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Published on: July 19, 2019
Enhanced sampling in numerical path integration: an approximation for the quantum statistical density matrix based on
1Department of Chemistry, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts 02215, USA.
Abstract:
Here we examine a proposed approximation for the quantum statistical density matrix motivated by the nonextensive thermostatistics of Tsallis and co-workers. The approximation involves replacing the physical potential energy with an effective one, corresponding to a generalized nonextensive statistical ensemble. We examine the convergence properties of averages calculated using the effective potential, and introduce a related method for enhanced sampling in numerical path integration. As a necessary measure, path integral energy estimators are introduced for potentials that involve explicit temperature dependence. This sampling method is found to be effective for path integral simulations involving broken ergodicity.
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