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Exploring Energy Landscapes: Metrics, Pathways, and Normal-Mode Analysis for Rigid-Body Molecules
Victor Rühle1, Halim Kusumaatmaja1,2, Dwaipayan Chakrabarti1,3
1Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge , Lensfield Road, Cambridge CB2 1EW, United Kingdom.
Abstract:
We present new methodology for exploring the energy landscapes of molecular systems, using angle-axis variables for the rigid-body rotational coordinates. The key ingredient is a distance measure or metric tensor, which is invariant to global translation and rotation. The metric is used to formulate a generalized nudged elastic band method for calculating pathways, and a full prescription for normal-mode analysis is described. The methodology is tested by mapping the potential energy and free energy landscape of the water octamer, described by the TIP4P potential.
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