Molecular dynamics for discontinuous potentials

Abstract

A method to perform molecular dynamics simulations for systems of particles interacting with discontinuous potentials is presented. It is a generalization of Alder and Wainwright's algorithm for potentials represented by an arbitrary number of discontinuous horizontal line segments. The method is applied to several hard molecular fluids of various shapes, discrete Lennard-Jonesium, surfaces and mixtures in order to test its generality and flexibility. Results are compared, when possible, with previously published material, which includes numerical, theoretical and experimental results. These comparisons show that the method is a powerful tool in the study of molecular fluids and looks like a promising alternative approach to perform molecular dynamics for continuous potentials represented by a series of discontinuous line segments. The flexibility of the method will allow the testing of theories based on integral equations, like RISM and RAM, and to develop equations of state for complex hard molecules to be used as reference fluids in perturbation theories.