Brownian dynamics with rotation–translation coupling

Abstract

A generalized algorithm is proposed for simulating a system of interacting spherical particles simultaneously executing both rotational and translational Brownian motion. Rotation–translation couplings are obtained numerically for (a) a pair of rigid spheres using the generalized algorithm and (b) a pair of rigid cubic octamer particles using a translational algorithm with rigid constraints. The likely importance of rotation–translation coupling in the Brownian–dynamics context is discussed.