New method for constant- NPT molecular dynamics

Abstract

The well-established molecular dynamics simulation methods for constant-NPT ensemble systems such as the Andersen Nose Hoover method and their variants may alter the dynamic properties of the molecules under consideration, because their equations of motion are modified by the coupling with thermostat or barostat. To circumvent this artifact, we propose a new molecular dynamics simulation algorithm, by which only the molecules near the wall of the simulation box are coupled to the thermostat and barostat and the molecules of interest placed in the inner part of the simulation box remain intact. We test the efficiency of our algorithm in attaining the target temperature and pressure and the conformity of the calculated equilibrium and dynamic properties to those of a constant-NPT ensemble system.