Molecular dynamics boundary conditions for regular crystal lattices Original Research Article

We present a method for deriving molecular dynamics boundary conditions for use in multiple scale simulations that can be applied at a planar boundary for any solid that has a periodically repeating crystal lattice. The method is based on a linearization in the vicinity of the boundary, and utilizes a Fourier and Laplace transforms in space and time to eliminate the degrees of freedom associated with atoms outside the boundary. This method is straightforward to implement numerically, and thus can be automated for a general crystal lattice. We show that this method reproduces the known kernel for a 1D linear chain, and apply the approach to obtain the damping kernel matrices for two real crystal lattices: the graphene and diamond structures of carbon.