Most custom forces now have the ability to compute derivatives of the energy with respect to arbitrary global parameters. This makes it possible to implement lambda dynamics and similar algorithms where extra variables need to be integrated along with the particle positions. It also is very useful for force field optimization.
To use this feature, call addEnergyParameterDerivative() on the force to tell it what parameters you want derivatives with respect to. Then you can call context.getState(getParameterDerivatives=True).getEnergyParameterDerivatives() to query them. CustomIntegrator also has a deriv() function you can use to calculate parameter derivatives.
We now support the Gay-Berne ellipsoid potential. This is similar to a Lennard-Jones force, but instead of depending on the distance between two point particles, it depends on the shortest distance between two ellipsoids. This is very useful for various types of coarse grained models. See the GayBerneForce class for details.
Most bonded forces now have the ability to apply periodic boundary conditions. Although that isn't usually what you want for bonded interactions, there are situations where it's very useful. To enable it, just call setUsesPeriodicBoundaryConditions(True) on the force.
To install the beta with conda, type
Code: Select all
conda install -c omnia/label/beta openmm==7.1.0
All feedback will be very much appreciated!
Peter