@misc{Weber2009, author = {Weber, Marcus}, title = {A Subspace Approach to Molecular Markov State Models via an Infinitesimal Generator}, issn = {1438-0064}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:0297-zib-11432}, number = {09-27}, year = {2009}, abstract = {Supercomputers can simulate complex molecular systems. However, there is a very large gap between the fastest oscillations of covalent bonds of a molecule and the time-scale of the dominant processes. In order to extract the dominant time-scales and to identify the dominant processes, a clustering of information is needed. This thesis shows that only the subspace-based Robust Perron Cluster Analysis (PCCA+) can solve this problem correctly by the construction of a Markov State Model. PCCA+ allows for time-extrapolation in molecular kinetics. This thesis shows the difference between molecular dynamics and molecular kinetics. Only in the molecular kinetics framework a definition of transition rates is possible. In this context, the existence of an infinitesimal generator of the dynamical processes is discussed. If the existence is assumed, the Theorem of Gauß can be applied in order to compute transition rates efficiently. Molecular dynamics, however, is not able to provide a suitable statistical basis for the determination of the transition pattern.}, language = {en} } @misc{Weber2008, author = {Weber, Marcus}, title = {An efficient analysis of rare events in canonical ensemble dynamics}, issn = {1438-0064}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:0297-zib-10871}, number = {08-36}, year = {2008}, abstract = {For an analysis of a molecular system from a computational statistical thermodynamics point of view, extensive molecular dynamics simulations are very inefficient. During this procedure, at lot of redundant data is generated. Whereas the algorithms spend most of the computing time for a sampling of configurations within the basins of the potential energy landscape of the molecular system, the important information about the long-time behaviour of the molecules is given by transition regions and barriers between the basins, which are sampled rarely only. Thinking of molecular dynamics trajectories, researchers try to figure out which kind of dynamical model is suitable for an efficient simulation. This article suggests to change the point of view from extensive simulation of molecular dynamics trajectories to more efficient sampling strategies of the conformation dynamics approach.}, language = {en} } @misc{FackeldeyRoeblitzScharkoietal.2011, author = {Fackeldey, Konstantin and R{\"o}blitz, Susanna and Scharkoi, Olga and Weber, Marcus}, title = {Soft Versus Hard Metastable Conformations in Molecular Simulations}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:0297-zib-13189}, number = {11-27}, year = {2011}, abstract = {Particle methods have become indispensible in conformation dynamics to compute transition rates in protein folding, binding processes and molecular design, to mention a few. Conformation dynamics requires at a decomposition of a molecule's position space into metastable conformations. In this paper, we show how this decomposition can be obtained via the design of either ``soft'' or ``hard'' molecular conformations. We show, that the soft approach results in a larger metastabilitiy of the decomposition and is thus more advantegous. This is illustrated by a simulation of Alanine Dipeptide.}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Weber2011, author = {Weber, Marcus}, title = {A Subspace Approach to Molecular Markov State Models via a New Infinitesimal Generator}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:0297-zib-14025}, school = {Zuse Institute Berlin (ZIB)}, year = {2011}, abstract = {Supercomputers can simulate complex molecular systems. However, there is a very large gap between the fastest oscillations of covalent bonds of a molecule and the time-scale of the dominant processes. In order to extract the dominant time-scales and to identify the dominant processes, a clustering of information is needed. This thesis shows that only the subspace-based Robust Perron Cluster Analysis (PCCA+) can solve this problem correctly by the construction of a Markov State Model. PCCA+ allows for time-extrapolation in molecular kinetics. This thesis shows the difference between molecular dynamics and molecular kinetics. Only in the molecular kinetics framework a definition of transition rates is possible. In this context, the existence of an infinitesimal generator of the dynamical processes is discussed. If the existence is assumed, the Theorem of Gauß can be applied in order to compute transition rates efficiently. Molecular dynamics, however, is not able to provide a suitable statistical basis for the determination of the transition pattern.}, language = {en} } @misc{Weber2012, author = {Weber, Marcus}, title = {The funnel trap paradox}, issn = {1438-0064}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:0297-zib-14765}, number = {12-12}, year = {2012}, abstract = {In this article, an illustrative example is given for the coarse-graining of a Markov process which leads to a shift in the statistical weights of a two-states-system. The example is based on a 2D-funnel trap. The funnel trap is constructed in such a way, that the area inside and outside of the trap is identical. However, observing the flight of the insect as a Markov process, the probability for being "in the trap" is higher. This example can be transferred to several kinds of processes (like receptor-ligandbinding processes in chemistry) and describes the influence of "re-entering events".}, language = {en} } @misc{WeberWalterKubeetal.2006, author = {Weber, Marcus and Walter, Lionel and Kube, Susanna and Deuflhard, Peter}, title = {Stable computation of probability densities for metastable dynamical systems}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:0297-zib-9331}, number = {06-39}, year = {2006}, abstract = {Whenever the invariant stationary density of metastable dynamical systems decomposes into almost invariant partial densities, its computation as eigenvector of some transition probability matrix is an ill-conditioned problem. In order to avoid this computational difficulty, we suggest to apply an aggregation/disaggregation method which only addresses wellconditioned sub-problems and thus results in a stable algorithm. In contrast to existing methods, the aggregation step is done via a sampling algorithm which covers only small patches of the sampling space. Finally, the theoretical analysis is illustrated by two biomolecular examples.}, language = {en} } @misc{Weber2003, author = {Weber, Marcus}, title = {Clustering by using a simplex structure}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:0297-zib-7782}, number = {04-03}, year = {2003}, abstract = {In this paper we interpret clustering as a mapping of data into a simplex. If the data itself has simplicial struture this mapping becomes linear. Spectral analysis is an often used tool for clustering data. We will show that corresponding singular vectors or eigenvectors comprise simplicial structure. Therefore they lead to a cluster algorithm, which consists of a simple linear mapping. An example for this kind of algorithms is the Perron cluster analysis (PCCA). We have applied it in practice to identify metastable sets of molecular dynamical systems. In contrast to other algorithms, this kind of approach provides an a priori criterion to determine the number of clusters. In this paper we extend the ideas to more general problems like clustering of bipartite graphs.}, language = {en} } @misc{WeberRungsarityotinSchliep2004, author = {Weber, Marcus and Rungsarityotin, Wasinee and Schliep, Alexander}, title = {Perron Cluster Analysis and Its Connection to Graph Partitioning for Noisy Data}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:0297-zib-8140}, number = {04-39}, year = {2004}, abstract = {The problem of clustering data can be formulated as a graph partitioning problem. Spectral methods for obtaining optimal solutions have reveceived a lot of attention recently. We describe Perron Cluster Cluster Analysis (PCCA) and, for the first time, establish a connection to spectral graph partitioning. We show that in our approach a clustering can be efficiently computed using a simple linear map of the eigenvector data. To deal with the prevalent problem of noisy and possibly overlapping data we introduce the min Chi indicator which helps in selecting the number of clusters and confirming the existence of a partition of the data. This gives a non-probabilistic alternative to statistical mixture-models. We close with showing favorable results on the analysis of gene expressi on data for two different cancer types.}, language = {en} } @misc{WeberKubeRiemeretal.2006, author = {Weber, Marcus and Kube, Susanna and Riemer, Alexander and Bujotzek, Alexander}, title = {Efficient Sampling of the Stationary Distribution of Metastable Dynamical Systems}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:0297-zib-9467}, number = {07-03}, year = {2006}, abstract = {In this article we aim at an efficient sampling of the stationary distribution of dynamical systems in the presence of metastabilities. In the past decade many sophisticated algorithms have been inven ted in this field. We do not want to simply add a further one. We address the problem that one has applied a sampling algorithm for a dynamical system many times. This leads to different samplings which more or less represent the stationary distribution partially very well, but which are still far away from ergodicity or from the global stationary distribution. We will show how these samplings can be joined together in order to get one global sampling of the stationary distribution.}, language = {en} } @misc{KubeWeber2005, author = {Kube, Susanna and Weber, Marcus}, title = {Identification of Metastabilities in Monomolecular Conformation Kinetics}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:0297-zib-8956}, number = {06-01}, year = {2005}, abstract = {The identification of metastable conformations of molecules plays an important role in computational drug design. One main difficulty is the fact that the underlying dynamic processes take place in high dimensional spaces. Although the restriction of degrees of freedom to a few dihedral angles significantly reduces the complexity of the problem, the existing algorithms are time-consuming. They are based on the approximation of transition probabilities by an extensive sampling of states according to the Boltzmann distribution. We present a method which can identify metastable conformations without sampling the complete distribution. Our algorithm is based on local transition rates and uses only pointwise information about the potential energy surface. In order to apply the cluster algorithm PCCA+, we compute a few eigenvectors of the rate matrix by the Jacobi-Davidson method. Interpolation techniques are applied to approximate the thermodynamical weights of the clusters. The concluding example illustrates our approach for epigallocatechine, a molecule which can be described by seven dihedral angles.}, language = {en} } @misc{WalterWeber2006, author = {Walter, Lionel and Weber, Marcus}, title = {ConfJump : a fast biomolecular sampling method which drills tunnels through high mountains}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:0297-zib-9204}, number = {06-26}, year = {2006}, abstract = {In order to compute the thermodynamic weights of the different metastable conformations of a molecule, we want to approximate the molecule's Boltzmann distribution in a reasonable time. This is an essential issue in computational drug design. The energy landscape of active biomolecules is generally very rough with a lot of high barriers and low regions. Many of the algorithms that perform such samplings (e.g. the hybrid Monte Carlo method) have difficulties with such landscapes. They are trapped in low-energy regions for a very long time and cannot overcome high barriers. Moving from one low-energy region to another is a very rare event. For these reasons, the distribution of the generated sampling points converges very slowly against the thermodynamically correct distribution of the molecule. The idea of ConfJump is to use \$a~priori\$ knowledge of the localization of low-energy regions to enhance the sampling with artificial jumps between these low-energy regions. The artificial jumps are combined with the hybrid Monte Carlo method. This allows the computation of some dynamical properties of the molecule. In ConfJump, the detailed balance condition is satisfied and the mathematically correct molecular distribution is sampled.}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Weber2006, author = {Weber, Marcus}, title = {Meshless Methods in Confirmation Dynamics}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:0297-zib-10232}, year = {2006}, language = {en} } @misc{WeberBeckerKoeppenetal.2007, author = {Weber, Marcus and Becker, Roland and K{\"o}ppen, Robert and Durmaz, Vedat}, title = {Classical hybrid Monte-Carlo simulations of the interconversion of hexabromocyclododecane}, organization = {Zuse-Institut Berlin}, issn = {1438-0064}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:0297-zib-10308}, number = {07-31}, year = {2007}, abstract = {In this paper, we investigate the interconversion processes of the major flame retardant -- 1,2,5,6,9,10-hexabromocyclododecane (HBCD) -- by the means of statistical thermodynamics based on classical force-fields. Three ideas will be presented. First, the application of classical hybrid Monte-Carlo simulations for quantum mechanical processes will be justified. Second, the problem of insufficient convergence properties of hybrid Monte-Carlo methods for the generation of low temperature canonical ensembles will be solved by an interpolation approach. Furthermore, it will be shown how free energy differences can be used for a rate matrix computation. The results of our numerical simulations will be compared to experimental results.}, language = {en} } @misc{TungaWeber2012, author = {Tunga, Burcu and Weber, Marcus}, title = {Free Energy Calculation Using Mayer Cluster Expansion and Fluctuation Free Integration}, issn = {1438-0064}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:0297-zib-16031}, year = {2012}, abstract = {This work aims to develop a new algorithm to calculate the free energy of water molecules by using a deterministic way. For this purpose, we assume a closed system confined to a physical volume, having water molecules in gas phase. To calculate the free energy of this sytem we utilized Mayer cluster expansion and the fluctuation free integration method.}, language = {en} } @misc{WeberFackeldey2013, author = {Weber, Marcus and Fackeldey, Konstantin}, title = {Computing the Minimal Rebinding Effect Included in a Given Kinetics}, issn = {1438-0064}, doi = {10.1137/13091124X}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:0297-zib-17796}, year = {2013}, abstract = {The rebinding effect is a phenomenon which occurs when observing a ligand-receptor binding process. On the macro scale this process comprises the Markov property. This Makovian view is spoiled when switching to the atomistic scale of a binding process. We therefore suggest a model which accurately describes the rebinding effect on the atomistic scale by allowing ''intermediate'' bound states. This allows us to define an indicator for the magnitude of rebinding and to formulate an optimization problem. The results form our examples show good agreement with data form laboratory.}, language = {en} } @misc{LieFackeldeyWeber2013, author = {Lie, Han Cheng and Fackeldey, Konstantin and Weber, Marcus}, title = {A square root approximation of transition rates for a Markov State Model}, issn = {1438-0064}, doi = {10.1137/120899959}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:0297-zib-42195}, year = {2013}, abstract = {Trajectory- or mesh-based methods for analyzing the dynamical behavior of large molecules tend to be impractical due to the curse of dimensionality - their computational cost increases exponentially with the size of the molecule. We propose a method to break the curse by a novel square root approximation of transition rates, Monte Carlo quadrature and a discretization approach based on solving linear programs. With randomly sampled points on the molecular energy landscape and randomly generated discretizations of the molecular configuration space as our initial data, we construct a matrix describing the transition rates between adjacent discretization regions. This transition rate matrix yields a Markov State Model of the molecular dynamics. We use Perron cluster analysis and coarse-graining techniques in order to identify metastable sets in configuration space and approximate the transition rates between the metastable sets. Application of our method to a simple energy landscape on a two-dimensional configuration space provides proof of concept and an example for which we compare the performance of different discretizations. We show that the computational cost of our method grows only polynomially with the size of the molecule. However, finding discretizations of higher-dimensional configuration spaces in which metastable sets can be identified remains a challenge.}, language = {en} } @misc{NielsenFackeldeyWeber2013, author = {Nielsen, Adam and Fackeldey, Konstantin and Weber, Marcus}, title = {On a Generalized Transfer Operator}, issn = {1438-0064}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:0297-zib-43162}, year = {2013}, abstract = {We introduce a generalized operator for arbitrary stochastic processes by using a pre-kernel, which is a generalization of the Markov kernel. For deterministic processes, such an operator is already known as the Frobenius-Perron operator, which is defined for a large class of measures. For Markov processes, there exists transfer operators being only well defined for stationary measures in \$L^2\$. Our novel generalized transfer operator is well defined for arbitrary stochastic processes, in particular also for deterministic ones. We can show that this operator is acting on \$L^1\$. For stationary measures, this operator is also an endomorphism of \$L^2\$ and, therefore, allows for a mathematical analysis in Hilbert spaces.}, language = {en} } @misc{FackeldeySikorskiWeber2018, author = {Fackeldey, Konstantin and Sikorski, Alexander and Weber, Marcus}, title = {Spectral Clustering for Non-reversible Markov Chains}, issn = {1438-0064}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:0297-zib-70218}, year = {2018}, abstract = {Spectral clustering methods are based on solving eigenvalue problems for the identification of clusters, e.g. the identification of metastable subsets of a Markov chain. Usually, real-valued eigenvectors are mandatory for this type of algorithms. The Perron Cluster Analysis (PCCA+) is a well-known spectral clustering method of Markov chains. It is applicable for reversible Markov chains, because reversibility implies a real-valued spectrum. We also extend this spectral clustering method to non-reversible Markov chains and give some illustrative examples. The main idea is to replace the eigenvalue problem by a real-valued Schur decomposition. By this extension non-reversible Markov chains can be analyzed. Furthermore, the chains do not need to have a positive stationary distribution. In addition to metastabilities, dominant cycles and sinks can also be identified. This novel method is called GenPCCA (i.e. Generalized PCCA), since it includes the case of non reversible processes. We also apply the method to real world eye tracking data.}, language = {en} } @misc{BujotzekSchuettNielsenetal.2013, author = {Bujotzek, Alexander and Sch{\"u}tt, Ole and Nielsen, Adam and Fackeldey, Konstantin and Weber, Marcus}, title = {Efficient Conformational Analysis by Partition-of-Unity Coupling}, journal = {Math Chem}, issn = {1438-0064}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:0297-zib-42570}, year = {2013}, abstract = {Obtaining a sufficient sampling of conformational space is a common problem in molecular simulation. We present the implementation of an umbrella-like adaptive sampling approach based on function-based meshless discretization of conformational space that is compatible with state of the art molecular dynamics code and that integrates an eigenvector-based clustering approach for conformational analysis and the computation of inter-conformational transition rates. The approach is applied to three example systems, namely n-pentane, alanine dipeptide, and a small synthetic host-guest system, the latter two including explicitly modeled solvent.}, language = {en} } @misc{QuerDonatiKelleretal.2017, author = {Quer, Jannes and Donati, Luca and Keller, Bettina and Weber, Marcus}, title = {An automatic adaptive importance sampling algorithm for molecular dynamics in reaction coordinates}, issn = {1438-0064}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:0297-zib-62075}, year = {2017}, abstract = {In this article we propose an adaptive importance sampling scheme for dynamical quantities of high dimensional complex systems which are metastable. The main idea of this article is to combine a method coming from Molecular Dynamics Simulation, Metadynamics, with a theorem from stochastic analysis, Girsanov's theorem. The proposed algorithm has two advantages compared to a standard estimator of dynamic quantities: firstly, it is possible to produce estimators with a lower variance and, secondly, we can speed up the sampling. One of the main problems for building importance sampling schemes for metastable systems is to find the metastable region in order to manipulate the potential accordingly. Our method circumvents this problem by using an assimilated version of the Metadynamics algorithm and thus creates a non-equilibrium dynamics which is used to sample the equilibrium quantities.}, language = {en} } @misc{WeberFackeldeySchuette2017, author = {Weber, Marcus and Fackeldey, Konstantin and Sch{\"u}tte, Christof}, title = {Set-free Markov State Building}, issn = {1438-0064}, doi = {10.1063/1.4978501}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:0297-zib-62167}, year = {2017}, abstract = {Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations face challenging problems since the timescales of interest often are much longer than what is possible to simulate and even if sufficiently long simulation are possible the complex nature of the resulting simulation data makes interpretation difficult. Markov State Models (MSMs) help to overcome these problems by making experimentally relevant timescales accessible via coarse grained representations that also allows for convenient interpretation. However, standard set-based MSMs exhibit some caveats limiting their approximation quality and statistical significance. One of the main caveats results from the fact that typical MD trajectories repeatedly re-cross the boundary between the sets used to build the MSM which causes statistical bias in estimating the transition probabilities between these sets. In this article, we present a set-free approach to MSM building utilizing smooth overlapping ansatz functions instead of sets and an adaptive refinement approach. This kind of meshless discretization helps to overcome the recrossing problem and yields an adaptive refinement procedure that allows to improve the quality of the model while exploring state space and inserting new ansatz functions into the MSM.}, language = {en} } @misc{Weber2017, author = {Weber, Marcus}, title = {Eigenvalues of non-reversible Markov chains - A case study}, issn = {1438-0064}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:0297-zib-62191}, year = {2017}, abstract = {Finite reversible Markov chains are characterized by a transition matrix P that has real eigenvalues and pi-orthogonal eigenvectors, where pi is the stationary distribution of P. This means, that a transition matrix with complex eigenvalues corresponds to a non-reversible Markov chain. This observation leads to the question, whether the imaginary part of that eigendecomposition corresponds to or indicates the "pattern" of the nonreversibility. This article shows that the direct relation between imaginary parts of eigendecompositions and the non-reversibility of a transition matrix is not given. It is proposed to apply the Schur decomposition of P instead of the eigendecomposition in order to characterize its nonreversibility.}, language = {en} } @misc{RaySunkaraSchuetteetal.2020, author = {Ray, Sourav and Sunkara, Vikram and Sch{\"u}tte, Christof and Weber, Marcus}, title = {How to calculate pH-dependent binding rates for receptor-ligand systems based on thermodynamic simulations with different binding motifs}, issn = {1438-0064}, doi = {10.1080/08927022.2020.1839660}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:0297-zib-78437}, year = {2020}, abstract = {Molecular simulations of ligand-receptor interactions are a computational challenge, especially when their association- (``on''-rate) and dissociation- (``off''-rate) mechanisms are working on vastly differing timescales. In addition, the timescale of the simulations themselves is, in practice, orders of magnitudes smaller than that of the mechanisms; which further adds to the complexity of observing these mechanisms, and of drawing meaningful and significant biological insights from the simulation. One way of tackling this multiscale problem is to compute the free-energy landscapes, where molecular dynamics (MD) trajectories are used to only produce certain statistical ensembles. The approach allows for deriving the transition rates between energy states as a function of the height of the activation-energy barriers. In this article, we derive the association rates of the opioids fentanyl and N-(3-fluoro-1-phenethylpiperidin-4-yl)- N-phenyl propionamide (NFEPP) in a \$\mu\$-opioid receptor by combining the free-energy landscape approach with the square-root-approximation method (SQRA), which is a particularly robust version of Markov modelling. The novelty of this work is that we derive the association rates as a function of the pH level using only an ensemble of MD simulations. We also verify our MD-derived insights by reproducing the in vitro study performed by the Stein Lab, who investigated the influence of pH on the inhibitory constant of fentanyl and NFEPP (Spahn et al. 2017). MD simulations are far more accessible and cost-effective than in vitro and in vivo studies. Especially in the context of the current opioid crisis, MD simulations can aid in unravelling molecular functionality and assist in clinical decision-making; the approaches presented in this paper are a pertinent step forward in this direction.}, language = {en} } @misc{CordesWeberSchmidtEhrenberg2002, author = {Cordes, Frank and Weber, Marcus and Schmidt-Ehrenberg, Johannes}, title = {Metastable Conformations via successive Perron-Cluster Cluster Analysis of dihedrals}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:0297-zib-7074}, number = {02-40}, year = {2002}, abstract = {Decomposition of the high dimensional conformational space of bio-molecules into metastable subsets is used for data reduction of long molecular trajectories in order to facilitate chemical analysis and to improve convergence of simulations within these subsets. The metastability is identified by the Perron-cluster cluster analysis of a Markov process that generates the thermodynamic distribution. A necessary prerequisite of this analysis is the discretization of the conformational space. A combinatorial approach via discretization of each degree of freedom will end in the so called ''curse of dimension''. In the following paper we analyze Hybrid Monte Carlo simulations of small, drug-like biomolecules and focus on the dihedral degrees of freedom as indicators of conformational changes. To avoid the ''curse of dimension'', the projection of the underlying Markov operator on each dihedral is analyzed according to its metastability. In each decomposition step of a recursive procedure, those significant dihedrals, which indicate high metastability, are used for further decomposition. The procedure is introduced as part of a hierarchical protocol of simulations at different temperatures. The convergence of simulations within metastable subsets is used as an ''a posteriori'' criterion for a successful identification of metastability. All results are presented with the visualization program AmiraMol.}, language = {en} } @misc{Weber2003, author = {Weber, Marcus}, title = {Improved Perron Cluster Analysis}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:0297-zib-7260}, number = {03-04}, year = {2003}, abstract = {The problem of clustering data can often be transformed into the problem of finding a hidden block diagonal structure in a stochastic matrix. Deuflhard et al. have proposed an algorithm that state s the number \$k\$ of clusters and uses the sign structure of \$k\$ eigenvectors of the stochastic matrix to solve the cluster problem. Recently Weber and Galliat discovered that this system of eigenvectors can easily be transformed into a system of \$k\$ membership functions or soft characteristic functions describing the clusters. In this article we explain the corresponding cluster algorithm and point out the underlying theory. By means of numerical examples we explain how the grade of membership can be interpreted.}, language = {en} } @misc{DeuflhardWeber2003, author = {Deuflhard, Peter and Weber, Marcus}, title = {Robust Perron Cluster Analysis in Conformation Dynamics}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:0297-zib-7415}, number = {03-19}, year = {2003}, abstract = {The key to molecular conformation dynamics is the direct identification of metastable conformations, which are almost invariant sets of molecular dynamical systems. Once some reversible Markov operator has been discretized, a generalized symmetric stochastic matrix arises. This matrix can be treated by Perron cluster analysis, a rather recent method involving a Perron cluster eigenproblem. The paper presents an improved Perron cluster analysis algorithm, which is more robust than earlier suggestions. Numerical examples are included.}, language = {en} } @misc{WeberMeyer2005, author = {Weber, Marcus and Meyer, Holger}, title = {ZIBgridfree - Adaptive Conformation Analysis with qualified Support of Transition States and Thermodynamic Weights}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:0297-zib-8514}, number = {05-17}, year = {2005}, abstract = {This paper introduces a new algorithm of conformational analysis based on mesh-free methods as described in [M. Weber. Mehless methods in Conformation Dynamics.(2005)]. The adaptive decomposition of the conformational space by softly limiting functions avoids trapping effects and allows adaptive refinement strategies. These properties of the algorithm makes ZIBgridfree particularly suitable for the complete exploration of high-dimensional conformational space. The adaptive control of the algorithm benefits from the tight integration of molecular simulation and conformational analysis. An emphasized part of the analysis is the Robust Perron Cluster Analysis (PCCA+) based on the work of Peter Deuflhard and Marcus Weber. PCCA+ supports an almost-characteristic cluster definition with an outstanding mapping of transition states. The outcome is expressed by the metastable sets of conformations, their thermodynamic weights and flexibility.}, language = {en} } @misc{WeberFackeldey2015, author = {Weber, Marcus and Fackeldey, Konstantin}, title = {G-PCCA: Spectral Clustering for Non-reversible Markov Chains}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:0297-zib-55505}, year = {2015}, abstract = {Spectral clustering methods are based on solving eigenvalue problems for the identification of clusters, e.g., the identification of metastable subsets of a Markov chain. Usually, real-valued eigenvectors are mandatory for this type of algorithms. The Perron Cluster Analysis (PCCA+) is a well-known spectral clustering method of Markov chains. It is applicable for reversible Markov chains, because reversibility implies a real-valued spectrum. We extend this spectral clustering method also to non-reversible Markov chains and give some illustrative examples. The main idea is to replace the eigenvalue problem by a real-valued Schur decomposition. By this extension, non-reversible Markov chains can be analyzed. Furthermore, the chains need not have a positive stationary distribution. And additionally to metastabilities, dominant cycles and sinks can be identified, too.}, language = {en} } @misc{DjurdjevacConradWeberSchuette2015, author = {Djurdjevac Conrad, Natasa and Weber, Marcus and Sch{\"u}tte, Christof}, title = {Finding dominant structures of nonreversible Markov processes}, issn = {1438-0064}, doi = {10.1137/15M1032272}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:0297-zib-55739}, year = {2015}, abstract = {Finding metastable sets as dominant structures of Markov processes has been shown to be especially useful in modeling interesting slow dynamics of various real world complex processes. Furthermore, coarse graining of such processes based on their dominant structures leads to better understanding and dimension reduction of observed systems. However, in many cases, e.g. for nonreversible Markov processes, dominant structures are often not formed by metastable sets but by important cycles or mixture of both. This paper aims at understanding and identifying these different types of dominant structures for reversible as well as nonreversible ergodic Markov processes. Our algorithmic approach generalizes spectral based methods for reversible process by using Schur decomposition techniques which can tackle also nonreversible cases. We illustrate the mathematical construction of our new approach by numerical experiments.}, language = {en} } @misc{NielsenWeber2014, author = {Nielsen, Adam and Weber, Marcus}, title = {Computing the nearest reversible Markov chain}, issn = {1438-0064}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:0297-zib-53292}, year = {2014}, abstract = {Reversible Markov chains are the basis of many applications. However, computing transition probabilities by a finite sampling of a Markov chain can lead to truncation errors. Even if the original Markov chain is reversible, the approximated Markov chain might be non-reversible and will lose important properties, like the real valued spectrum. In this paper, we show how to find the closest reversible Markov chain to a given transition matrix. It turns out that this matrix can be computed by solving a convex minimization problem.}, language = {en} } @misc{ZhangWangHartmannetal.2014, author = {Zhang, Wei and Wang, Han and Hartmann, Carsten and Weber, Marcus and Sch{\"u}tte, Christof}, title = {Applications of the cross-entropy method to importance sampling and optimal control of diffusions}, issn = {1438-0064}, doi = {10.1137/14096493X}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:0297-zib-49720}, year = {2014}, abstract = {We study the cross-entropy method for diffusions. One of the results is a versatile cross-entropy algorithm that can be used to design efficient importance sampling strategies for rare events or to solve optimal control problems. The approach is based on the minimization of a suitable cross-entropy functional, with a parametric family of exponentially tilted probability distributions. We illustrate the new algorithm with several numerical examples and discuss algorithmic issues and possible extensions of the method.}, language = {en} } @misc{WeberQuer2015, author = {Weber, Marcus and Quer, Jannes}, title = {Estimating exit rates in rare event dynamical systems via extrapolation}, issn = {1438-0064}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:0297-zib-56622}, year = {2015}, abstract = {In this article we present a new idea for approximating exit rates for diffusion processes living in a craggy landscape. We are especially interested in the exit rates of a process living in a metastable regions. Due to the fact that Monte Carlo simulations perform quite poor and are very computational expensive in this setting we create several similar situations with a smoothed potential. For this we introduce a new parameter \$\lambda \in [0,1]\$ (\$\lambda = 1\$ very smoothed potential, \$\lambda=0\$ original potential) into the potential which controls the influence the smoothing. We then sample the exit rate for different parameters \$\lambda\$ the exit rate from a given region. Due to the fact that \$\lambda\$ is connected to the exit rate we can use this dependency to approximate the real exit rate. The method can be seen as something between hyperdynamics and temperature accelerated MC.}, language = {en} } @misc{SchuetteNielsenWeber2014, author = {Sch{\"u}tte, Christof and Nielsen, Adam and Weber, Marcus}, title = {Markov State Models and Molecular Alchemy}, issn = {1438-0064}, doi = {10.1080/00268976.2014.944597}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:0297-zib-46718}, year = {2014}, abstract = {In recent years Markov State Models (MSMs) have attracted a consid- erable amount of attention with regard to modelling conformation changes and associated function of biomolecular systems. They have been used successfully, e.g., for peptides including time-resolved spectroscopic ex- periments, protein function and protein folding , DNA and RNA, and ligand-receptor interaction in drug design and more complicated multi- valent scenarios. In this article a novel reweighting scheme is introduced that allows to construct an MSM for certain molecular system out of an MSM for a similar system. This permits studying how molecular proper- ties on long timescales differ between similar molecular systems without performing full molecular dynamics simulations for each system under con- sideration. The performance of the reweighting scheme is illustrated for simple test cases including one where the main wells of the respective en- ergy landscapes are located differently and an alchemical transformation of butane to pentane where the dimension of the state space is changed.}, language = {en} } @misc{FackeldeyKoltaiNeviretal.2017, author = {Fackeldey, Konstantin and Koltai, P{\´e}ter and N{\´e}vir, Peter and Rust, Henning and Schild, Axel and Weber, Marcus}, title = {From Metastable to Coherent Sets - time-discretization schemes}, issn = {1438-0064}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:0297-zib-66074}, year = {2017}, abstract = {Given a time-dependent stochastic process with trajectories x(t) in a space \$\Omega\$, there may be sets such that the corresponding trajectories only very rarely cross the boundaries of these sets. We can analyze such a process in terms of metastability or coherence. Metastable sets M are defined in space \$M\subset\Omega\$, coherent sets \$M(t)\subset\Omega\$ are defined in space and time. Hence, if we extend the space by the time-variable t, coherent sets are metastable sets in \$\Omega\times[0,\infty]\$. This relation can be exploited, because there already exist spectral algorithms for the identification of metastable sets. In this article we show that these well-established spectral algorithms (like PCCA+) also identify coherent sets of non-autonomous dynamical systems. For the identification of coherent sets, one has to compute a discretization (a matrix T) of the transfer operator of the process using a space-timediscretization scheme. The article gives an overview about different time-discretization schemes and shows their applicability in two different fields of application.}, language = {en} } @misc{WeberGalliat2002, author = {Weber, Marcus and Galliat, Tobias}, title = {Characterization of Transition States in Conformational Dynamics using Fuzzy Sets}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:0297-zib-6791}, number = {02-12}, year = {2002}, abstract = {Recently, a novel approach for the analysis of molecular dynamics on the basis of a transfer operator has been introduced. Therein conformations are considered to be disjoint metastable clusters within position space of a molecule. These clusters are defined by almost invariant characteristic functions that can be computed via {\em Perron Cluster} analysis. The present paper suggests to replace crisp clusters with {\em fuzzy} clusters, i.e. to replace characteristic functions with membership functions. This allows a more sufficient characterization of transiton states between different confor conformations and therefore leads to a better understanding of molecular dynamics. Fur thermore, an indicator for the uniqueness of metastable fuzzy clusters and a fast algorithm for the computation of these clusters are described. Numerical examples are included.}, language = {en} } @misc{Weber2007, author = {Weber, Marcus}, title = {Conformation-based transition state theory}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:0297-zib-9612}, number = {07-18}, year = {2007}, abstract = {For the treatment of equilibrated molecular systems in a heat bath we propose a transition state theory that is based on conformation dynamics. In general, a set-based discretization of a Markov operator \${\cal P}^\tau\$ does not preserve the Markov property. In this article, we propose a discretization method which is based on a Galerkin approach. This discretization method preserves the Markov property of the operator and can be interpreted as a decomposition of the state space into (fuzzy) sets. The conformation-based transition state theory presented here can be seen as a first step in conformation dynamics towards the computation of essential dynamical properties of molecular systems without time-consuming molecular dynamics simulations.}, language = {en} } @misc{KubeWeber2005, author = {Kube, Susanna and Weber, Marcus}, title = {Conformation Kinetics as a Reduced Model for Transition Pathways}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:0297-zib-8763}, number = {05-43}, year = {2005}, abstract = {The complexity of molecular kinetics can be reduced significantly by a restriction to metastable conformations which are almost invariant sets of molecular dynamical systems. With the Robust Perron Cl uster Analysis PCCA+, developed by Weber and Deuflhard, we have a tool available which can be used to identify these conformations from a transition probability matrix. This method can also be applied to the corresponding transition rate matrix which provides important information concerning transition pathways of single molecules. In the present paper, we explain the relationship between these tw o concepts and the extraction of conformation kinetics from transition rates. Moreover, we show how transition rates can be approximated and conclude with numerical examples.}, language = {en} } @misc{MeyerMollCordesetal.2006, author = {Meyer, Holger and Moll, Sebastian and Cordes, Frank and Weber, Marcus}, title = {ConFlow? A new space-based Application for complete Conformational Analysis of Molecules}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:0297-zib-9258}, number = {06-31}, year = {2006}, abstract = {Biochemical interactions are determined by the 3D-structure of the involved components - thus the identification of conformations is a key for many applications in rational drug design. {\sf ConFlow} is a new multilevel approach to conformational analysis with main focus on completeness in investigation of conformational space. In contrast to known conformational analysis, the starting point for design is a space-based description of conformational areas. A tight integration of sampling and analysis leads to an identification of conformational areas simultaneously during sampling. An incremental decomposition of high-dimensional conformational space is used to guide the analysis. A new concept for the description of conformations and their path connected components based on convex hulls and {\em Hypercubes}is developed. The first results of the {\sf ConFlow} application constitute a 'proof of concept' and are further more highly encouraging. In comparison to conventional industrial applications, {\sf ConFlow} achieves higher accuracy and a specified degree of completeness with comparable effort.}, language = {en} } @misc{KubeWeber2006, author = {Kube, Susanna and Weber, Marcus}, title = {Coarse Grained Molecular Kinetics}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:0297-zib-9299}, number = {06-35}, year = {2006}, abstract = {The dynamic behavior of molecules can often be described by Markov processes. From computational molecular simulations one can derive transition rates or transition probabilities between subsets of the discretized conformational space. On the basis of this dynamic information, the spatial subsets are combined into a small number of so-called metastable molecular conformations. This is done by clustering methods like the Robust Perron Cluster Analysis (PCCA+). Up to now it is an open question how this coarse graining in space can be transformed to a coarse graining of the Markov chain while preserving the essential dynamic information. In the following article we aim at a consistent coarse graining of transition probabilities or rates on the basis of metastable conformations such that important physical and mathematical relations are preserved. This approach is new because PCCA+ computes molecular conformations as linear combinations of the dominant eigenvectors of the transition matrix which does not hold for other clustering methods.}, language = {en} } @misc{KubeLasserWeber2007, author = {Kube, Susanna and Lasser, Caroline and Weber, Marcus}, title = {Monte Carlo sampling of Wigner functions and surface hopping quantum dynamics}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:0297-zib-9604}, number = {07-17}, year = {2007}, abstract = {Wigner transformation provides a one-to-one correspondence between functions on position space (wave functions) and functions on phase space (Wigner functions). Weighted integrals of Wigner functions yield quadratic quantities of wave functions like position and momentum densities or expectation values. For molecular quantum systems, suitably modified classical transport of Wigner functions provides an asymptotic approximation of the dynamics in the high energy regime. The article addresses the computation of Wigner functions by Monte Carlo quadrature. An ad aption of the Metropolis algorithm for the approximation of signed measures with disconnected support is systematically tested in combination with a surface hopping algorithm for non-adiabatic quantum dynamics. The numerical experiments give expectation values and level populations with an error of two to three percent, which agrees with the theoretically expected accuracy.}, language = {en} } @misc{RayThiesSunkaraetal.2021, author = {Ray, Sourav and Thies, Arne and Sunkara, Vikram and Wulkow, Hanna and Celik, {\"O}zg{\"u}r and Yerg{\"o}z, Fatih and Sch{\"u}tte, Christof and Stein, Christoph and Weber, Marcus and Winkelmann, Stefanie}, title = {Modelling altered signalling of G-protein coupled receptors in inflamed environment to advance drug design}, issn = {1438-0064}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:0297-zib-82797}, year = {2021}, abstract = {Initiated by mathematical modelling of extracellular interactions between G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs) and ligands in normal versus diseased (inflamed) environments, we previously reported the successful design, synthesis and testing of the prototype opioid painkiller NFEPP that does not elicit adverse side effects. Uniquely, this design recognised that GPCRs function differently under pathological versus healthy conditions. We now present a novel stochastic model of GPCR function that includes intracellular dissociation of G-protein subunits and modulation of plasma membrane calcium channels associated with parameters of inflamed tissue (pH, radicals). By means of molecular dynamics simulations, we also assessed qualitative changes of the reaction rates due to additional disulfide bridges inside the GPCR binding pocket and used these rates for stochastic simulations of the corresponding reaction jump process. The modelling results were validated with in vitro experiments measuring calcium currents and G-protein activation. We found markedly reduced G-protein dissociation and calcium channel inhibition induced by NFEPP at normal pH, and enhanced constitutive G-protein activation but lower probability of ligand binding with increasing radical concentrations. These results suggest that, compared to radicals, low pH is a more important determinant of overall GPCR function in an inflamed environment. Future drug design efforts should take this into account.}, language = {en} } @misc{WitzigBeckenbachEifleretal.2016, author = {Witzig, Jakob and Beckenbach, Isabel and Eifler, Leon and Fackeldey, Konstantin and Gleixner, Ambros and Grever, Andreas and Weber, Marcus}, title = {Mixed-Integer Programming for Cycle Detection in Non-reversible Markov Processes}, issn = {1438-0064}, doi = {10.1137/16M1091162}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:0297-zib-60353}, year = {2016}, abstract = {In this paper, we present a new, optimization-based method to exhibit cyclic behavior in non-reversible stochastic processes. While our method is general, it is strongly motivated by discrete simulations of ordinary differential equations representing non-reversible biological processes, in particular molecular simulations. Here, the discrete time steps of the simulation are often very small compared to the time scale of interest, i.e., of the whole process. In this setting, the detection of a global cyclic behavior of the process becomes difficult because transitions between individual states may appear almost reversible on the small time scale of the simulation. We address this difficulty using a mixed-integer programming model that allows us to compute a cycle of clusters with maximum net flow, i.e., large forward and small backward probability. For a synthetic genetic regulatory network consisting of a ring-oscillator with three genes, we show that this approach can detect the most productive overall cycle, outperforming classical spectral analysis methods. Our method applies to general non-equilibrium steady state systems such as catalytic reactions, for which the objective value computes the effectiveness of the catalyst.}, language = {en} }