A Quasi Time-Reversible Scheme Based on Density Matrix Extrapolation on the Grassmann Manifold for Born-Oppenheimer Molecular Dynamics.

This Letter introduces the so-called Quasi Time-Reversible scheme based on Grassmann extrapolation (QTR G-Ext) of density matrices for an accurate calculation of initial guesses in Born-Oppenheimer Molecular Dynamics (BOMD) simulations. The method shows excellent results on four large molecular systems that are representative of real-life production applications, ranging from 21 to 94 atoms simulated with Kohn-Sham (KS) density functional theory surrounded with a classical environment with 6k to 16k atoms. Namely, it clearly reduces the number of self-consistent field iterations while at the same time achieving energy-conserving simulations, resulting in a considerable speed-up of BOMD simulations even when tight convergence of the KS equations is required.

Grassmann Extrapolation of Density Matrices for Born-Oppenheimer Molecular Dynamics.

Born-Oppenheimer molecular dynamics (BOMD) is a powerful but expensive technique. The main bottleneck in a density functional theory BOMD calculation is the solution to the Kohn-Sham (KS) equations that requires an iterative procedure that starts from a guess for the density matrix. Converged densities from previous points in the trajectory can be used to extrapolate a new guess; however, the nonlinear constraint that an idempotent density needs to satisfy makes the direct use of standard linear extrapolation techniques not possible. In this contribution, we introduce a locally bijective map between the manifold where the density is defined and its tangent space so that linear extrapolation can be performed in a vector space while, at the same time, retaining the correct physical properties of the extrapolated density using molecular descriptors. We apply the method to real-life, multiscale, polarizable QM/MM BOMD simulations, showing that sizeable performance gains can be achieved, especially when a tighter convergence to the KS equations is required.

A coherent derivation of the Ewald summation for arbitrary orders of multipoles: The self-terms.

In this work, we provide the mathematical elements we think essential for a proper understanding of the calculus of the electrostatic energy of point-multipoles of arbitrary order under periodic boundary conditions. The emphasis is put on the expressions of the so-called self-parts of the Ewald summation where different expressions can be found in the literature. Indeed, such expressions are of prime importance in the context of new generation polarizable force field where the self-field appears in the polarization equations. We provide a general framework, where the idea of the Ewald splitting is applied to the electric potential and, subsequently, all other quantities such as the electric field, the energy, and the forces are derived consistently thereof. Mathematical well-posedness is shown for all these contributions for any order of multipolar distribution.

A QM/MM Approach Using the AMOEBA Polarizable Embedding: From Ground State Energies to Electronic Excitations.

A fully polarizable implementation of the hybrid quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics approach is presented, where the classical environment is described through the AMOEBA polarizable force field. A variational formalism, offering a self-consistent relaxation of both the MM induced dipoles and the QM electronic density, is used for ground state energies and extended to electronic excitations in the framework of time-dependent density functional theory combined with a state specific response of the classical part. An application to the calculation of the solvatochromism of the pyridinium N-phenolate betaine dye used to define the solvent ET(30) scale is presented. The results show that the QM/AMOEBA model not only properly describes specific and bulk effects in the ground state but it also correctly responds to the large change in the solute electronic charge distribution upon excitation.

Scalable improvement of SPME multipolar electrostatics in anisotropic polarizable molecular mechanics using a general short-range penetration correction up to quadrupoles.

We propose a general coupling of the Smooth Particle Mesh Ewald SPME approach for distributed multipoles to a short-range charge penetration correction modifying the charge-charge, charge-dipole and charge-quadrupole energies. Such an approach significantly improves electrostatics when compared to ab initio values and has been calibrated on Symmetry-Adapted Perturbation Theory reference data. Various neutral molecular dimers have been tested and results on the complexes of mono- and divalent cations with a water ligand are also provided. Transferability of the correction is adressed in the context of the implementation of the AMOEBA and SIBFA polarizable force fields in the TINKER-HP software. As the choices of the multipolar distribution are discussed, conclusions are drawn for the future penetration-corrected polarizable force fields highlighting the mandatory need of non-spurious procedures for the obtention of well balanced and physically meaningful distributed moments. Finally, scalability and parallelism of the short-range corrected SPME approach are addressed, demonstrating that the damping function is computationally affordable and accurate for molecular dynamics simulations of complex bio- or bioinorganic systems in periodic boundary conditions.

Scalable evaluation of polarization energy and associated forces in polarizable molecular dynamics: II. Toward massively parallel computations using smooth particle mesh Ewald.

In this article, we present a parallel implementation of point dipole-based polarizable force fields for molecular dynamics (MD) simulations with periodic boundary conditions (PBC). The smooth particle mesh Ewald technique is combined with two optimal iterative strategies, namely, a preconditioned conjugate gradient solver and a Jacobi solver in conjunction with the direct inversion in the iterative subspace for convergence acceleration, to solve the polarization equations. We show that both solvers exhibit very good parallel performances and overall very competitive timings in an energy and force computation needed to perform a MD step. Various tests on large systems are provided in the context of the polarizable AMOEBA force field as implemented in the newly developed Tinker-HP package, which is the first implementation of a polarizable model that makes large-scale experiments for massively parallel PBC point dipole models possible. We show that using a large number of cores offers a significant acceleration of the overall process involving the iterative methods within the context of SPME and a noticeable improvement of the memory management, giving access to very large systems (hundreds of thousands of atoms) as the algorithm naturally distributes the data on different cores. Coupled with advanced MD techniques, gains ranging from 2 to 3 orders of magnitude in time are now possible compared to nonoptimized, sequential implementations, giving new directions for polarizable molecular dynamics with periodic boundary conditions using massively parallel implementations.

Scalable Evaluation of Polarization Energy and Associated Forces in Polarizable Molecular Dynamics: II.Towards Massively Parallel Computations using Smooth Particle Mesh Ewald.

In this paper, we present a scalable and efficient implementation of point dipole-based polarizable force fields for molecular dynamics (MD) simulations with periodic boundary conditions (PBC). The Smooth Particle-Mesh Ewald technique is combined with two optimal iterative strategies, namely, a preconditioned conjugate gradient solver and a Jacobi solver in conjunction with the Direct Inversion in the Iterative Subspace for convergence acceleration, to solve the polarization equations. We show that both solvers exhibit very good parallel performances and overall very competitive timings in an energy-force computation needed to perform a MD step. Various tests on large systems are provided in the context of the polarizable AMOEBA force field as implemented in the newly developed Tinker-HP package which is the first implementation for a polarizable model making large scale experiments for massively parallel PBC point dipole models possible. We show that using a large number of cores offers a significant acceleration of the overall process involving the iterative methods within the context of spme and a noticeable improvement of the memory management giving access to very large systems (hundreds of thousands of atoms) as the algorithm naturally distributes the data on different cores. Coupled with advanced MD techniques, gains ranging from 2 to 3 orders of magnitude in time are now possible compared to non-optimized, sequential implementations giving new directions for polarizable molecular dynamics in periodic boundary conditions using massively parallel implementations.