We derive a Crooks-Jarzynski-type identity for computing free energy differences between metastable states that is based on nonequilibrium diffusion processes. Furthermore we outline a brief derivation of an infinite-dimensional stochastic partial differential equation that can be used to efficiently generate the ensemble of trajectories connecting the metastable states.
We propose a nonequilibrium sampling method for computing free energy profiles along a given reaction coordinate. The method consists of two parts: a controlled Langevin sampler that generates nonequilibrium bridge paths conditioned by the reaction coordinate, and Jarzynski’s formula for reweighting the paths. Our derivation of the equa- tions of motion of the sampler is based on stochastic perturbation of a controlled dissipative Hamiltonian system, for which we prove Jarzynski’s identity as a special case of the Feynman-Kac formula. We illustrate our method by means of a suitable numerical example and briefly discuss issues of optimally choosing the control protocol for the reaction coordinate.
We propose a robust and efficient numerical discretization scheme for the infinitesimal generator of a diffusion process based on a finite volume approximation. The resulting discrete-space operator can be interpreted as a jump process on the mesh whose invariant measure is precisely the cell approximation of the Boltzmann distribution of the original process. Moreover the resulting jump process preserves the detailed balance property of the original stochastic process.