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Models for occupation dynamics in discrete quantum systems lead to large or even infinite systems of ordinary differential equations. Some new mathematical techniques, developed for the simulation of chemical processes, make a numerical solution of countable systems of ordinary differential equations possible. Both, a basic physical concept for the construction of such systems and the structure of the numerical tools for solving them are presented. These conceptual aspects are illustrated by a simulation of an occupation process from spectroscopy. In this example the structures of rotation spectra observed in infrared spectroscopy are explained and some possibilities for an extension of the model are shown.
In molecular dynamics applications there is a growing interest in mixed quantum-classical models. The article is concerned with the so-called QCMD model. This model describes most atoms of the molecular system by the means of classical mechanics but an important, small portion of the system by the means of a wavefunction. We review the conditions under which the QCMD model is known to approximate the full quantum dynamical evolution of the system. In most quantum-classical simulations the {\em Born-Oppenheimer model} (BO) is used. In this model, the wavefunction is adiabatically coupled to the classical motion which leads to serious approximation deficiencies with respect to non-adiabatic effects in the fully quantum dynamical description of the system. In contrast to the BO model, the QCMD model does include non-adiabatic processes, e.g., transitions between the energy levels of the quantum system. It is demonstrated that, in mildly non-adiabatic scenarios, so-called {\em surface hopping} extensions of QCMD simulations yield good approximations of the non-adiabatic effects in full quantum dynamics. The algorithmic strategy of such extensions of QCMD is explained and the crucial steps of its realization are discussed with special emphasis on the numerical problems caused by highly oscillatory phase effects.
The article surveys the development of novel mathematical concepts and algorithmic approaches based thereon in view of their possible applicability to biomolecular design. Both a first deterministic approach, based on the Frobenius-Perron operator corresponding to the flow of the Hamiltonian dynamics, and later stochastic approaches, based on a spatial Markov operator or on Langevin dynamics, can be subsumed under the unified mathematical roof of the transfer operator approach to effective dynamics of molecular systems. The key idea of constructing specific transfer operators especially taylored for the purpose of conformational dynamics appears as the red line throughout the paper. Different steps of the algorithm are exemplified by a trinucleotide molecular system as a small representative of possible RNA drug molecules.
The function of many important biomolecules is related to their dynamic properties and their ability to switch between different {\em conformations}, which are understood as {\em almost invariant} or {\em metastable} subsets of the positional state space of the system. Recently, the present authors and their coworkers presented a novel algorithmic scheme for the direct numerical determination of such metastable subsets and the transition probability between them. Although being different in most aspects, this method exploits the same basic idea as {\sc Dellnitz} and {\sc Junge} in their approach to almost invariance in discrete dynamical systems: the almost invariant sets are computed via certain eigenvectors of the Markov operators associated with the dynamical behavior. In the present article we analyze the application of this approach to (high--friction) Langevin models describing the dynamical behavior of molecular systems coupled to a heat bath. We will see that this can be related to theoretical results for (symmetric) semigroups of Markov operators going back to {\sc Davies}. We concentrate on a comparison of our approach in respect to random perturbations of dynamical systems.
An analysis of relaxation oscillations in local Er-doped optically pumped lasers is reported. It is based on a time dependent rate equation model for a quasi-two-level-system with wavelength dependent emission- and absorption cross-sections. For the first time a numerically reliable simulation of the characteristic laser behaviour was possible: the onset and decay of the oscillations, the time-dependent repetition period and the steady state signal output power. The characteristic waveguide parameters, as the erbium-concentration profile, the polarization dependent pump- and signal mode intensity profiles, the scattering losses, the cavity length and the front and rear reflectivities were all taken into account. The basic formulas are general and can also be used for Er-doped fiber lasers. Mathematically the problem can be characterized as a large boundary value problem, which can approximately be replaced by a stiff initial value problem of ordinary differential equations. The used algorithmic replacement procedure is motivated and discussed in detail. Here, pump- and signal evolution versus time are presented for an planar Er-diffused $\rm Ti$:$\rm LiNbO_{3}$ waveguide laser. The numerically obtained results show a nearly quantitative agreement with experimental investigations. Simultanously they supply knowledge about non-measureable (space-dependent population dynamic of the Er-atoms) and till today not measured data (dynamical response of the laser by a sharp peak in the external pump).
Recently, a novel concept for the computation of essential features of the dynamics of Hamiltonian systems (such as molecular dynamics) has been proposed. The realization of this concept had been based on subdivision techniques applied to the Frobenius--Perron operator for the dynamical system. The present paper suggests an alternative but related concept that merges the conceptual advantages of the dynamical systems approach with the appropriate statistical physics framework. This approach allows to define the phrase ``conformation'' in terms of the dynamical behavior of the molecular system and to characterize the dynamical stability of conformations. In a first step, the frequency of conformational changes is characterized in statistical terms leading to the definition of some Markov operator $T$ that describes the corresponding transition probabilities within the canonical ensemble. In a second step, a discretization of $T$ via specific hybrid Monte Carlo techniques is shown to lead to a stochastic matrix $P$. With these theoretical preparations, an identification algorithm for conformations is applicable. It is demonstrated that the discretization of $T$ can be restricted to few essential degrees of freedom so that the combinatorial explosion of discretization boxes is prevented and biomolecular systems can be attacked. Numerical results for the n-pentane molecule and the triribonucleotide adenylyl\emph{(3'-5')}cytidylyl\emph{(3'-5')}cytidin are given and interpreted.
Recently, a novel concept for the computation of essential features of Hamiltonian systems (such as those arising in molecular dynamics) has been proposed. The realization of that concept was based on subdivision techniques applied to the Frobenius--Perron operator for the dynamical system. The present paper suggests an alternative but related concept based on statistical mechanics, which allows to attack realistic molecular systems. In a first step, the frequency of conformational changes is characterized in statistical terms leading to the definition of some Markov operator $T$ that describes the corresponding transition probabilities within the canonical ensemble. In a second step, a discretization of $T$ via hybrid Monte Carlo techniques (based on short term subtrajectories only) is shown to lead to a stochastic matrix $P$. With these theoretical preparations, an identification algorithm for conformations is applicable (to be presented elsewhere). Numerical results for the n-pentane molecule are given and interpreted.
A theoretical investigation of the dynamic properties of integrated optical Er--doped waveguide lasers is presented. It includes the construction of a physical model and of numerical techniques which allow reliable simulations of the dynamical behaviour of the laser signal depending on essential parameters of the laser device and on its external, time--dependent pump radiation. Therefore, a physical theory is developed which describes the propagation of light and its interaction with the active substrate in the laser cavity. This is realized in two steps. First, a {\em fundamental model} based on Maxwell's equations and on rate equations for the transitions in the active medium is constructed. Since this turns out to prohibit reliable simulations, it is, in a second step, reformulated via averaging in time and space which suppresses the fluctuations on the fastest time scales but represents them correctly. For this {\em reduced model} reliable and efficient simulation techniques using adaptive control schemes are designed and implemented. We apply the linear--implicit Euler discretization with extrapolation in time and a multilevel quadrature scheme in space. Finally, the model is justified in comparison with experimental observations in four cases of technological relevance.
In molecular dynamics applications there is a growing interest in including quantum effects for simulations of larger molecules. This paper is concerned with {\em mixed quantum-classical} models which are currently discussed: the so-called QCMD model with variants and the time-dependent Born-Oppenheimer approximation. All these models are known to approximate the full quantum dynamical evolution---under different assumptions, however. We review the meaning of these assumptions and the scope of the approximation. In particular, we characterize those typical problematic situations where a mixed model might largely deviate from the full quantum evolution. One such situation of specific interest, a non-adiabatic excitation at certain energy level crossings, can promisingly be dealt with by a modification of the QCMD model that we suggest.
{\footnotesize In classical Molecular Dynamics a molecular system is modelled by classical Hamiltonian equations of motion. The potential part of the corresponding energy function of the system includes contributions of several types of atomic interaction. Among these, some interactions represent the bond structure of the molecule. Particularly these interactions lead to extremely stiff potentials which force the solution of the equations of motion to oscillate on a very small time scale. There is a strong need for eliminating the smallest time scales because they are a severe restriction for numerical long-term simulations of macromolecules. This leads to the idea of just freezing the high frequency degrees of freedom (bond stretching and bond angles) via increasing the stiffness of the strong part of the potential to infinity. However, the naive way of doing this via holonomic constraints mistakenly ignores the energy contribution of the fast oscillations. The paper presents a mathematically rigorous discussion of the limit situation of infinite stiffness. It is demonstrated that the average of the limit solution indeed obeys a constrained Hamiltonian system but with a {\em corrected soft potential}. An explicit formula for the additive potential correction is given via a careful inspection of the limit energy of the fast oscillations. Unfortunately, the theory is valid only as long as the system does not run into certain resonances of the fast motions. Behind those resonances, there is no unique limit solution but a kind of choatic scenario for which the notion ``Takens chaos'' was coined. For demonstrating the relevance of this observation for MD, the theory is applied to a realistic, but still simple system: a single butan molecule. The appearance of ``Takens chaos'' in smoothed MD is illustrated and the consequences are discussed.}