on electroporation: By molecular dynamics simulations

KAUST Repository

Sun, Sheng

2011-01-01

Effects of mechanical properties and thermal motion of POPE lipid membrane on electroporation were studied by molecular dynamics simulations. Among simulations in which specific atoms of lipids were artificially constrained at their equilibrium positions using a spring with force constant of 2.0kcal/(molÅ2) in the external electric field of 1.4kcal/(molÅe), only constraint on lateral motions of lipid tails prohibited electroporation while non-tail parts had little effects. When force constant decreased to 0.2kcal/(molÅ2) in the position constraints on lipid tails in the external electric field of 2.0kcal/(molÅe), water molecules began to enter the membrane. Position constraints of lipid tails allow water to penetrate from both sides of membrane. Thermal motion of lipids can induce initial defects in the hydrophobic core of membrane, which are favorable nucleation sites for electroporation. Simulations at different temperatures revealed that as the temperature increases, the time taken to the initial pore formation will decrease. © 2010 Elsevier Inc.

Molecular dynamics for irradiation driven chemistry: application to the FEBID process*

Science.gov (United States)

Sushko, Gennady B.; Solov'yov, Ilia A.; Solov'yov, Andrey V.

2016-10-01

A new molecular dynamics (MD) approach for computer simulations of irradiation driven chemical transformations of complex molecular systems is suggested. The approach is based on the fact that irradiation induced quantum transformations can often be treated as random, fast and local processes involving small molecules or molecular fragments. We advocate that the quantum transformations, such as molecular bond breaks, creation and annihilation of dangling bonds, electronic charge redistributions, changes in molecular topologies, etc., could be incorporated locally into the molecular force fields that describe the classical MD of complex molecular systems under irradiation. The proposed irradiation driven molecular dynamics (IDMD) methodology is designed for the molecular level description of the irradiation driven chemistry. The IDMD approach is implemented into the MBN Explorer software package capable to operate with a large library of classical potentials, many-body force fields and their combinations. IDMD opens a broad range of possibilities for modelling of irradiation driven modifications and chemistry of complex molecular systems ranging from radiotherapy cancer treatments to the modern technologies such as focused electron beam deposition (FEBID). As an example, the new methodology is applied for studying the irradiation driven chemistry caused by FEBID of tungsten hexacarbonyl W(CO)6 precursor molecules on a hydroxylated SiO2 surface. It is demonstrated that knowing the interaction parameters for the fragments of the molecular system arising in the course of irradiation one can reproduce reasonably well experimental observations and make predictions about the morphology and molecular composition of nanostructures that emerge on the surface during the FEBID process.

Size Effect on Transport Properties of Gaseous Argon: A Molecular Dynamics Simulation Study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, Songhi

2014-01-01

We have carried out a series of equilibrium molecular dynamics (EMD) simulations of gaseous argon at 273.15 K and 1.00 atm for the calculation of transport properties as a function of the number of argon molecules (N). While the diffusion coefficients (D) of gaseous argon approach to the experimental measure with increasing N, the viscosities (η) and thermal conductivities (λ) obtained for N = 432 are unreliable due to the high fluctuation of the time correlation functions and those for N = 1728 are rather acceptable. Increasing further to N = 6912 has improved the MD results a little closer to the experimental measures for η and λ. Both the EMD results for η and λ for N = 6912 underestimate the experimental measures and it is not expected that the more increasing N makes the closer results to the experimental measures. One possible explanation for the large disagreement between MD results and the experimental measures for η and λ may be due to the use of LJ parameters which were used for liquid argon. In a recent study, we have examined the Green-Kubo formula for the calculation of transport properties (diffusion coefficient, viscosity, and thermal conductivity) of noble gases (He, Ne, Ar, Kr, and Xe) by carrying out a series of equilibrium molecular dynamics (EMD) simulations for the system of N=1728 at 273.15 K and 1.00 atm.1 While the diffusion coefficients (D) of noble gases were obtained through the original Green-Kubo formula, the viscosities (η) and thermal conductivities (λ) were obtained by utilizing the revised Green-Kubo formulas. The structural and dynamic properties of gaseous argon are completely different from those of liquid argon at 94.4 K and 1.374 g/cm 3 . The results for transport properties (D, η, and λ) at 273.15 K and 1.00 atm obtained from our EMD simulations are in general agreement with the experimental data and superior to the rigorous results of the kinetic theory

Structure, Dynamics, and Phase Behavior of DOPC/DSPC Mixture Membrane Systems: Molecular Dynamics Simulation Studies

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kim, Seonghan; Chang, Rakwoo [Kwangwoon University, Seoul (Korea, Republic of)

2016-07-15

Full atomistic molecular dynamics simulations have been performed for model mixture bilayer membrane systems consisting of 1,2-dioleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (DOPC) and 1,2-distearoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (DSPC) phospholipids to understand the effects of two essential parameters such as lipid composition and temperature on the structural, dynamical, and phase behavior of mixture membrane systems. Although pure DSPC membranes are in the gel-like (L{sub β}' or P{sub β}') phase at 323 K, raising the temperature by only 10 K or replacing 20% of DSPC lipids by DOPC lipids can change the gel-like phase into the completely liquid-crystalline phase (L{sub α}). This phase change is accompanied by dramatic change in both structural properties such as area per lipid, membrane thickness, deuterium order parameter, and tail angle distribution, and dynamics properties such as mobility map. We also observe that the full width at half-maximum (FWHM) data of tail angle distribution as well as area per lipid (or membrane thickness)can be used as order parameters for the membrane phase transition.

Structure, Dynamics, and Phase Behavior of DOPC/DSPC Mixture Membrane Systems: Molecular Dynamics Simulation Studies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Seonghan; Chang, Rakwoo

2016-01-01

Full atomistic molecular dynamics simulations have been performed for model mixture bilayer membrane systems consisting of 1,2-dioleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (DOPC) and 1,2-distearoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (DSPC) phospholipids to understand the effects of two essential parameters such as lipid composition and temperature on the structural, dynamical, and phase behavior of mixture membrane systems. Although pure DSPC membranes are in the gel-like (L_β' or P_β') phase at 323 K, raising the temperature by only 10 K or replacing 20% of DSPC lipids by DOPC lipids can change the gel-like phase into the completely liquid-crystalline phase (L_α). This phase change is accompanied by dramatic change in both structural properties such as area per lipid, membrane thickness, deuterium order parameter, and tail angle distribution, and dynamics properties such as mobility map. We also observe that the full width at half-maximum (FWHM) data of tail angle distribution as well as area per lipid (or membrane thickness)can be used as order parameters for the membrane phase transition.

The limiting dynamics of a bistable molecular switch with and without noise.

Science.gov (United States)

Mackey, Michael C; Tyran-Kamińska, Marta

2016-08-01

We consider the dynamics of a population of organisms containing two mutually inhibitory gene regulatory networks, that can result in a bistable switch-like behaviour. We completely characterize their local and global dynamics in the absence of any noise, and then go on to consider the effects of either noise coming from bursting (transcription or translation), or Gaussian noise in molecular degradation rates when there is a dominant slow variable in the system. We show analytically how the steady state distribution in the population can range from a single unimodal distribution through a bimodal distribution and give the explicit analytic form for the invariant stationary density which is globally asymptotically stable. Rather remarkably, the behaviour of the stationary density with respect to the parameters characterizing the molecular behaviour of the bistable switch is qualitatively identical in the presence of noise coming from bursting as well as in the presence of Gaussian noise in the degradation rate. This implies that one cannot distinguish between either the dominant source or nature of noise based on the stationary molecular distribution in a population of cells. We finally show that the switch model with bursting but two dominant slow genes has an asymptotically stable stationary density.

A Coupling Tool for Parallel Molecular Dynamics-Continuum Simulations

KAUST Repository

Neumann, Philipp

2012-06-01

We present a tool for coupling Molecular Dynamics and continuum solvers. It is written in C++ and is meant to support the developers of hybrid molecular - continuum simulations in terms of both realisation of the respective coupling algorithm as well as parallel execution of the hybrid simulation. We describe the implementational concept of the tool and its parallel extensions. We particularly focus on the parallel execution of particle insertions into dense molecular systems and propose a respective parallel algorithm. Our implementations are validated for serial and parallel setups in two and three dimensions. © 2012 IEEE.

Molecular electron recollision dynamics in intense circularly polarized laser pulses

Science.gov (United States)

Bandrauk, André D.; Yuan, Kai-Jun

2018-04-01

Extreme UV and x-ray table top light sources based on high-order harmonic generation (HHG) are focused now on circular polarization for the generation of circularly polarized attosecond pulses as new tools for controlling electron dynamics, such as charge transfer and migration and the generation of attosecond quantum electron currents for ultrafast magneto-optics. A fundamental electron dynamical process in HHG is laser induced electron recollision with the parent ion, well established theoretically and experimentally for linear polarization. We discuss molecular electron recollision dynamics in circular polarization by theoretical analysis and numerical simulation. The control of the polarization of HHG with circularly polarized ionizing pulses is examined and it is shown that bichromatic circularly polarized pulses enhance recollision dynamics, rendering HHG more efficient, especially in molecules because of their nonspherical symmetry. The polarization of the harmonics is found to be dependent on the compatibility of the rotational symmetry of the net electric field created by combinations of bichromatic circularly polarized pulses with the dynamical symmetry of molecules. We show how the field and molecule symmetry influences the electron recollision trajectories by a time-frequency analysis of harmonics. The results, in principle, offer new unique controllable tools in the study of attosecond molecular electron dynamics.

Combining molecular dynamics with mesoscopic Green’s function reaction dynamics simulations

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Vijaykumar, Adithya, E-mail: vijaykumar@amolf.nl [FOM Institute AMOLF, Science Park 104, 1098 XG Amsterdam (Netherlands); van ’t Hoff Institute for Molecular Sciences, University of Amsterdam, P.O. Box 94157, 1090 GD Amsterdam (Netherlands); Bolhuis, Peter G. [van ’t Hoff Institute for Molecular Sciences, University of Amsterdam, P.O. Box 94157, 1090 GD Amsterdam (Netherlands); Rein ten Wolde, Pieter, E-mail: p.t.wolde@amolf.nl [FOM Institute AMOLF, Science Park 104, 1098 XG Amsterdam (Netherlands)

2015-12-07

In many reaction-diffusion processes, ranging from biochemical networks, catalysis, to complex self-assembly, the spatial distribution of the reactants and the stochastic character of their interactions are crucial for the macroscopic behavior. The recently developed mesoscopic Green’s Function Reaction Dynamics (GFRD) method enables efficient simulation at the particle level provided the microscopic dynamics can be integrated out. Yet, many processes exhibit non-trivial microscopic dynamics that can qualitatively change the macroscopic behavior, calling for an atomistic, microscopic description. We propose a novel approach that combines GFRD for simulating the system at the mesoscopic scale where particles are far apart, with a microscopic technique such as Langevin dynamics or Molecular Dynamics (MD), for simulating the system at the microscopic scale where reactants are in close proximity. This scheme defines the regions where the particles are close together and simulated with high microscopic resolution and those where they are far apart and simulated with lower mesoscopic resolution, adaptively on the fly. The new multi-scale scheme, called MD-GFRD, is generic and can be used to efficiently simulate reaction-diffusion systems at the particle level.

Combining molecular dynamics with mesoscopic Green’s function reaction dynamics simulations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vijaykumar, Adithya; Bolhuis, Peter G.; Rein ten Wolde, Pieter

2015-01-01

In many reaction-diffusion processes, ranging from biochemical networks, catalysis, to complex self-assembly, the spatial distribution of the reactants and the stochastic character of their interactions are crucial for the macroscopic behavior. The recently developed mesoscopic Green’s Function Reaction Dynamics (GFRD) method enables efficient simulation at the particle level provided the microscopic dynamics can be integrated out. Yet, many processes exhibit non-trivial microscopic dynamics that can qualitatively change the macroscopic behavior, calling for an atomistic, microscopic description. We propose a novel approach that combines GFRD for simulating the system at the mesoscopic scale where particles are far apart, with a microscopic technique such as Langevin dynamics or Molecular Dynamics (MD), for simulating the system at the microscopic scale where reactants are in close proximity. This scheme defines the regions where the particles are close together and simulated with high microscopic resolution and those where they are far apart and simulated with lower mesoscopic resolution, adaptively on the fly. The new multi-scale scheme, called MD-GFRD, is generic and can be used to efficiently simulate reaction-diffusion systems at the particle level

Human Skin Barrier Structure and Function Analyzed by Cryo-EM and Molecular Dynamics Simulation.

Science.gov (United States)

Lundborg, Magnus; Narangifard, Ali; Wennberg, Christian L; Lindahl, Erik; Daneholt, Bertil; Norlén, Lars

2018-04-24

In the present study we have analyzed the molecular structure and function of the human skin's permeability barrier using molecular dynamics simulation validated against cryo-electron microscopy data from near native skin. The skin's barrier capacity is located to an intercellular lipid structure embedding the cells of the superficial most layer of skin - the stratum corneum. According to the splayed bilayer model (Iwai et al., 2012) the lipid structure is organized as stacked bilayers of ceramides in a splayed chain conformation with cholesterol associated with the ceramide sphingoid moiety and free fatty acids associated with the ceramide fatty acid moiety. However, knowledge about the lipid structure's detailed molecular organization, and the roles of its different lipid constituents, remains circumstantial. Starting from a molecular dynamics model based on the splayed bilayer model, we have, by stepwise structural and compositional modifications, arrived at a thermodynamically stable molecular dynamics model expressing simulated electron microscopy patterns matching original cryo-electron microscopy patterns from skin extremely closely. Strikingly, the closer the individual molecular dynamics models' lipid composition was to that reported in human stratum corneum, the better was the match between the models' simulated electron microscopy patterns and the original cryo-electron microscopy patterns. Moreover, the closest-matching model's calculated water permeability and thermotropic behaviour were found compatible with that of human skin. The new model may facilitate more advanced physics-based skin permeability predictions of drugs and toxicants. The proposed procedure for molecular dynamics based analysis of cellular cryo-electron microscopy data might be applied to other biomolecular systems. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Microscopic mechanism of amino silicone oil modification and modification effect with different amino group contents based on molecular dynamics simulation

Science.gov (United States)

He, Liping; Li, Wenjun; Chen, Dachuan; Yuan, Jianmin; Lu, Gang; Zhou, Dianwu

2018-05-01

The microscopic mechanism of amino silicone oil (ASO) modification of natural fiber was investigated for the first time using molecular dynamics (MD) simulation at the atomic and molecular levels. The MD simulation results indicated that the ASO molecular interacted with the cellulose molecular within the natural fiber, mainly by intermolecular forces of Nsbnd Hsbnd O and Osbnd Hsbnd N hydrogen bonds and the molecular chain of ASO absorbed onto the natural fiber in a selective orientation, i.e., the hydrophobic alkyl groups (sbnd CnH2n+1) project outward and the polar amino groups (sbnd NH2) point to the surface of natural fiber. Consequently, the ASO modification changed the surface characteristic of natural fiber from hydrophilic to hydrophobic. Furthermore, the modification effects of the ASO modification layer with different amino group contents (m:n ratio) were also evaluated in this study by calculating the binding energy between the ASO modifier and natural fiber, and the cohesive energy density and free volume of the ASO modification layer. The results showed that the binding energy reached a maximum when the m:n ratio of ASO was of 8:4, suggesting that a good bonding strength was achieved at this m:n ratio. It was also found that the cohesive energy density enhanced with the increase in the amino group content, and the higher the cohesive energy density, the easier the formation of the ASO modification layer. However, the fraction free volume decreased with the increase in the amino group content. This is good for improving the water-proof property of natural fiber. The present work can provide an effective method for predicting the modification effects and designing the optimized m:n ratio of ASO modification.

Chirality in molecular collision dynamics

Science.gov (United States)

Lombardi, Andrea; Palazzetti, Federico

2018-02-01

Chirality is a phenomenon that permeates the natural world, with implications for atomic and molecular physics, for fundamental forces and for the mechanisms at the origin of the early evolution of life and biomolecular homochirality. The manifestations of chirality in chemistry and biochemistry are numerous, the striking ones being chiral recognition and asymmetric synthesis with important applications in molecular sciences and in industrial and pharmaceutical chemistry. Chiral discrimination phenomena, due to the existence of two enantiomeric forms, very well known in the case of interaction with light, but still nearly disregarded in molecular collision studies. Here we review some ideas and recent advances about the role of chirality in molecular collisions, designing and illustrating molecular beam experiments for the demonstration of chiral effects and suggesting a scenario for a stereo-directional origin of chiral selection.

Computational challenges of large-scale, long-time, first-principles molecular dynamics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kent, P R C

2008-01-01

Plane wave density functional calculations have traditionally been able to use the largest available supercomputing resources. We analyze the scalability of modern projector-augmented wave implementations to identify the challenges in performing molecular dynamics calculations of large systems containing many thousands of electrons. Benchmark calculations on the Cray XT4 demonstrate that global linear-algebra operations are the primary reason for limited parallel scalability. Plane-wave related operations can be made sufficiently scalable. Improving parallel linear-algebra performance is an essential step to reaching longer timescales in future large-scale molecular dynamics calculations

Molecular dynamics study of silver

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Akhter, J.I.; Yaldram, K.; Ahmad, W.; Khan, M.K.; Rehman, T.S.

1995-03-01

We present results of molecular dynamics study using the embedded atom potential to examine the equilibrium bulk properties of Ag. We calculate the total energy and the lattice parameters as a function of temperature. From these we determine the specific heat and linear coefficient of thermal expansion. The comparison with experimental results of these two quantities is found to be excellent. We have also calculated the mean square displacement of the atoms in the three directions. As expected because of symmetry the displacements in the three directions are comparable and increase with increasing temperature. (author) 5 figs

Nonlinear dynamics of zigzag molecular chains (in Russian)

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Savin, A. V.; Manevitsch, L. I.; Christiansen, Peter Leth

1999-01-01

models (two-dimensional alpha-spiral, polyethylene transzigzag backbone, and the zigzag chain of hydrogen bonds) shows that the zigzag structure essentially limits the soliton dynamics to finite, relatively narrow, supersonic soliton velocity intervals and may also result in that several acoustic soliton......Nonlinear, collective, soliton type excitations in zigzag molecular chains are analyzed. It is shown that the nonlinear dynamics of a chain dramatically changes in passing from the one-dimensional linear chain to the more realistic planar zigzag model-due, in particular, to the geometry...

Stability of molecular dynamics simulations of classical systems

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Toxværd, Søren

2012-01-01

The existence of a shadow Hamiltonian for discrete classical dynamics, obtained by an asymptotic expansion for a discrete symplectic algorithm, is employed to determine the limit of stability for molecular dynamics (MD) simulations with respect to the time-increment h of the discrete dynamics....... The investigation is based on the stability of the shadow energy, obtained by including the first term in the asymptotic expansion, and on the exact solution of discrete dynamics for a single harmonic mode. The exact solution of discrete dynamics for a harmonic potential with frequency ω gives a criterion...... for the limit of stability h ⩽ 2/ω. Simulations of the Lennard-Jones system and the viscous Kob-Andersen system show that one can use the limit of stability of the shadow energy or the stability criterion for a harmonic mode on the spectrum of instantaneous frequencies to determine the limit of stability of MD...

Crystal structure and pair potentials: A molecular-dynamics study

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Parrinello, M.; Rahman, A.

1980-10-06

With use of a Lagrangian which allows for the variation of the shape and size of the periodically repeating molecular-dynamics cell, it is shown that different pair potentials lead to different crystal structures.

Molecular dynamics simulations and free energy profile of ...

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

aDepartment of Chemical Engineering, bDepartment of Chemistry, Amirkabir University of Technology,. 15875-4413 ... Lipid bilayers; Paracetamol; free energy; molecular dynamics simulation; membrane. 1. ..... bilayer is less favourable due to the hydrophobic nature .... Orsi M and Essex J W 2010 Soft Matter 6 3797. 54.

Plastic dislocation motion via nonequilibrium molecular and continuum dynamics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hoover, W.G.; Ladd, A.J.C.; Hoover, N.E.

1980-01-01

The classical two-dimensional close-packed triangular lattice, with nearest-neighbor spring forces, is a convenient standard material for the investigation of dislocation motion and plastic flow. Two kinds of calculations, based on this standard material, are described here: (1) Molecular Dynamics simulations, incorporating adiabatic strains described with the help of Doll's Tensor, and (2) Continuum Dynamics simulations, incorporating periodic boundaries and dislocation interaction through stress-field superposition

Enhancing protein adsorption simulations by using accelerated molecular dynamics.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Christian Mücksch

Full Text Available The atomistic modeling of protein adsorption on surfaces is hampered by the different time scales of the simulation ([Formula: see text][Formula: see text]s and experiment (up to hours, and the accordingly different 'final' adsorption conformations. We provide evidence that the method of accelerated molecular dynamics is an efficient tool to obtain equilibrated adsorption states. As a model system we study the adsorption of the protein BMP-2 on graphite in an explicit salt water environment. We demonstrate that due to the considerably improved sampling of conformational space, accelerated molecular dynamics allows to observe the complete unfolding and spreading of the protein on the hydrophobic graphite surface. This result is in agreement with the general finding of protein denaturation upon contact with hydrophobic surfaces.

An analysis of hydrated proton diffusion in ab initio molecular dynamics

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tse, Ying-Lung Steve; Voth, Gregory A., E-mail: gavoth@uchicago.edu [Department of Chemistry, James Franck Institute, and Computation Institute, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60637 (United States); Knight, Chris [Leadership Computing Facility, Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, Illinois 60439 (United States)

2015-01-07

A detailed understanding of the inherently multiscale proton transport process raises a number of scientifically challenging questions. For example, there remain many (partially addressed) questions on the molecular mechanism for long-range proton migration and the potential for the formation of long-lived traps giving rise to burst-and-rest proton dynamics. Using results from a sizeable collection of ab initio molecular dynamics (AIMD) simulations (totaling ∼2.7 ns) with various density functional approximations (Becke-Lee-Yang-Parr (BLYP), BLYP–D3, Hamprecht-Cohen-Tozer-Handy, B3LYP) and temperatures (300–330 K), equilibrium and dynamical properties of one excess proton and 128 water molecules are studied. Two features in particular (concerted hops and weak hydrogen-bond donors) are investigated to identify modes in the system that are strongly correlated with the onset of periods of burst-and-rest dynamics. The question of concerted hops seeks to identify those time scales over which long-range proton transport can be classified as a series of sequential water hopping events or as a near-simultaneous concerted process along compressed water wires. The coupling of the observed burst-and-rest dynamics with motions of a fourth neighboring water molecule (a weak hydrogen-bond donor) solvating the protonated water molecule is also investigated. The presence (absence) of hydrogen bonds involving this fourth water molecule before and after successful proton hopping events is found to be strongly correlated with periods of burst (rest) dynamics (and consistent with pre-solvation concepts). By analyzing several realizations of the AIMD trajectories on the 100-ps time scale, convergence of statistics can be assessed. For instance, it was observed that the probability for a fourth water molecule to approach the hydronium, if not already proximal at the beginning of the lifetime of the hydronium, is very low, indicative of the formation of stable void regions

Molecular dynamics based enhanced sampling of collective variables with very large time steps

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Pei-Yang; Tuckerman, Mark E.

2018-01-01

Enhanced sampling techniques that target a set of collective variables and that use molecular dynamics as the driving engine have seen widespread application in the computational molecular sciences as a means to explore the free-energy landscapes of complex systems. The use of molecular dynamics as the fundamental driver of the sampling requires the introduction of a time step whose magnitude is limited by the fastest motions in a system. While standard multiple time-stepping methods allow larger time steps to be employed for the slower and computationally more expensive forces, the maximum achievable increase in time step is limited by resonance phenomena, which inextricably couple fast and slow motions. Recently, we introduced deterministic and stochastic resonance-free multiple time step algorithms for molecular dynamics that solve this resonance problem and allow ten- to twenty-fold gains in the large time step compared to standard multiple time step algorithms [P. Minary et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 93, 150201 (2004); B. Leimkuhler et al., Mol. Phys. 111, 3579-3594 (2013)]. These methods are based on the imposition of isokinetic constraints that couple the physical system to Nosé-Hoover chains or Nosé-Hoover Langevin schemes. In this paper, we show how to adapt these methods for collective variable-based enhanced sampling techniques, specifically adiabatic free-energy dynamics/temperature-accelerated molecular dynamics, unified free-energy dynamics, and by extension, metadynamics, thus allowing simulations employing these methods to employ similarly very large time steps. The combination of resonance-free multiple time step integrators with free-energy-based enhanced sampling significantly improves the efficiency of conformational exploration.

Molecular dynamics simulations of elasto-hydrodynamic lubrication and boundary lubrication for automotive tribology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Washizu, Hitoshi; Sanda, Shuzo; Hyodo, Shi-aki; Ohmori, Toshihide; Nishino, Noriaki; Suzuki, Atsushi

2007-01-01

Friction control of machine elements on a molecular level is a challenging subject in vehicle technology. We describe the molecular dynamics studies of friction in two significant lubrication regimes. As a case of elastohydrodynamic lubrication, we introduce the mechanism of momentum transfer related to the molecular structure of the hydrocarbon fluids, phase transition of the fluids under high pressure, and a submicron thickness simulation of the oil film using a tera-flops computer. For boundary lubrication, the dynamic behavior of water molecules on hydrophilic and hydrophobic silicon surfaces under a shear condition is studied. The dynamic structure of the hydrogen bond network on the hydrophilic surface is related to the low friction of the diamond-like carbon containing silicon (DLC-Si) coating

Dynamic analysis of electron density in the course of the internal motion of molecular system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tachibana, A.; Hori, K.; Asai, Y.; Yamabe, T.

1984-01-01

The general dynamic aspect of electron density of a molecular system is studied on the basis of the general equation of the electron orbital which is formulated for the dynamic study of electronic motion. The newly defined electron orbital incorporates the dynamics of molecular vibration into the electronic structures. In this scheme, the change of electron distribution caused by excitation of vibrational state is defined as the ''dynamic electron transfer.'' The dynamic electron density is found to have the remarkable ''additive'' property. The time-dependent aspect of the dynamic electron redistribution is also analyzed on the basis of the ''coherent state.'' The new method relates the classical vibrational amplitude to the quantum number of the vibrational state. As a preliminary application of the present treatment, the dynamic electron densities of H 2 , HD, HT, HF, and HCl molecules are calculated by use of ab initio molecular orbital method

Switching dynamics in reaction networks induced by molecular discreteness

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Togashi, Yuichi; Kaneko, Kunihiko

2007-01-01

To study the fluctuations and dynamics in chemical reaction processes, stochastic differential equations based on the rate equation involving chemical concentrations are often adopted. When the number of molecules is very small, however, the discreteness in the number of molecules cannot be neglected since the number of molecules must be an integer. This discreteness can be important in biochemical reactions, where the total number of molecules is not significantly larger than the number of chemical species. To elucidate the effects of such discreteness, we study autocatalytic reaction systems comprising several chemical species through stochastic particle simulations. The generation of novel states is observed; it is caused by the extinction of some molecular species due to the discreteness in their number. We demonstrate that the reaction dynamics are switched by a single molecule, which leads to the reconstruction of the acting network structure. We also show the strong dependence of the chemical concentrations on the system size, which is caused by transitions to discreteness-induced novel states

Salt-induced effects on natural and inverse DPPC lipid membranes: Molecular dynamics simulation.

Science.gov (United States)

Rezaei Sani, Seyed Mojtaba; Akhavan, Mojdeh; Jalili, Seifollah

2018-08-01

Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations of a dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine (DPPC) bilayer and its neutral inverse-phosphocholine equivalent (DPCPe) were performed to find salt-induced effects on their surface structure and the nature of ion-lipid interactions. We found that the area per lipid is not considerably affected by the inversion, but the deuterium order parameter of carbon atoms in the region of carbonyl carbons changes dramatically. MD simulations indicate that Ca 2+ ions can bind to the surface of both DPPC and DPCPe membranes, but K + ions do not bind to them. In the case of Na + , however, the ions can bind to natural lipids but not to the inverse ones. Also, our results demonstrate that the hydration level of CPe bilayers is substantially lower than PC bilayers and the averaged orientation of water dipoles in the region of CPe headgroups is effectively inverted compared to PC lipids. This might be important in the interaction of the bilayer with its biological environment. Furthermore, it was found for the CPe bilayers that the enhanced peaks of the electrostatic potential profiles shift further away from the bilayer center relative to those of PC bilayers. This behavior makes the penetration of cations into the bilayer more difficult and possibly explains the experimentally observed enhanced release rates of anionic compounds in the CPe membrane. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Evaporation characteristics of thin film liquid argon in nano-scale confinement: A molecular dynamics study

Science.gov (United States)

Hasan, Mohammad Nasim; Shavik, Sheikh Mohammad; Rabbi, Kazi Fazle; Haque, Mominul

2016-07-01

Molecular dynamics simulation has been carried out to explore the evaporation characteristics of thin liquid argon film in nano-scale confinement. The present study has been conducted to realize the nano-scale physics of simultaneous evaporation and condensation inside a confined space for a three phase system with particular emphasis on the effect of surface wetting conditions. The simulation domain consisted of two parallel platinum plates; one at the top and another at the bottom. The fluid comprised of liquid argon film at the bottom plate and vapor argon in between liquid argon and upper plate of the domain. Considering hydrophilic and hydrophobic nature of top and bottom surfaces, two different cases have been investigated: (i) Case A: Both top and bottom surfaces are hydrophilic, (ii) Case B: both top and bottom surfaces are hydrophobic. For all cases, equilibrium molecular dynamics (EMD) was performed to reach equilibrium state at 90 K. Then the lower wall was set to four different temperatures such as 110 K, 120 K, 130 K and 140 K to perform non-equilibrium molecular dynamics (NEMD). The variation of temperature and density as well as the variation of system pressure with respect to time were closely monitored for each case. The heat fluxes normal to top and bottom walls were estimated and discussed to illuminate the effectiveness of heat transfer in both hydrophilic and hydrophobic confinement at various boundary temperatures of the bottom plate.

Molecular dynamics study of the influence of wall-gas interactions on heat flow in nanochannels

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Markvoort, Albert. J.; Hilbers, P.A.J.; Nedea, S.V.

2005-01-01

Especially at the nanometer scale interfaces play an important role. The effect of the wettability on the solid-liquid interface has already been studied with molecular dynamics. In this paper we study the dependence of wetting on the solid-gas interface for different density gases and investigate

Molecular Docking and Dynamic Simulation of AZD3293 and Solanezumab Effects Against BACE1 to Treat Alzheimer's Disease

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mubashir Hassan

2018-06-01

Full Text Available The design of novel inhibitors to target BACE1 with reduced cytotoxicity effects is a promising approach to treat Alzheimer's disease (AD. Multiple clinical drugs and antibodies such as AZD3293 and Solanezumab are being tested to investigate their therapeutical potential against AD. The current study explores the binding pattern of AZD3293 and Solanezumab against their target proteins such as β-secretase (BACE1 and mid-region amyloid-beta (Aβ (PDBIDs: 2ZHV & 4XXD, respectively using molecular docking and dynamic simulation (MD approaches. The molecular docking results show that AZD3293 binds within the active region of BACE1 by forming hydrogen bonds against Asp32 and Lys107 with distances 2.95 and 2.68 Å, respectively. However, the heavy chain of Solanezumab interacts with Lys16 and Asp23 of amyloid beta having bond length 2.82, 2.78, and 3.00 Å, respectively. The dynamic cross correlations and normal mode analyses show that BACE1 depicted good residual correlated motions and fluctuations, as compared to Solanezumab. Using MD, the Root Mean Square Deviation and Fluctuation (RMSD/F graphs show that AZD3293 residual fluctuations and RMSD value (0.2 nm was much better compared to Solanezumab (0.7 nm. Moreover, the radius of gyration (Rg results also depicts the significance of AZD3293 docked complex compared to Solanezumab through residual compactness. Our comparative results show that AZD3293 is a better therapeutic agent for treating AD than Solanezumab.

Molecular dynamic analysis of the structure of dendrimers

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Canetta, E.; Maino, G. E-mail: maino@bologna.enea.it

2004-01-01

We present main results of molecular dynamics simulations that we have carried out in order to investigate structural properties of polyamidoamine (PAMAM) dendrimers. Obtained data confirm the PAMAM dendrimer structure proposed by experiments, performed by means of X-ray scattering (SAXS) and quasi-elastic light scattering (QELS) techniques.

Molecular dynamic analysis of the structure of dendrimers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Canetta, E.; Maino, G.

2004-01-01

We present main results of molecular dynamics simulations that we have carried out in order to investigate structural properties of polyamidoamine (PAMAM) dendrimers. Obtained data confirm the PAMAM dendrimer structure proposed by experiments, performed by means of X-ray scattering (SAXS) and quasi-elastic light scattering (QELS) techniques

Free energy from molecular dynamics with multiple constraints

NARCIS (Netherlands)

den Otter, Wouter K.; Briels, Willem J.

2000-01-01

In molecular dynamics simulations of reacting systems, the key step to determining the equilibrium constant and the reaction rate is the calculation of the free energy as a function of the reaction coordinate. Intuitively the derivative of the free energy is equal to the average force needed to

Dense fluid self-diffusion coefficient calculations using perturbation theory and molecular dynamics

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

COELHO L. A. F.

1999-01-01

Full Text Available A procedure to correlate self-diffusion coefficients in dense fluids by using the perturbation theory (WCA coupled with the smooth-hard-sphere theory is presented and tested against molecular simulations and experimental data. This simple algebraic expression correlates well the self-diffusion coefficients of carbon dioxide, ethane, propane, ethylene, and sulfur hexafluoride. We have also performed canonical ensemble molecular dynamics simulations by using the Hoover-Nosé thermostat and the mean-square displacement formula to compute self-diffusion coefficients for the reference WCA intermolecular potential. The good agreement obtained from both methods, when compared with experimental data, suggests that the smooth-effective-sphere theory is a useful procedure to correlate diffusivity of pure substances.

Molecular Dynamics and Bioactivity of a Novel Mutated Human ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Keywords: Parathyroid hormone, Mutation prediction, Molecular dynamics, RANKL/OPG, UAMS-32P cell. Tropical .... PTH1R were used as MD simulation starting points. A full-atom ... Values of RMSD, Rg, and potential energy evaluation ...

Peptide dynamics by molecular dynamics simulation and diffusion theory method with improved basis sets

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hsu, Po Jen; Lai, S. K., E-mail: sklai@coll.phy.ncu.edu.tw [Complex Liquids Laboratory, Department of Physics, National Central University, Chungli 320, Taiwan and Molecular Science and Technology Program, Taiwan International Graduate Program, Academia Sinica, Taipei 115, Taiwan (China); Rapallo, Arnaldo [Istituto per lo Studio delle Macromolecole (ISMAC) Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR), via E. Bassini 15, C.A.P 20133 Milano (Italy)

2014-03-14

Improved basis sets for the study of polymer dynamics by means of the diffusion theory, and tests on a melt of cis-1,4-polyisoprene decamers, and a toluene solution of a 71-mer syndiotactic trans-1,2-polypentadiene were presented recently [R. Gaspari and A. Rapallo, J. Chem. Phys. 128, 244109 (2008)]. The proposed hybrid basis approach (HBA) combined two techniques, the long time sorting procedure and the maximum correlation approximation. The HBA takes advantage of the strength of these two techniques, and its basis sets proved to be very effective and computationally convenient in describing both local and global dynamics in cases of flexible synthetic polymers where the repeating unit is a unique type of monomer. The question then arises if the same efficacy continues when the HBA is applied to polymers of different monomers, variable local stiffness along the chain and with longer persistence length, which have different local and global dynamical properties against the above-mentioned systems. Important examples of this kind of molecular chains are the proteins, so that a fragment of the protein transthyretin is chosen as the system of the present study. This peptide corresponds to a sequence that is structured in β-sheets of the protein and is located on the surface of the channel with thyroxin. The protein transthyretin forms amyloid fibrils in vivo, whereas the peptide fragment has been shown [C. P. Jaroniec, C. E. MacPhee, N. S. Astrof, C. M. Dobson, and R. G. Griffin, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 99, 16748 (2002)] to form amyloid fibrils in vitro in extended β-sheet conformations. For these reasons the latter is given considerable attention in the literature and studied also as an isolated fragment in water solution where both experimental and theoretical efforts have indicated the propensity of the system to form β turns or α helices, but is otherwise predominantly unstructured. Differing from previous computational studies that employed implicit

Peptide dynamics by molecular dynamics simulation and diffusion theory method with improved basis sets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hsu, Po Jen; Lai, S. K.; Rapallo, Arnaldo

2014-01-01

Improved basis sets for the study of polymer dynamics by means of the diffusion theory, and tests on a melt of cis-1,4-polyisoprene decamers, and a toluene solution of a 71-mer syndiotactic trans-1,2-polypentadiene were presented recently [R. Gaspari and A. Rapallo, J. Chem. Phys. 128, 244109 (2008)]. The proposed hybrid basis approach (HBA) combined two techniques, the long time sorting procedure and the maximum correlation approximation. The HBA takes advantage of the strength of these two techniques, and its basis sets proved to be very effective and computationally convenient in describing both local and global dynamics in cases of flexible synthetic polymers where the repeating unit is a unique type of monomer. The question then arises if the same efficacy continues when the HBA is applied to polymers of different monomers, variable local stiffness along the chain and with longer persistence length, which have different local and global dynamical properties against the above-mentioned systems. Important examples of this kind of molecular chains are the proteins, so that a fragment of the protein transthyretin is chosen as the system of the present study. This peptide corresponds to a sequence that is structured in β-sheets of the protein and is located on the surface of the channel with thyroxin. The protein transthyretin forms amyloid fibrils in vivo, whereas the peptide fragment has been shown [C. P. Jaroniec, C. E. MacPhee, N. S. Astrof, C. M. Dobson, and R. G. Griffin, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 99, 16748 (2002)] to form amyloid fibrils in vitro in extended β-sheet conformations. For these reasons the latter is given considerable attention in the literature and studied also as an isolated fragment in water solution where both experimental and theoretical efforts have indicated the propensity of the system to form β turns or α helices, but is otherwise predominantly unstructured. Differing from previous computational studies that employed implicit

Dynamics of Oxidation of Aluminum Nanoclusters using Variable Charge Molecular-Dynamics Simulations on Parallel Computers

Science.gov (United States)

Campbell, Timothy; Kalia, Rajiv K.; Nakano, Aiichiro; Vashishta, Priya; Ogata, Shuji; Rodgers, Stephen

1999-06-01

Oxidation of aluminum nanoclusters is investigated with a parallel molecular-dynamics approach based on dynamic charge transfer among atoms. Structural and dynamic correlations reveal that significant charge transfer gives rise to large negative pressure in the oxide which dominates the positive pressure due to steric forces. As a result, aluminum moves outward and oxygen moves towards the interior of the cluster with the aluminum diffusivity 60% higher than that of oxygen. A stable 40 Å thick amorphous oxide is formed; this is in excellent agreement with experiments.

Molecular determinants of epidermal growth factor binding: a molecular dynamics study.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jeffrey M Sanders

Full Text Available The epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR is a member of the receptor tyrosine kinase family that plays a role in multiple cellular processes. Activation of EGFR requires binding of a ligand on the extracellular domain to promote conformational changes leading to dimerization and transphosphorylation of intracellular kinase domains. Seven ligands are known to bind EGFR with affinities ranging from sub-nanomolar to near micromolar dissociation constants. In the case of EGFR, distinct conformational states assumed upon binding a ligand is thought to be a determining factor in activation of a downstream signaling network. Previous biochemical studies suggest the existence of both low affinity and high affinity EGFR ligands. While these studies have identified functional effects of ligand binding, high-resolution structural data are lacking. To gain a better understanding of the molecular basis of EGFR binding affinities, we docked each EGFR ligand to the putative active state extracellular domain dimer and 25.0 ns molecular dynamics simulations were performed. MM-PBSA/GBSA are efficient computational approaches to approximate free energies of protein-protein interactions and decompose the free energy at the amino acid level. We applied these methods to the last 6.0 ns of each ligand-receptor simulation. MM-PBSA calculations were able to successfully rank all seven of the EGFR ligands based on the two affinity classes: EGF>HB-EGF>TGF-α>BTC>EPR>EPG>AR. Results from energy decomposition identified several interactions that are common among binding ligands. These findings reveal that while several residues are conserved among the EGFR ligand family, no single set of residues determines the affinity class. Instead we found heterogeneous sets of interactions that were driven primarily by electrostatic and Van der Waals forces. These results not only illustrate the complexity of EGFR dynamics but also pave the way for structure-based design of

H(D) → D(H) + Cu(111) collision system: molecular dynamics study of surface temperature effects.

Science.gov (United States)

Vurdu, Can D; Güvenç, Ziya B

2011-04-28

All the channels of the reaction dynamics of gas-phase H (or D) atoms with D (or H) atoms adsorbed onto a Cu(111) surface have been studied by quasiclassical constant energy molecular dynamics simulations. The surface is flexible and is prepared at different temperature values, such as 30 K, 94 K, and 160 K. The adsorbates were distributed randomly on the surface to create 0.18 ML, 0.28 ML, and 0.50 ML of coverages. The multi-layer slab is mimicked by a many-body embedded-atom potential energy function. The slab atoms can move according to the exerted external forces. Treating the slab atoms non-rigid has an important effect on the dynamics of the projectile atom and adsorbates. Significant energy transfer from the projectile atom to the surface lattice atoms takes place especially during the first impact that modifies significantly the details of the dynamics of the collisions. Effects of the different temperatures of the slab are investigated in this study. Interaction between the surface atoms and the adsorbates is modeled by a modified London-Eyring-Polanyi-Sato (LEPS) function. The LEPS parameters are determined by using the total energy values which were calculated by a density functional theory and a generalized gradient approximation for an exchange-correlation energy for many different orientations, and locations of one- and two-hydrogen atoms on the Cu(111) surface. The rms value of the fitting procedure is about 0.16 eV. Many different channels of the processes on the surface have been examined, such as inelastic reflection of the incident hydrogen, subsurface penetration of the incident projectile and adsorbates, sticking of the incident atom on the surface. In addition, hot-atom and Eley-Rideal direct processes are investigated. The hot-atom process is found to be more significant than the Eley-Rideal process. Furthermore, the rate of subsurface penetration is larger than the sticking rate on the surface. In addition, these results are compared and

Subtle balance of tropoelastin molecular shape and flexibility regulates dynamics and hierarchical assembly.

Science.gov (United States)

Yeo, Giselle C; Tarakanova, Anna; Baldock, Clair; Wise, Steven G; Buehler, Markus J; Weiss, Anthony S

2016-02-01

The assembly of the tropoelastin monomer into elastin is vital for conferring elasticity on blood vessels, skin, and lungs. Tropoelastin has dual needs for flexibility and structure in self-assembly. We explore the structure-dynamics-function interplay, consider the duality of molecular order and disorder, and identify equally significant functional contributions by local and global structures. To study these organizational stratifications, we perturb a key hinge region by expressing an exon that is universally spliced out in human tropoelastins. We find a herniated nanostructure with a displaced C terminus and explain by molecular modeling that flexible helices are replaced with substantial β sheets. We see atypical higher-order cross-linking and inefficient assembly into discontinuous, thick elastic fibers. We explain this dysfunction by correlating local and global structural effects with changes in the molecule's assembly dynamics. This work has general implications for our understanding of elastomeric proteins, which balance disordered regions with defined structural modules at multiple scales for functional assembly.

Fermionic molecular dynamics for ground states and collisions of nuclei

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Feldmeier, H.; Bieler, K.; Schnack, J.

1994-08-01

The antisymmetric many-body trial state which describes a system of interacting fermions is parametrized in terms of localized wave packets. The equations of motion are derived from the time-dependent quantum variational principle. The resulting Fermionic Molecular Dynamics (FMD) equations include a wide range of semi-quantal to classical physics extending from deformed Hartree-Fock theory to Newtonian molecular dynamics. Conservation laws are discussed in connection with the choice of the trial state. The model is applied to heavy-ion collisions with which its basic features are illustrated. The results show a great variety of phenomena including deeply inelastic collisions, fusion, incomplete fusion, fragmentation, neck emission, promptly emitted nucleons and evaporation. (orig.)

Molecular dynamics simulation of a chemical reaction

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gorecki, J.; Gryko, J.

1988-06-01

Molecular dynamics is used to study the chemical reaction A+A→B+B. It is shown that the reaction rate constant follows the Arrhenius law both for Lennard-Jones and hard sphere interaction potentials between substrate particles. A. For the denser systems the reaction rate is proportional to the value of the radial distribution function at the contact point of two hard spheres. 10 refs, 4 figs

Multilevel summation with B-spline interpolation for pairwise interactions in molecular dynamics simulations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hardy, David J.; Schulten, Klaus; Wolff, Matthew A.; Skeel, Robert D.; Xia, Jianlin

2016-01-01

The multilevel summation method for calculating electrostatic interactions in molecular dynamics simulations constructs an approximation to a pairwise interaction kernel and its gradient, which can be evaluated at a cost that scales linearly with the number of atoms. The method smoothly splits the kernel into a sum of partial kernels of increasing range and decreasing variability with the longer-range parts interpolated from grids of increasing coarseness. Multilevel summation is especially appropriate in the context of dynamics and minimization, because it can produce continuous gradients. This article explores the use of B-splines to increase the accuracy of the multilevel summation method (for nonperiodic boundaries) without incurring additional computation other than a preprocessing step (whose cost also scales linearly). To obtain accurate results efficiently involves technical difficulties, which are overcome by a novel preprocessing algorithm. Numerical experiments demonstrate that the resulting method offers substantial improvements in accuracy and that its performance is competitive with an implementation of the fast multipole method in general and markedly better for Hamiltonian formulations of molecular dynamics. The improvement is great enough to establish multilevel summation as a serious contender for calculating pairwise interactions in molecular dynamics simulations. In particular, the method appears to be uniquely capable for molecular dynamics in two situations, nonperiodic boundary conditions and massively parallel computation, where the fast Fourier transform employed in the particle–mesh Ewald method falls short.

Molecular C dynamics downstream: the biochemical decomposition sequence and its impact on soil organic matter structure and function.

Science.gov (United States)

Grandy, A Stuart; Neff, Jason C

2008-10-15

Advances in spectroscopic and other chemical methods have greatly enhanced our ability to characterize soil organic matter chemistry. As a result, the molecular characteristics of soil C are now known for a range of ecosystems, soil types, and management intensities. Placing this knowledge into a broader ecological and management context is difficult, however, and remains one of the fundamental challenges of soil organic matter research. Here we present a conceptual model of molecular soil C dynamics to stimulate inter-disciplinary research into the ecological implications of molecular C turnover and its management- and process-level controls. Our model describes three properties of soil C dynamics: 1) soil size fractions have unique molecular patterns that reflect varying degrees of biological and physical control over decomposition; 2) there is a common decomposition sequence independent of plant inputs or other ecosystem properties; and 3) molecular decomposition sequences, although consistent, are not uniform and can be altered by processes that accelerate or slow the microbial transformation of specific molecules. The consequences of this model include several key points. First, lignin presents a constraint to decomposition of plant litter and particulate C (>53 microm) but exerts little influence on more stable mineral-associated soil fractions stabilized onto mineral fractions has a distinct composition related more to microbially processed organic matter than to plant-related compounds. Third, disturbances, such as N fertilization and tillage, which alter decomposition rates, can have "downstream effects"; that is, a disturbance that directly alters the molecular dynamics of particulate C may have a series of indirect effects on C stabilization in silt and clay fractions.

In situ diffraction profile analysis during tensile deformation motivated by molecular dynamics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Van Swygenhoven, H.; Budrovic, Z.; Derlet, P.M.; Froseth, A.G.; Van Petegem, S.

2005-01-01

Molecular dynamics simulations can provide insight into the slip mechanism at the atomic scale and suggest that in nanocrystalline metals dislocations are nucleated and absorbed by the grain boundaries. However, this technique is limited by very short simulation times. Using suggestions from molecular dynamics, we have developed a new in situ X-ray diffraction technique wherein the profile analysis of several Bragg diffraction peaks during tensile deformation is possible. Combining experiment and careful structural analysis the results confirm the suggestions from atomistic simulations

Multiscale simulations of anisotropic particles combining molecular dynamics and Green's function reaction dynamics

Science.gov (United States)

Vijaykumar, Adithya; Ouldridge, Thomas E.; ten Wolde, Pieter Rein; Bolhuis, Peter G.

2017-03-01

The modeling of complex reaction-diffusion processes in, for instance, cellular biochemical networks or self-assembling soft matter can be tremendously sped up by employing a multiscale algorithm which combines the mesoscopic Green's Function Reaction Dynamics (GFRD) method with explicit stochastic Brownian, Langevin, or deterministic molecular dynamics to treat reactants at the microscopic scale [A. Vijaykumar, P. G. Bolhuis, and P. R. ten Wolde, J. Chem. Phys. 143, 214102 (2015)]. Here we extend this multiscale MD-GFRD approach to include the orientational dynamics that is crucial to describe the anisotropic interactions often prevalent in biomolecular systems. We present the novel algorithm focusing on Brownian dynamics only, although the methodology is generic. We illustrate the novel algorithm using a simple patchy particle model. After validation of the algorithm, we discuss its performance. The rotational Brownian dynamics MD-GFRD multiscale method will open up the possibility for large scale simulations of protein signalling networks.

Dynamic adsorption property of xenon on activated carbon and carbon molecular sieves

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Feng Shujuan; Zhou Guoqing; Jin Yuren; Zhou Chongyang

2010-01-01

In order to select well adsorptive xenon adsorbent, the dynamic adsorption property of xenon on activated carbon and carbon molecular sieves (CMS) was studied by measuring the xenon dynamic adsorption coefficient as a function velocity of gas, temperature, carrier gas, pressure and concentration of CO 2 . The results show that the highest value of xenon dynamic adsorption coefficient is on CMS1, and the second highest value is on CMS2; when the xenon concentration is less than 10 -5 mol/L or concentration of CO 2 is less than 5 x 10 -5 mol/L, the xenon dynamic adsorption coefficient nearly keeps constant at the specific experimental flow rate. Then the xenon dynamic adsorption coefficient would vary when it was mixed with different kind of carrier gas and become less at more than 5 x 10 -5 mol/L concentration of CO 2 . And the maximal effect factors are temperature and pressure. Therefore, the feasible measures to improve the xenon capability are to cool the adsorbent and increase adsorption pressure. (authors)

Liquid-vapor coexistence by molecular dynamics simulation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Baranyai, Andras; Cummings, Peter T.

2000-01-01

We present a simple and consistent molecular dynamics algorithm for determining the equilibrium properties of a bulk liquid and its coexisting vapor phase. The simulation follows the dynamics of the two systems simultaneously while maintaining the volume and the number of particles of the composite system fixed. The thermostat can constrain either the total energy or the temperature at a desired value. Division of the extensive properties between the two phases is governed by the difference of the corresponding intensive state variables. Particle numbers are continuous variables and vary only in virtual sense, i.e., the real sizes of the two systems are the same and do not change during the course of the simulation. Calculation of the chemical potential is separate from the dynamics; thus, one can replace the particle exchange step with other method if it improves the efficiency of the code. (c) 2000 American Institute of Physics

Comparative Investigation of Normal Modes and Molecular Dynamics of Hepatitis C NS5B Protein

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Asafi, M S; Tekpinar, M; Yildirim, A

2016-01-01

Understanding dynamics of proteins has many practical implications in terms of finding a cure for many protein related diseases. Normal mode analysis and molecular dynamics methods are widely used physics-based computational methods for investigating dynamics of proteins. In this work, we studied dynamics of Hepatitis C NS5B protein with molecular dynamics and normal mode analysis. Principal components obtained from a 100 nanoseconds molecular dynamics simulation show good overlaps with normal modes calculated with a coarse-grained elastic network model. Coarse-grained normal mode analysis takes at least an order of magnitude shorter time. Encouraged by this good overlaps and short computation times, we analyzed further low frequency normal modes of Hepatitis C NS5B. Motion directions and average spatial fluctuations have been analyzed in detail. Finally, biological implications of these motions in drug design efforts against Hepatitis C infections have been elaborated. (paper)

Insight into the effect of inhibitor resistant S130G mutant on physico-chemical properties of SHV type beta-lactamase: a molecular dynamics study.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mohd Hassan Baig

Full Text Available Bacterial resistance is a serious threat to human health. The production of β-lactamase, which inactivates β-lactams is most common cause of resistance to the β-lactam antibiotics. The Class A enzymes are most frequently encountered among the four β-lactamases in the clinic isolates. Mutations in class A β-lactamases play a crucial role in substrate and inhibitor specificity. SHV and TEM type are known to be most common class A β-lactamases. In the present study, we have analyzed the effect of inhibitor resistant S130G point mutation of SHV type Class-A β-lactamase using molecular dynamics and other in silico approaches. Our study involved the use of different in silico methods to investigate the affect of S130G point mutation on the major physico-chemical properties of SHV type class A β-lactamase. We have used molecular dynamics approach to compare the dynamic behaviour of native and S130G mutant form of SHV β-lactamase by analyzing different properties like root mean square deviation (RMSD, H-bond, Radius of gyration (Rg and RMS fluctuation of mutation. The results clearly suggest notable loss in the stability of S130G mutant that may further lead to decrease in substrate specificity of SHV. Molecular docking further indicates that S130G mutation decreases the binding affinity of all the three inhibitors in clinical practice.

Structure and dynamics of photosynthetic proteins studied by neutron scattering and molecular dynamic simulation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dellerue, Serge

2000-01-01

Understand the structure-dynamics-function relation in the case of proteins is essential. But few experimental techniques allow to have access to knowledge of fast internal movements of biological macromolecules. With the neutron scattering method, it has been possible to study the reorientation dynamics of side chains and of polypeptide skeleton for two proteins in terms of water or detergent and of temperature. With the use of the molecular dynamics method, essential for completing and interpreting the experimental data, it has been possible to assess the different contributions of the whole structure of proteins to the overall dynamics. It has been shown that the polypeptide skeleton presents an energy relaxation comparable to those of the side chains. Moreover, it has been explained that the protein dynamics can only be understood in terms of relaxation time distribution. (author) [fr

A molecular dynamics approach for predicting the glass transition temperature and plasticization effect in amorphous pharmaceuticals.

Science.gov (United States)

Gupta, Jasmine; Nunes, Cletus; Jonnalagadda, Sriramakamal

2013-11-04

The objectives of this study were as follows: (i) To develop an in silico technique, based on molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, to predict glass transition temperatures (Tg) of amorphous pharmaceuticals. (ii) To computationally study the effect of plasticizer on Tg. (iii) To investigate the intermolecular interactions using radial distribution function (RDF). Amorphous sucrose and water were selected as the model compound and plasticizer, respectively. MD simulations were performed using COMPASS force field and isothermal-isobaric ensembles. The specific volumes of amorphous cells were computed in the temperature range of 440-265 K. The characteristic "kink" observed in volume-temperature curves, in conjunction with regression analysis, defined the Tg. The MD computed Tg values were 367 K, 352 K and 343 K for amorphous sucrose containing 0%, 3% and 5% w/w water, respectively. The MD technique thus effectively simulated the plasticization effect of water; and the corresponding Tg values were in reasonable agreement with theoretical models and literature reports. The RDF measurements revealed strong hydrogen bond interactions between sucrose hydroxyl oxygens and water oxygen. Steric effects led to weak interactions between sucrose acetal oxygens and water oxygen. MD is thus a powerful predictive tool for probing temperature and water effects on the stability of amorphous systems during drug development.

POLYANA-A tool for the calculation of molecular radial distribution functions based on Molecular Dynamics trajectories

Science.gov (United States)

Dimitroulis, Christos; Raptis, Theophanes; Raptis, Vasilios

2015-12-01

We present an application for the calculation of radial distribution functions for molecular centres of mass, based on trajectories generated by molecular simulation methods (Molecular Dynamics, Monte Carlo). When designing this application, the emphasis was placed on ease of use as well as ease of further development. In its current version, the program can read trajectories generated by the well-known DL_POLY package, but it can be easily extended to handle other formats. It is also very easy to 'hack' the program so it can compute intermolecular radial distribution functions for groups of interaction sites rather than whole molecules.

Thermal conductivity of armchair black phosphorus nanotubes: a molecular dynamics study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hao, Feng; Liao, Xiangbiao; Xiao, Hang; Chen, Xi

2016-01-01

The effects of size, strain, and vacancies on the thermal properties of armchair black phosphorus nanotubes are investigated based on qualitative analysis from molecular dynamics simulations. It is found that thermal conductivity has a remarkable size effect, because of the restricted paths for phonon transport, which is strongly dependent on the diameter and length of the nanotube. Owing to the intensified low-frequency phonons, axial tensile strain can facilitate thermal transport. In contrast, compressive strain weakens thermal transport due to the enhanced phonon scattering around the buckling of the nanotube. In addition, the thermal conductivity is dramatically reduced by single vacancies, particularly those with high defect concentrations. (paper)

Molecular Dynamics with Helical Periodic Boundary Conditions

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Kessler, Jiří; Bouř, Petr

2014-01-01

Roč. 35, č. 21 (2014), s. 1552-1559 ISSN 0192-8651 R&D Projects: GA ČR GAP208/11/0105; GA MŠk(CZ) LH11033 Grant - others:GA AV ČR(CZ) M200551205; GA MŠk(CZ) LM2010005 Institutional support: RVO:61388963 Keywords : periodic boundary conditions * helical symmetry * molecular dynamics * protein structure * amyloid fibrils Subject RIV: CF - Physical ; Theoretical Chemistry Impact factor: 3.589, year: 2014

Nonequilibrium and generalized-ensemble molecular dynamics simulations for amyloid fibril

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Okumura, Hisashi [Research Center for Computational Science, Institute for Molecular Science, Okazaki, Aichi 444-8585 (Japan); Department of Structural Molecular Science, The Graduate University for Advanced Studies, Okazaki, Aichi 444-8585 (Japan)

2015-12-31

Amyloids are insoluble and misfolded fibrous protein aggregates and associated with more than 20 serious human diseases. We perform all-atom molecular dynamics simulations of amyloid fibril assembly and disassembly.

Olefin Metathesis in Peptidomimetics, Dynamic Combinatorial Chemistry, and Molecular Imprinting

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Low, Tammy K

2006-01-01

.... Our research goals consisted of employing olefin metathesis in the synthesis of peptidomimetics, and studying the feasibility of this method in dynamic combinatorial chemistry and molecular imprinting of nerve agents...

Modification of -Adenosyl--Homocysteine as Inhibitor of Nonstructural Protein 5 Methyltransferase Dengue Virus Through Molecular Docking and Molecular Dynamics Simulation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Usman Sumo Friend Tambunan

2017-04-01

Full Text Available Dengue fever is still a major threat worldwide, approximately threatening two-fifths of the world’s population in tropical and subtropical countries. Nonstructural protein 5 (NS5 methyltransferase enzyme plays a vital role in the process of messenger RNA capping of dengue by transferring methyl groups from S -adenosyl- l -methionine to N7 atom of the guanine bases of RNA and the RNA ribose group of 2′OH, resulting in S -adenosyl- l -homocysteine (SAH. The modification of SAH compound was screened using molecular docking and molecular dynamics simulation, along with computational ADME-Tox (absorption, distribution, metabolism, excretion, and toxicity test. The 2 simulations were performed using Molecular Operating Environment (MOE 2008.10 software, whereas the ADME-Tox test was performed using various software. The modification of SAH compound was done using several functional groups that possess different polarities and properties, resulting in 3460 ligands to be docked. After conducting docking simulation, we earned 3 best ligands (SAH-M331, SAH-M2696, and SAH-M1356 based on ΔG binding and molecular interactions, which show better results than the standard ligands. Moreover, the results of molecular dynamics simulation show that the best ligands are still able to maintain the active site residue interaction with the binding site until the end of the simulation. After a series of molecular docking and molecular dynamics simulation were performed, we concluded that SAH-M1356 ligand is the most potential SAH-based compound to inhibit NS5 methyltransferase enzyme for treating dengue fever.

A molecular dynamics study of Lennard-Jones physisorption on W(100)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Broughton, J.Q.

1980-01-01

The physisorption of Xe on W(100) was modeled by Lennard-Jones pair-wise interaction potentials and the dynamics of coverages ranging from one to four adlayers obtained by molecular dynamics simulation. At 115 K, the first two layers were well-ordered and each adsorbed with c(2 x 2) symmetry. Further adsorption produced a surface similar to that of a distorted Xe(100) face. In accord with the work of Broughton and Woodcock, the top layers of the three- and four-adlayer coverages were rough and had liquid-like diffusion coefficients. The potential energies of all layers other than the first were similar, thus corroborating one of the postulates of BET theory. Generally, the effect of adsorbing a layer was to reduce the entropy of all those beneath. (orig.)

Effective dynamics along given reaction coordinates, and reaction rate theory.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Wei; Hartmann, Carsten; Schütte, Christof

2016-12-22

In molecular dynamics and related fields one considers dynamical descriptions of complex systems in full (atomic) detail. In order to reduce the overwhelming complexity of realistic systems (high dimension, large timescale spread, limited computational resources) the projection of the full dynamics onto some reaction coordinates is examined in order to extract statistical information like free energies or reaction rates. In this context, the effective dynamics that is induced by the full dynamics on the reaction coordinate space has attracted considerable attention in the literature. In this article, we contribute to this discussion: we first show that if we start with an ergodic diffusion process whose invariant measure is unique then these properties are inherited by the effective dynamics. Then, we give equations for the effective dynamics, discuss whether the dominant timescales and reaction rates inferred from the effective dynamics are accurate approximations of such quantities for the full dynamics, and compare our findings to results from approaches like Mori-Zwanzig, averaging, or homogenization. Finally, by discussing the algorithmic realization of the effective dynamics, we demonstrate that recent algorithmic techniques like the "equation-free" approach and the "heterogeneous multiscale method" can be seen as special cases of our approach.

MOLECULAR DYNAMICS SIMULATIONS OF DISPLACEMENT CASCADES IN MOLYBDENUM

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Smith, Richard Whiting

2003-01-01

Molecular dynamics calculations have been employed to simulate displacement cascades in neutron irradiated Mo. A total of 90 simulations were conducted for PKA energies between 1 and 40 keV and temperatures from 298 to 923K. The results suggest very little effect of temperature on final defect count and configuration, but do display a temperature effect on peak defect generation prior to cascade collapse. Cascade efficiency, relative to the NRT model, is computed to lie between 1/4 and 1/3 in agreement with simulations performed on previous systems. There is a tendency for both interstitials and vacancies to cluster together following cascade collapse producing vacancy rich regions surrounded by interstitials. Although coming to rest in close proximity, the point defects comprising the clusters generally do not lie within the nearest neighbor positions of one another, except for the formation of dumbbell di-interstitials. Cascades produced at higher PKA energies (20 or 40 keV) exhibit the formation of subcascades

Revealing time bunching effect in single-molecule enzyme conformational dynamics.

Science.gov (United States)

Lu, H Peter

2011-04-21

In this perspective, we focus our discussion on how the single-molecule spectroscopy and statistical analysis are able to reveal enzyme hidden properties, taking the study of T4 lysozyme as an example. Protein conformational fluctuations and dynamics play a crucial role in biomolecular functions, such as in enzymatic reactions. Single-molecule spectroscopy is a powerful approach to analyze protein conformational dynamics under physiological conditions, providing dynamic perspectives on a molecular-level understanding of protein structure-function mechanisms. Using single-molecule fluorescence spectroscopy, we have probed T4 lysozyme conformational motions under the hydrolysis reaction of a polysaccharide of E. coli B cell walls by monitoring the fluorescence resonant energy transfer (FRET) between a donor-acceptor probe pair tethered to T4 lysozyme domains involving open-close hinge-bending motions. Based on the single-molecule spectroscopic results, molecular dynamics simulation, a random walk model analysis, and a novel 2D statistical correlation analysis, we have revealed a time bunching effect in protein conformational motion dynamics that is critical to enzymatic functions. Bunching effect implies that conformational motion times tend to bunch in a finite and narrow time window. We show that convoluted multiple Poisson rate processes give rise to the bunching effect in the enzymatic reaction dynamics. Evidently, the bunching effect is likely common in protein conformational dynamics involving in conformation-gated protein functions. In this perspective, we will also discuss a new approach of 2D regional correlation analysis capable of analyzing fluctuation dynamics of complex multiple correlated and anti-correlated fluctuations under a non-correlated noise background. Using this new method, we are able to map out any defined segments along the fluctuation trajectories and determine whether they are correlated, anti-correlated, or non-correlated; after which, a

Physical properties of Cu nanoparticles: A molecular dynamics study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kart, H.H.; Yildirim, H.; Ozdemir Kart, S.; Çağin, T.

2014-01-01

Thermodynamical, structural and dynamical properties of Cu nanoparticles are investigated by using Molecular Dynamics (MD) simulations at various temperatures. In this work, MD simulations of the Cu-nanoparticles are performed by means of the MPiSiM codes by utilizing from Quantum Sutton-Chen (Q-SC) many-body force potential to define the interactions between the Cu atoms. The diameters of the copper nanoparticles are varied from 2 nm to 10 nm. MD simulations of Cu nanoparticles are carried out at low and high temperatures to study solid and liquid properties of Cu nanoparticles. Simulation results such as melting point, radial distribution function are compared with the available experimental bulk results. Radial distribution function, mean square displacement, diffusion coefficient, Lindemann index and Honeycutt–Andersen index are also calculated for estimating the melting point of the Copper nanoparticles. - Highlights: • Solid and liquid properties of Cu nanoparticles are studied. • Molecular dynamics utilizing the Quantum Sutton Chen potential is used in this work. • Melting temperatures of nanoparticles are strongly depended on nanoparticle sizes. • Heat capacity, radial distribution function and diffusion coefficients are studied. • Structures of nanoparticles are analyzed by Lindemann and Honeycutt–Andersen index

Huge-scale molecular dynamics simulation of multibubble nuclei

KAUST Repository

Watanabe, Hiroshi

2013-12-01

We have developed molecular dynamics codes for a short-range interaction potential that adopt both the flat-MPI and MPI/OpenMP hybrid parallelizations on the basis of a full domain decomposition strategy. Benchmark simulations involving up to 38.4 billion Lennard-Jones particles were performed on Fujitsu PRIMEHPC FX10, consisting of 4800 SPARC64 IXfx 1.848 GHz processors, at the Information Technology Center of the University of Tokyo, and a performance of 193 teraflops was achieved, which corresponds to a 17.0% execution efficiency. Cavitation processes were also simulated on PRIMEHPC FX10 and SGI Altix ICE 8400EX at the Institute of Solid State Physics of the University of Tokyo, which involved 1.45 billion and 22.9 million particles, respectively. Ostwald-like ripening was observed after the multibubble nuclei. Our results demonstrate that direct simulations of multiscale phenomena involving phase transitions from the atomic scale are possible and that the molecular dynamics method is a promising method that can be applied to petascale computers. © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Molecular dynamics of the structure and thermodynamics of dusty ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The static structure and thermodynamic properties of two-dimensional dusty plasma are analyzed for some typical values of coupling and screening parameters using classical molecular dynamics. Radial distribution function and static structure factor are computed. The radial distribution functions display the typical ...

Effect of twin boundary on nanoimprint process of bicrystal Al thin film studied by molecular dynamics simulation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xie Yue-Hong; Xu Jian-Gang; Zhang Yun-Guang; Song Hai-Yang

2015-01-01

The effects of a twin boundary (TB) on the mechanical properties of two types of bicrystal Al thin films during the nanoimprint process are investigated by using molecular dynamics simulations. The results indicate that for the TB direction parallel to the imprinting direction, the yield stress reaches the maximum for the initial dislocation nucleation when the mould directly imprints to the TB, and the yield stress first decreases with the increase of the marker interval and then increases. However, for the TB direction perpendicular to the imprinting direction, the effect of the TB location to the imprinting forces is very small, and the yield stress is greater than that with the TB direction parallel to the imprinting direction. The results also demonstrate that the direction of the slip dislocations and the deformation of the thin film caused by spring-back are different due to various positions and directions of the TB. (paper)

A molecular dynamics study on the oxygen diffusion in doped fluorites: the effect of the dopant distribution

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tarancon, A. [M2E/XaRMAE/IREC, Department of Advanced Materials for Energy Applications, Catalonia Institute for Energy Research (IREC), Josep Pla 2, Torre 2, B2, 08019 Barcelona (Spain); Morata, A.; Peiro, F. [MIND/XaRMAE/IN2UB, Department of Electronics, University of Barcelona, Marti i Franques 1, 08028 Barcelona (Spain); Dezanneau, G. [Laboratoire Structures, Proprietes et Modelisation des Solides, Grande Voie des Vignes, Ecole Centrale Paris, F-92295 Chatenay-Malabry Cedex (France)

2011-02-15

The effect of the dopant distribution on the oxygen diffusion in doped fluorites typically used for solid oxide fuel cells electrolyte applications has been analysed by using molecular dynamics simulations. The oxygen mass transport in both yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) and gadolinia-doped ceria has been studied and compared in the range of temperatures between 1,159 and 1,959 K. A new methodology based on the analysis of local environments is used to describe the diffusion process at an atomic scale. Preferred vacancy migration pathways, most suitable conduction models, energy landscapes and jump efficiency have been detailed for each material. Finally, a particular case of non-random distribution of dopants in YSZ is presented in order to quantitatively evaluate the effect of the dopant pattern on the mass transport properties and the potential of the methodology developed here for understanding and foreseeing real configurations at the nanoscale. (Copyright copyright 2011 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

Investigation of effective impact parameters in electron-ion temperature relaxation via Particle-Particle Coulombic molecular dynamics

Science.gov (United States)

Zhao, Yinjian

2017-09-01

Aiming at a high simulation accuracy, a Particle-Particle (PP) Coulombic molecular dynamics model is implemented to study the electron-ion temperature relaxation. In this model, the Coulomb's law is directly applied in a bounded system with two cutoffs at both short and long length scales. By increasing the range between the two cutoffs, it is found that the relaxation rate deviates from the BPS theory and approaches the LS theory and the GMS theory. Also, the effective minimum and maximum impact parameters (bmin* and bmax*) are obtained. For the simulated plasma condition, bmin* is about 6.352 times smaller than the Landau length (bC), and bmax* is about 2 times larger than the Debye length (λD), where bC and λD are used in the LS theory. Surprisingly, the effective relaxation time obtained from the PP model is very close to the LS theory and the GMS theory, even though the effective Coulomb logarithm is two times greater than the one used in the LS theory. Besides, this work shows that the PP model (commonly known as computationally expensive) is becoming practicable via GPU parallel computing techniques.

Multiscale Molecular Dynamics Model for Heterogeneous Charged Systems

Science.gov (United States)

Stanton, L. G.; Glosli, J. N.; Murillo, M. S.

2018-04-01

Modeling matter across large length scales and timescales using molecular dynamics simulations poses significant challenges. These challenges are typically addressed through the use of precomputed pair potentials that depend on thermodynamic properties like temperature and density; however, many scenarios of interest involve spatiotemporal variations in these properties, and such variations can violate assumptions made in constructing these potentials, thus precluding their use. In particular, when a system is strongly heterogeneous, most of the usual simplifying assumptions (e.g., spherical potentials) do not apply. Here, we present a multiscale approach to orbital-free density functional theory molecular dynamics (OFDFT-MD) simulations that bridges atomic, interionic, and continuum length scales to allow for variations in hydrodynamic quantities in a consistent way. Our multiscale approach enables simulations on the order of micron length scales and 10's of picosecond timescales, which exceeds current OFDFT-MD simulations by many orders of magnitude. This new capability is then used to study the heterogeneous, nonequilibrium dynamics of a heated interface characteristic of an inertial-confinement-fusion capsule containing a plastic ablator near a fuel layer composed of deuterium-tritium ice. At these scales, fundamental assumptions of continuum models are explored; features such as the separation of the momentum fields among the species and strong hydrogen jetting from the plastic into the fuel region are observed, which had previously not been seen in hydrodynamic simulations.

Molecular Dynamics Studies of Thermal Induced Chemistry in Tatb

Science.gov (United States)

Quenneville, J.; Germann, T. C.; Thompson, A. P.; Kober, E. M.

2007-12-01

A reactive force field (ReaxFF) is used with molecular dynamics to probe the chemistry induced by intense heating (`accelerated cook-off') of 1,3,5-triamino-2,4,6-trinitrobenzene (TATB). Large-system simulations are desired for TATB because of the high degree of carbon clustering expected in this material. Using small, 32-molecule simulations, we calculate the reaction rate as a function of temperature and compare the Arrhenius-predicted activation energy with experiment. Decomposition product evolution (mainly N2, H2O, CO2 and graphitic carbon clusters) is followed using a 576-molecule larger simulation, which also illustrates the effect of system size on both carbon clustering and reaction rate.

Effect of pH on the adsorption of dodecylamine on montmorillonite: Insights from experiments and molecular dynamics simulations

Science.gov (United States)

Peng, Chenliang; Min, Fanfei; Liu, Lingyun

2017-12-01

The hydrophobic aggregation in cationic surfactant suspension is an effective method to enhance the dewatering of clay-rich tailing. The solution pH can affect the adsorption behavior of cationic surfactant on clay mineral. The effect of pH on the adsorption of dodecylamine (DDA) on montmorillonite was investigated by the sedimentation test and the characterization of flocs images, contact angle, adsorption quantity, and fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, as well as molecular dynamics (MD) simulation. It was found that DDA ions were adsorbed on montmorillonite basal surfaces mainly by physical adsorption, including the electrostatic attraction and hydrogen bonding. A certain number of neutral DDA molecules can favor the adsorption of DDA. At pH around 8, the effect of hydrophobic modification was the best because DDA molecules and ions form compact and well-organized monolayer. The MD simulation results were in good agreement with that of contact angle, adsorption quantity and FTIR.

A molecular dynamics analysis of internal friction effects on the plasticity of Zr65Cu35 metallic glass

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Feng, Shidong; Qi, Li; Zhao, Fengli; Pan, Shaopeng; Li, Gong; Ma, Mingzhen; Liu, Riping

2015-01-01

Highlights: • Effects of internal friction on plasticity is investigated at the atomic level. • The simulations allow reproduction of images of internal friction evolution. • The simulation results are in good agreement with experiments and theories. • This simulation can predict the deformation mode with different internal friction. - Abstract: The effects of internal friction (IF) on Zr 65 Cu 35 metallic glass plasticity are investigated through molecular dynamics simulations. Results show that the Voronoi polyhedron 〈0, 3, 6, 3〉 increases as IF increases, thereby effectively inhibiting localized deformation and improving metallic glass plasticity. The simulations allow reproduction of images of IF evolution in metallic glasses subjected to isothermal annealing at 730 K and 850 K respectively, which can help explain the experimental observations. IF could be adjusted by selecting suitable annealing temperatures and cooling rates. The results of this work provide a strong foundation for future metallic glass designs

A Molecular Dynamic Simulation of Hydrated Proton Transfer in Perfluorosulfonate Ionomer Membranes (Nafion 117

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hong Sun

2015-01-01

Full Text Available A molecular dynamic model based on Lennard-Jones Potential, the interaction force between two particles, molecular diffusion, and radial distribution function (RDF is presented. The diffusion of the hydrated ion, triggered by both Grotthuss and vehicle mechanisms, is used to study the proton transfer in Nafion 117. The hydrated ion transfer mechanisms and the effects of the temperature, the water content in the membrane, and the electric field on the diffusion of the hydrated ion are analyzed. The molecular dynamic simulation results are in good agreement with those reported in the literature. The modeling results show that when the water content in Nafion 117 is low, H3O+ is the main transfer ion among the different hydrated ions. However, at higher water content, the hydrated ion in the form of H+(H2O2 is the main transfer ion. It is also found that the negatively charged sulfonic acid group as the fortified point facilitates the proton transfer in Nafion 117 better than the free water molecule. The diffusion of the hydrated ion can be improved by increasing the cell temperature, the water content in Nafion, and the electric field intensity.

Trapping dynamics of isobutane, n-butane, and neopentane on Pt(111): Effects of molecular weight and structure

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Weaver, J.F.; Madix, R.J.

1999-01-01

The molecular adsorption dynamics of isobutane, n-butane, and neopentane on Pt(111) was investigated using supersonic molecular beam techniques and stochastic trajectory calculations. Using the united atom approach, a single, pairwise-additive Morse Potential for methyl (methylene)- plantinum interactions quantitatively simulates the dependence of the initial trapping probability, α, on the initial translational energy, E T , and angle of incidence, θ i , for each alkane. For both isobutane and n-butane, the dependence of α on E T and θ i best scales with E T cos 0.8 θ i , which is similar to that found previously for ethane and propane trapping on Pt(111). The initial trapping probability of neopentane exhibits a more pronounced dependence on θ i , which scales according to E T cos 1.3 θ i . The simulations suggest that the enhanced angular dependence of α for neopentane is related to its molecular weight. As the mass of the incident species is increased, momentum transfer to the surface becomes more efficient than the interconversion of incident parallel and normal momentum due to corrugation of the surface potential. The net effect is an increase in the trapping probability at glancing incidence compared to lighter molecules, and a resulting shift in the angular dependence of α towards normal energy scaling. The calculations also predict that collisional energy transfer to rotation is important in promoting adsorption. For each molecule, rotational excitation is determined to be the most effective energy transfer process that discriminates trapping from scattering. In addition, translational energy transfer to torsional vibration about the central C - C bond is highly efficient for n-butane, and greatly facilitates adsorption. Less excitation is predicted for C - C - C bending modes for all of these molecules. copyright 1999 American Institute of Physics

Lipid Configurations from Molecular Dynamics Simulations

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pezeshkian, Weria; Khandelia, Himanshu; Marsh, Derek

2018-01-01

of dihedral angles in palmitoyl-oleoyl phosphatidylcholine from molecular dynamics simulations of hydrated fluid bilayer membranes. We compare results from the widely used lipid force field of Berger et al. with those from the most recent C36 release of the CHARMM force field for lipids. Only the CHARMM force......The extent to which current force fields faithfully reproduce conformational properties of lipids in bilayer membranes, and whether these reflect the structural principles established for phospholipids in bilayer crystals, are central to biomembrane simulations. We determine the distribution...

Molecular dynamics studies of actinide nitrides

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kurosaki, Ken; Uno, Masayoshi; Yamanaka, Shinsuke; Minato, Kazuo

2004-01-01

The molecular dynamics (MD) calculation was performed for actinide nitrides (UN, NpN, and PuN) in the temperature range from 300 to 2800 K to evaluate the physical properties viz., the lattice parameter, thermal expansion coefficient, compressibility, and heat capacity. The Morse-type potential function added to the Busing-Ida type potential was employed for the ionic interactions. The interatomic potential parameters were determined by fitting to the experimental data of the lattice parameter. The usefulness and applicability of the MD method to evaluate the physical properties of actinide nitrides were studied. (author)

Molecular dynamics of surfactant protein C

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ramírez, Eunice; Santana, Alberto; Cruz, Anthony

2006-01-01

Surfactant protein C (SP-C) is a membrane-associated protein essential for normal respiration. It has been found that the alpha-helix form of SP-C can undergo, under certain conditions, a transformation from an alpha-helix to a beta-strand conformation that closely resembles amyloid fibrils, which...... are possible contributors to the pathogenesis of pulmonary alveolar proteinosis. Molecular dynamics simulations using the NAMD2 package were performed for systems containing from one to seven SP-C molecules to study their behavior in water. The results of our simulations show that unfolding of the protein...

High-pressure microscopy for tracking dynamic properties of molecular machines.

Science.gov (United States)

Nishiyama, Masayoshi

2017-12-01

High-pressure microscopy is one of the powerful techniques to visualize the effects of hydrostatic pressures on research targets. It could be used for monitoring the pressure-induced changes in the structure and function of molecular machines in vitro and in vivo. This review focuses on the dynamic properties of the assemblies and machines, analyzed by means of high-pressure microscopy measurement. We developed a high-pressure microscope that is optimized both for the best image formation and for the stability to hydrostatic pressure up to 150 MPa. Application of pressure could change polymerization and depolymerization processes of the microtubule cytoskeleton, suggesting a modulation of the intermolecular interaction between tubulin molecules. A novel motility assay demonstrated that high hydrostatic pressure induces counterclockwise (CCW) to clockwise (CW) reversals of the Escherichia coli flagellar motor. The present techniques could be extended to study how molecular machines in complicated systems respond to mechanical stimuli. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Molecular dynamics simulations of classical sound absorption in a monatomic gas

Science.gov (United States)

Ayub, M.; Zander, A. C.; Huang, D. M.; Cazzolato, B. S.; Howard, C. Q.

2018-05-01

Sound wave propagation in argon gas is simulated using molecular dynamics (MD) in order to determine the attenuation of acoustic energy due to classical (viscous and thermal) losses at high frequencies. In addition, a method is described to estimate attenuation of acoustic energy using the thermodynamic concept of exergy. The results are compared against standing wave theory and the predictions of the theory of continuum mechanics. Acoustic energy losses are studied by evaluating various attenuation parameters and by comparing the changes in behavior at three different frequencies. This study demonstrates acoustic absorption effects in a gas simulated in a thermostatted molecular simulation and quantifies the classical losses in terms of the sound attenuation constant. The approach can be extended to further understanding of acoustic loss mechanisms in the presence of nanoscale porous materials in the simulation domain.

Temperature dependent dynamics of DegP-trimer: A molecular dynamics study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nivedita Rai

2015-01-01

Full Text Available DegP is a heat shock protein from high temperature requirement protease A family, which reacts to the environmental stress conditions in an ATP independent way. The objective of the present analysis emerged from the temperature dependent functional diversity of DegP between chaperonic and protease activities at temperatures below and above 28 °C, respectively. DegP is a multimeric protein and the minimal functional unit, DegP-trimer, is of great importance in understanding the DegP pathway. The structural aspects of DegP-trimer with respect to temperature variation have been studied using molecular dynamics simulations (for 100 ns and principal component analysis to highlight the temperature dependent dynamics facilitating its functional diversity. The DegP-trimer revealed a pronounced dynamics at both 280 and 320 K, when compared to the dynamics observed at 300 K. The LA loop is identified as the highly flexible region during dynamics and at extreme temperatures, the residues 46–80 of LA loop express a flip towards right (at 280 and left ( at 320 K with respect to the fixed β-sheet connecting the LA loop of protease for which Phe46 acts as one of the key residues. Such dynamics of LA loop facilitates inter-monomeric interaction with the PDZ1 domain of the neighbouring monomer and explains its active participation when DegP exists as trimer. Hence, the LA loop mediated dynamics of DegP-trimer is expected to provide further insight into the temperature dependent dynamics of DegP towards the understanding of its assembly and functional diversity in the presence of substrate.

Molecular dynamics study on glass and molten state of AgI-AgPO3

Science.gov (United States)

Matsunaga, Shigeki

2017-08-01

Molecular dynamics (MD) simulation on molten and glass state of AgI-AgPO3 have been performed to investigate the structural features and transport properties. In MD, the screened Born-Mayer type potentials including the effect of polarizability of ions have been used. The structure, conductivity, shear viscosity, and Voronoi polyhedron are discussed in relation with the temperature change.