Dissipative particle dynamics: the equilibrium for finite time steps

TL;DR

This paper reveals that in dissipative particle dynamics simulations, the equilibrium temperature is significantly affected by the choice of time step, providing an analytical expression that matches simulation data.

Contribution

The paper derives an analytical formula for the temperature dependence on time step in DPD simulations, highlighting a critical factor for accurate equilibrium modeling.

Findings

Temperature depends strongly on time step in DPD.

Analytical expression matches simulation results.

Guidance for choosing time steps in DPD simulations.

Abstract

Dissipative particle dynamics (DPD) is a relatively new technique which has proved successful in the simulation of complex fluids. We caution that for the equilibrium achieved by the DPD simulation of a simple fluid the temperature depends strongly on the time step. An analytic expression for the dependence is obtained and shown to agree well with simulation results.