Nonequilibrium candidate Monte Carlo simulations with configurational freezing schemes

Nonequilibrium Candidate Monte Carlo simulation [Nilmeier et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 2011, 108, E1009–E1018] is a tool devised to design Monte Carlo moves with high acceptance probabilities that connect uncorrelated configurations. Such moves are generated through nonequilibrium driven dynamics, producing candidate configurations accepted with a Monte Carlo-like criterion that preserves the equilibrium distribution. The probability of accepting a candidate configuration as the next sample in the Markov chain basically depends on the work performed on the system during the nonequilibrium trajectory and increases with decreasing such a work. It is thus strategically relevant to find ways of producing nonequilibrium moves with low work, namely moves where dissipation is as low as possible. This is the goal of our methodology, in which we combine Nonequilibrium Candidate Monte Carlo with Configurational Freezing schemes developed by Nicolini et al. (J. Chem. Theory Comput. 2011, 7, 582–593). The idea is to limit the configurational sampling to particles of a well-established region of the simulation sample, namely the region where dissipation occurs, while leaving fixed the other particles. This allows to make the system relaxation faster around the region perturbed by the finite-time switching move and hence to reduce the dissipated work, eventually enhancing the probability of accepting the generated move. Our combined approach enhances significantly configurational sampling, as shown by the case of a bistable dimer immersed in a dense fluid.