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Extended Lagrangian

The following options enable extended-system dynamics, where a colvar is coupled to an additional degree of freedom (fictitious particle) by a harmonic spring. This extended coordinate masks the colvar and replaces it transparently from the perspective of biasing and analysis methods. Biasing forces are then applied to the extended degree of freedom, and the actual geometric colvar (function of Cartesian coordinates) only feels the force from the harmonic spring. This is particularly useful when combined with an abf bias to perform eABF simulations (13.6.3).

Note that for some biases (harmonicWalls, histogram), this masking behavior is controlled by the keyword bypassExtendedLagrangian. Specifically for harmonicWalls, the default behavior is to bypass extended Lagrangian coordinates and act directly on the actual colvars.


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Next: Multiple time-step variables Up: Defining collective variables Previous: Trajectory output   Contents   Index
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