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A parallel implementation of coupled spin-lattice dynamics in the LAMMPS molecular dynamics package is presented. The equations of motion for both spin only and coupled spin-lattice dynamics are first reviewed, including a detailed account of how magneto-mechanical potentials can be used to perform a proper coupling between spin and lattice degrees of freedom. A symplectic numerical integration algorithm is then presented which combines the Suzuki-Trotter decomposition for non-commuting variables and conserves the geometric properties of the equations of motion. The numerical accuracy of the serial implementation was assessed by verifying that it conserves the total energy and the norm of the total magnetization up to second order in the timestep size. Finally, a very general parallel algorithm is proposed that allows large spin-lattice systems to be efficiently simulated on large numbers of processors without degrading its mathematical accuracy. Its correctness as well as scaling efficiency were tested for realistic coupled spin-lattice systems, confirming that the new parallel algorithm is both accurate and efficient., Comment: 15 pages, 10 figures

The structure and stresses of static granular packs in cylindrical containers are studied using large-scale discrete element molecular dynamics simulations in three dimensions. We generate packings by both pouring and sedimentation and examine how the final state depends on the method of construction. The vertical stress becomes depth-independent for deep piles and we compare these stress depth-profiles to the classical Janssen theory. The majority of the tangential forces for particle-wall contacts are found to be close to the Coulomb failure criterion, in agreement with the theory of Janssen, while particle-particle contacts in the bulk are far from the Coulomb criterion. In addition, we show that a linear hydrostatic-like region at the top of the packings unexplained by the Janssen theory arises because most of the particle-wall tangential forces in this region are far from the Coulomb yield criterion. The distributions of particle-particle and particle-wall contact forces $P(f)$ exhibit exponential-like decay at large forces in agreement with previous studies., Comment: 11 pages, 11 figures, submitted to PRE (v2) added new references, fixed typos

We have performed a systematic, large-scale simulation study of granular media in two- and three-dimensions, investigating the rheology of cohesionless granular particles in inclined plane geometries, i.e., chute flows. We find that over a wide range of parameter space of interaction coefficients and inclination angles, a steady state flow regime exists in which the energy input from gravity balances that dissipated from friction and inelastic collisions. In this regime, the bulk packing fraction (away from the top free surface and the bottom plate boundary) remains constant as a function of depth z, of the pile. The velocity profile in the direction of flow v(z) scales with height of the pile H, according to v(z) proportional to H^a, with a=1.52. However, the behavior of the normal stresses indicates that existing simple theories of granular flow do not capture all of the features evidenced in the simulations., Comment: 17 pages, 20 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev. E

Using extensive molecular dynamics simulations of an equilibrium, glass-forming Lennard-Jones mixture, we characterize in detail the local atomic motions. We show that spatial correlations exist among particles undergoing extremely large (``mobile'') or extremely small (``immobile'') displacements over a suitably chosen time interval. The immobile particles form the cores of relatively compact clusters, while the mobile particles move cooperatively and form quasi-one-dimensional, string-like clusters. The strength and length scale of the correlations between mobile particles are found to grow strongly with decreasing temperature, and the mean cluster size appears to diverge at the mode-coupling critical temperature. We show that these correlations in the particle displacements are related to equilibrium fluctuations in the local potential energy and local composition.