Multi-Scale Molecular Dynamics Simulations
Résumé
In molecular dynamics (MD), systems are molecules made up of
atoms, and the aim is to determine their evolution over time. MD
is based on a numerical resolution algorithm, whose role is to
apply the forces generated by the various components, according to
the equations of Newtonian physics. Molecular Dynamics is
currently mainly used in materials science and molecular biology.
In this document, we limit ourselves to {\it alkanes} which are
non-cyclic carbon-hydrogenated chains. In the basic ``All-atom''
(AA) scale, all the atoms are directly simulated. In the
``United-atom'' (UA) scale, one considers grains that are composed
of a carbon atom with the hydrogen atoms attached to it. Grains in
the ``Coarse-grained'' (CG) scale are composed of two consecutive UA
grains. In the multi-scale approach, one tries to use as much as
possible the UA and CG scales which can be more efficiently
simulated than the AA scale.
In this document, we mainly put the focus on three topics.
First, we describe an MD system, implemented in the Java
programming language, according to the Synchronous Reactive
Programming approach in which there exists a notion of a global
logical time. This system is used to simulate molecules and also to
build the potentials functions at the UA and CG scales.
Second, two methods to derive UA and CG potentials from AA
potentials are proposed and analysed. Basically, both methods rely
on strong geometrical links with the AA scale. We use these links
with AA to determine the forms and values of the UA and CG
potentials. In the first method (called ``inverse-Boltzmann''), one
considers data produced during several AA scale molecule
simulations, and one processes these data using a statistical
approach. In the second method (``minimisation method''), one
applies a constrained-minimisation technique to AA molecules. The
most satisfactory method clearly appears to be the
minimisation-based one. The UA potentials we have determined have
standard forms: they only differ from AA potentials by parameter
values. On the opposite, CG potentials are non-standard
functions. We show how to implement them with functions defined ``by
cases''.
Finally, we consider ``reconstructions'' which are means to
dynamically change molecule scales during simulations. In
particular, we consider automatic reconstructions based on the
proximity of molecules.
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