On monte carlo and molecular dynamics methods inspired by Tsallis statistics: Methodology, optimization, and application to atomic clusters

Generalized Monte Carlo and molecular dynamics algorithms which provide enhanced sampling of the phase space in the calculation of equilibrium thermodynamic properties is presented. The algorithm samples trial moves from a generalized statistical distribution derived from a modification of the Gibbs-Shannon entropy proposed by Tsallis. Results for a one-dimensional model potential demonstrate that the algorithm leads to a greatly enhanced rate of barrier crossing and convergence in the calculation of equilibrium averages. Comparison is made with standard Metropolis Monte Carlo and the J-walking algorithm of Franz, Freeman and Doll. Application to a 13-atom Lennard-Jones cluster demonstrates the ease with which the algorithm may be applied to complex molecular systems. (C) 1997 American Institute of Physics.