3. Running Simulations

3.1. A First Example

Let’s begin with our first example of an OpenMM script. It loads a PDB file called input.pdb that defines a biomolecular system, parameterizes it using the Amber14 force field and TIP3P-FB water model, energy minimizes it, simulates it for 10,000 steps with a Langevin integrator, and saves a snapshot frame to a PDB file called output.pdb every 1000 time steps.

from openmm.app import *
from openmm import *
from openmm.unit import *
from sys import stdout

pdb = PDBFile('input.pdb')
forcefield = ForceField('amber14-all.xml', 'amber14/tip3pfb.xml')
system = forcefield.createSystem(pdb.topology, nonbondedMethod=PME,
        nonbondedCutoff=1*nanometer, constraints=HBonds)
integrator = LangevinMiddleIntegrator(300*kelvin, 1/picosecond, 0.004*picoseconds)
simulation = Simulation(pdb.topology, system, integrator)
simulation.context.setPositions(pdb.positions)
simulation.minimizeEnergy()
simulation.reporters.append(PDBReporter('output.pdb', 1000))
simulation.reporters.append(StateDataReporter(stdout, 1000, step=True,
        potentialEnergy=True, temperature=True))
simulation.step(10000)

Example 3-1

You can find this script in the examples folder of your OpenMM installation. It is called simulatePdb.py. To execute it from a command line, go to your terminal/console/command prompt window (see Section 2.2 on setting up the window to use OpenMM). Navigate to the examples folder by typing

cd <examples_directory>

where the typical directory is /usr/local/openmm/examples on Linux and Mac machines and C:\Program Files\OpenMM\examples on Windows machines.

Then type

python simulatePdb.py

You can name your own scripts whatever you want. Let’s go through the script line by line and see how it works.

from openmm.app import *
from openmm import *
from openmm.unit import *
from sys import stdout

These lines are just telling the Python interpreter about some libraries we will be using. Don’t worry about exactly what they mean. Just include them at the start of your scripts.

pdb = PDBFile('input.pdb')

This line loads the PDB file from disk. (The input.pdb file in the examples directory contains the villin headpiece in explicit solvent.) More precisely, it creates a PDBFile object, passes the file name input.pdb to it as an argument, and assigns the object to a variable called pdb. The PDBFile object contains the information that was read from the file: the molecular topology and atom positions. Your file need not be called input.pdb. Feel free to change this line to specify any file you want, though it must contain all of the atoms needed by the force field. (More information on how to add missing atoms and residues using OpenMM tools can be found in Chapter 4.) Make sure you include the single quotes around the file name. OpenMM also can load files in the newer PDBx/mmCIF format: just change PDBFile to PDBxFile.

forcefield = ForceField('amber14-all.xml', 'amber14/tip3pfb.xml')

This line specifies the force field to use for the simulation. Force fields are defined by XML files. OpenMM includes XML files defining lots of standard force fields (see Section 3.6.2). If you find you need to extend the repertoire of force fields available, you can find more information on how to create these XML files in Chapter 6. In this case we load two of those files: amber14-all.xml, which contains the Amber14 force field, and amber14/tip3pfb.xml, which contains the TIP3P-FB water model. The ForceField object is assigned to a variable called forcefield.

system = forcefield.createSystem(pdb.topology, nonbondedMethod=PME,
        nonbondedCutoff=1*nanometer, constraints=HBonds)

This line combines the force field with the molecular topology loaded from the PDB file to create a complete mathematical description of the system we want to simulate. (More precisely, we invoke the ForceField object’s createSystem() function. It creates a System object, which we assign to the variable system.) It specifies some additional options about how to do that: use particle mesh Ewald for the long range electrostatic interactions (nonbondedMethod=PME), use a 1 nm cutoff for the direct space interactions (nonbondedCutoff=1*nanometer), and constrain the length of all bonds that involve a hydrogen atom (constraints=HBonds). Note the way we specified the cutoff distance 1 nm using 1*nanometer: This is an example of the powerful units tracking and automatic conversion facility built into the OpenMM Python API that makes specifying unit-bearing quantities convenient and less error-prone. We could have equivalently specified 10*angstrom instead of 1*nanometer and achieved the same result. The units system will be described in more detail later, in Section 11.3.3.

integrator = LangevinMiddleIntegrator(300*kelvin, 1/picosecond, 0.004*picoseconds)

This line creates the integrator to use for advancing the equations of motion. It specifies a LangevinMiddleIntegrator, which performs Langevin dynamics, and assigns it to a variable called integrator. It also specifies the values of three parameters that are specific to Langevin dynamics: the simulation temperature (300 K), the friction coefficient (1 ps^-1), and the step size (0.004 ps). Lots of other integration methods are also available. For example, if you wanted to simulate the system at constant energy rather than constant temperature you would use a VerletIntegrator. The available integration methods are listed in Section 3.6.8.

simulation = Simulation(pdb.topology, system, integrator)

This line combines the molecular topology, system, and integrator to begin a new simulation. It creates a Simulation object and assigns it to a variable called simulation. A Simulation object manages all the processes involved in running a simulation, such as advancing time and writing output.

simulation.context.setPositions(pdb.positions)

This line specifies the initial atom positions for the simulation: in this case, the positions that were loaded from the PDB file.

simulation.minimizeEnergy()

This line tells OpenMM to perform a local energy minimization. It is usually a good idea to do this at the start of a simulation, since the coordinates in the PDB file might produce very large forces.

simulation.reporters.append(PDBReporter('output.pdb', 1000))

This line creates a “reporter” to generate output during the simulation, and adds it to the Simulation object’s list of reporters. A PDBReporter writes structures to a PDB file. We specify that the output file should be called output.pdb, and that a structure should be written every 1000 time steps.

simulation.reporters.append(StateDataReporter(stdout, 1000, step=True,
        potentialEnergy=True, temperature=True))

It can be useful to get regular status reports as a simulation runs so you can monitor its progress. This line adds another reporter to print out some basic information every 1000 time steps: the current step index, the potential energy of the system, and the temperature. We specify stdout (not in quotes) as the output file, which means to write the results to the console. We also could have given a file name (in quotes), just as we did for the PDBReporter, to write the information to a file.

simulation.step(10000)

Finally, we run the simulation, integrating the equations of motion for 10,000 time steps. Once it is finished, you can load the PDB file into any program you want for analysis and visualization (VMD, PyMol, AmberTools, etc.).

3.2. Using AMBER Files

OpenMM can build a system in several different ways. One option, as shown above, is to start with a PDB file and then select a force field with which to model it. Alternatively, you can use AmberTools to model your system. In that case, you provide a prmtop file and an inpcrd file. OpenMM loads the files and creates a System from them. This is illustrated in the following script. It can be found in OpenMM’s examples folder with the name simulateAmber.py.

from openmm.app import *
from openmm import *
from openmm.unit import *
from sys import stdout

prmtop = AmberPrmtopFile('input.prmtop')
inpcrd = AmberInpcrdFile('input.inpcrd')
system = prmtop.createSystem(nonbondedMethod=PME, nonbondedCutoff=1*nanometer,
        constraints=HBonds)
integrator = LangevinMiddleIntegrator(300*kelvin, 1/picosecond, 0.004*picoseconds)
simulation = Simulation(prmtop.topology, system, integrator)
simulation.context.setPositions(inpcrd.positions)
if inpcrd.boxVectors is not None:
    simulation.context.setPeriodicBoxVectors(*inpcrd.boxVectors)
simulation.minimizeEnergy()
simulation.reporters.append(PDBReporter('output.pdb', 1000))
simulation.reporters.append(StateDataReporter(stdout, 1000, step=True,
        potentialEnergy=True, temperature=True))
simulation.step(10000)

Example 3-2

This script is very similar to the previous one. There are just a few significant differences:

prmtop = AmberPrmtopFile('input.prmtop')
inpcrd = AmberInpcrdFile('input.inpcrd')

In these lines, we load the prmtop file and inpcrd file. More precisely, we create AmberPrmtopFile and AmberInpcrdFile objects and assign them to the variables prmtop and inpcrd, respectively. As before, you can change these lines to specify any files you want. Be sure to include the single quotes around the file names.

Note

The AmberPrmtopFile reader provided by OpenMM only supports “new-style” prmtop files introduced in AMBER 7. The AMBER distribution still contains a number of example files that are in the “old-style” prmtop format. These “old-style” files will not run in OpenMM.

Next, the System object is created in a different way:

system = prmtop.createSystem(nonbondedMethod=PME, nonbondedCutoff=1*nanometer,
        constraints=HBonds)

In the previous section, we loaded the topology from a PDB file and then had the force field create a system based on it. In this case, we don’t need a force field; the prmtop file already contains the force field parameters, so it can create the system directly.

simulation = Simulation(prmtop.topology, system, integrator)
simulation.context.setPositions(inpcrd.positions)

Notice that we now get the topology from the prmtop file and the atom positions from the inpcrd file. In the previous section, both of these came from a PDB file, but AMBER puts the topology and positions in separate files. We also add the following lines:

if inpcrd.boxVectors is not None:
    simulation.context.setPeriodicBoxVectors(*inpcrd.boxVectors)

For periodic systems, the prmtop file specifies the periodic box vectors, just as a PDB file does. When we call createSystem(), it sets those as the default periodic box vectors, to be used automatically for all simulations. However, the inpcrd may also specify periodic box vectors, and if so we want to use those ones instead. For example, if the system has been equilibrated with a barostat, the box vectors may have changed during equilibration. We therefore check to see if the inpcrd file contained box vectors. If so, we call setPeriodicBoxVectors() to tell it to use those ones, overriding the default ones provided by the System.

3.3. Using Gromacs Files

A third option for creating your system is to use the Gromacs setup tools. They produce a gro file containing the coordinates and a top file containing the topology. OpenMM can load these exactly as it did the AMBER files. This is shown in the following script. It can be found in OpenMM’s examples folder with the name simulateGromacs.py.

from openmm.app import *
from openmm import *
from openmm.unit import *
from sys import stdout

gro = GromacsGroFile('input.gro')
top = GromacsTopFile('input.top', periodicBoxVectors=gro.getPeriodicBoxVectors(),
        includeDir='/usr/local/gromacs/share/gromacs/top')
system = top.createSystem(nonbondedMethod=PME, nonbondedCutoff=1*nanometer,
        constraints=HBonds)
integrator = LangevinMiddleIntegrator(300*kelvin, 1/picosecond, 0.004*picoseconds)
simulation = Simulation(top.topology, system, integrator)
simulation.context.setPositions(gro.positions)
simulation.minimizeEnergy()
simulation.reporters.append(PDBReporter('output.pdb', 1000))
simulation.reporters.append(StateDataReporter(stdout, 1000, step=True,
        potentialEnergy=True, temperature=True))
simulation.step(10000)

Example 3-3

This script is nearly identical to the previous one, just replacing AmberInpcrdFile and AmberPrmtopFile with GromacsGroFile and GromacsTopFile. Note that when we create the GromacsTopFile, we specify values for two extra options. First, we specify periodicBoxVectors=gro.getPeriodicBoxVectors(). Unlike OpenMM and AMBER, which can store periodic unit cell information with the topology, Gromacs only stores it with the coordinates. To let GromacsTopFile create a Topology object, we therefore need to tell it the periodic box vectors that were loaded from the gro file. You only need to do this if you are simulating a periodic system. For implicit solvent simulations, it usually can be omitted.

Second, we specify includeDir='/usr/local/gromacs/share/gromacs/top'. Unlike AMBER, which stores all the force field parameters directly in a prmtop file, Gromacs just stores references to force field definition files that are installed with the Gromacs application. OpenMM needs to know where to find these files, so the includeDir parameter specifies the directory containing them. If you omit this parameter, OpenMM will assume the default location /usr/local/gromacs/share/gromacs/top, which is often where they are installed on Unix-like operating systems. So in Example 3-3 we actually could have omitted this parameter, but if the Gromacs files were installed in any other location, we would need to include it.

3.4. Using CHARMM Files

Yet another option is to load files created by the CHARMM setup tools, or other compatible tools such as VMD. Those include a psf file containing topology information, and an ordinary PDB file for the atomic coordinates. (Coordinates can also be loaded from CHARMM coordinate or restart files using the CharmmCrdFile and CharmmRstFile classes). In addition, you must provide a set of files containing the force field definition to use. This can involve several different files with varying formats and filename extensions such as par, prm, top, rtf, inp, and str. To do this, load all the definition files into a CharmmParameterSet object, then include that object as the first parameter when you call createSystem() on the CharmmPsfFile.

from openmm.app import *
from openmm import *
from openmm.unit import *
from sys import stdout, exit, stderr

psf = CharmmPsfFile('input.psf')
pdb = PDBFile('input.pdb')
params = CharmmParameterSet('charmm22.rtf', 'charmm22.prm')
system = psf.createSystem(params, nonbondedMethod=NoCutoff,
        nonbondedCutoff=1*nanometer, constraints=HBonds)
integrator = LangevinMiddleIntegrator(300*kelvin, 1/picosecond, 0.004*picoseconds)
simulation = Simulation(psf.topology, system, integrator)
simulation.context.setPositions(pdb.positions)
simulation.minimizeEnergy()
simulation.reporters.append(PDBReporter('output.pdb', 1000))
simulation.reporters.append(StateDataReporter(stdout, 1000, step=True,
        potentialEnergy=True, temperature=True))
simulation.step(10000)

Example 3-4

Note that both the CHARMM and XPLOR versions of the psf file format are supported.

3.5. The OpenMM-Setup Application

One way to create your own scripts is to start with one of the examples given above and customize it to suit your needs, but there’s an even easier option. OpenMM-Setup is a graphical application that walks you through the whole process of loading your input files and setting options. It then generates a complete script, and can even run it for you.

Figure 3-1: The OpenMM-Setup application

To install OpenMM-Setup, open a command line terminal and type the following command

conda install -c conda-forge openmm-setup

You can then launch it by typing the command

openmm-setup

It will automatically open a window in your web browser displaying the user interface.

OpenMM-Setup is far more than just a script generator. It can fix problems in your input files, add missing atoms, build membranes and water boxes, and much more. It is a very easy way to quickly do all necessary preparation and setup. We highly recommend it to all users of OpenMM, from novices to experts.

3.6. Simulation Parameters

Now let’s consider lots of ways you might want to customize your script.

3.6.1. Platforms

When creating a Simulation, you can optionally tell it what Platform to use. OpenMM includes four platforms: Reference, CPU, CUDA, and OpenCL. For a description of the differences between them, see Section 7.7. There are three ways in which the Platform can be chosen:

1. By default, OpenMM will try to select the fastest available Platform. Usually its choice will be reasonable, but sometimes you may want to change it.

2. Alternatively, you can set the OPENMM_DEFAULT_PLATFORM environment variable to the name of the Platform to use. This overrides the default logic.

3. Finally, you can explicitly specify a Platform object in your script when you create the Simulation. The following lines specify to use the CUDA platform:

platform = Platform.getPlatformByName('CUDA')
simulation = Simulation(prmtop.topology, system, integrator, platform)

The platform name should be one of OpenCL, CUDA, CPU, or Reference.

You also can specify platform-specific properties that customize how calculations should be done. See Chapter 10 for details of the properties that each Platform supports. For example, the following lines specify to parallelize work across two different GPUs (CUDA devices 0 and 1), doing all computations in double precision:

platform = Platform.getPlatformByName('CUDA')
properties = {'DeviceIndex': '0,1', 'Precision': 'double'}
simulation = Simulation(prmtop.topology, system, integrator, platform, properties)

3.6.2. Force Fields

When you create a force field, you specify one or more XML files from which to load the force field definition. Most often, there will be one file to define the main force field, and possibly a second file to define the water model (either implicit or explicit). For example:

forcefield = ForceField('amber14-all.xml', 'amber14/tip3pfb.xml')

In some cases, one XML file may load several others. For example, amber14-all.xml is really just a shortcut for loading several different files that together make up the AMBER14 force field. If you need finer grained control over which parameters are loaded, you can instead specify the component files individually.

Be aware that some force fields and water models include “extra particles”, such as lone pairs or Drude particles. Examples include the CHARMM polarizable force field and all of the 4 and 5 site water models. To use these force fields, you must first add the extra particles to the Topology. See section 4.4 for details.

The force fields described below are the ones that are bundled with OpenMM. Additional force fields are available online at https://github.com/choderalab/openmm-forcefields.

Amber14

The Amber14[1] force field is made up of various files that define parameters for proteins, DNA, RNA, lipids, water, and ions.

File	Parameters
amber14/protein.ff14SB.xml	Protein (recommended)
amber14/protein.ff15ipq.xml	Protein (alternative)
amber14/DNA.OL15.xml	DNA (recommended)
amber14/DNA.bsc1.xml	DNA (alternative)
amber14/RNA.OL3.xml	RNA
amber14/lipid17.xml	Lipid
amber14/GLYCAM_06j-1.xml	Carbohydrates and glycosylated proteins[2]
amber14/tip3p.xml	TIP3P water model[3] and ions
amber14/tip3pfb.xml	TIP3P-FB water model[4] and ions
amber14/tip4pew.xml	TIP4P-Ew water model[5] and ions
amber14/tip4pfb.xml	TIP4P-FB water model[4] and ions
amber14/spce.xml	SPC/E water model[6] and ions

As a convenience, the file amber14-all.xml can be used as a shortcut to include amber14/protein.ff14SB.xml, amber14/DNA.OL15.xml, amber14/RNA.OL3.xml, and amber14/lipid17.xml. In most cases, you can simply include that file, plus one of the water models, such as amber14/tip3pfb.xml for the TIP3P-FB water model and ions[4]:

forcefield = ForceField('amber14-all.xml', 'amber14/tip3pfb.xml')

GLYCAM is not included by default, since it is quite large. If your system contains carbohydrates, include that file as well:

forcefield = ForceField('amber14-all.xml', 'amber14/tip3pfb.xml', 'amber14/GLYCAM_06j-1.xml')

Be aware that GLYCAM works somewhat differently from most force fields. It uses its own nonstandard naming convention for carbohydrates, and requires your input file to follow it. If any residues have names different from what it expects, GLYCAM will be unable to assign parameters to them.

Tip

The solvent model XML files included under the amber14/ directory include both water and ions compatible with that water model, so if you mistakenly specify tip3p.xml instead of amber14/tip3p.xml, you run the risk of having ForceField throw an exception since tip3p.xml will be missing parameters for ions in your system.

The converted parameter sets come from the AmberTools 17 release and were converted using the openmm-forcefields package and ParmEd.

CHARMM36

The CHARMM36[7] force field provides parameters for proteins, DNA, RNA, lipids, carbohydrates, water, ions, and various small molecules (see here for full references).

File	Parameters
charmm36.xml	Protein, DNA, RNA, lipids, carbohydrates, and small molecules
charmm36/water.xml	Default CHARMM water model (a modified version of TIP3P[3]) and ions
charmm36/spce.xml	SPC/E water model[6] and ions
charmm36/tip3p-pme-b.xml	TIP3P-PME-B water model[8] and ions
charmm36/tip3p-pme-f.xml	TIP3P-PME-F water model[8] and ions
charmm36/tip4pew.xml	TIP4P-Ew water model[5] and ions
charmm36/tip4p2005.xml	TIP4P-2005 water model[9] and ions
charmm36/tip5p.xml	TIP5P water model[10] and ions
charmm36/tip5pew.xml	TIP5P-Ew water model[11] and ions

The file charmm36.xml bundles everything but the water and ions into a single file. In most cases, you can simply include that file, plus one of the water models, such as charmm36/water.xml, which specifies the default CHARMM water model (a modified version of TIP3P[3]) and ions:

forcefield = ForceField('charmm36.xml', 'charmm36/water.xml')

Warning

Drude polarizable sites and lone pairs are not yet supported by ParmEd and the CHARMM36 forcefields that depend on these features are not included in this port. To use the CHARMM 2019 polarizable force field[12], include the single file charmm_polar_2019.xml.

Tip

The solvent model XML files included under the charmm36/ directory include both water and ions compatible with that water model, so if you mistakenly specify tip3p.xml instead of charmm36/water.xml, you run the risk of having ForceField raise an exception due to missing parameters for ions in your system.

Tip

CHARMM makes extensive use of patches, which are automatically combined with residue templates to create an expanded library of patched residue templates by ForceField. That means that patched residues, such as ACE and NME patched termini, must occur as a single residue in order for ForceField to correctly match the residue template and apply parameters. Since these patched residues are not standard PDB residues, Modeller does not know how to add hydrogens to these nonstandard residues, and your input topologies must already contain appropriate hydrogens. This can often cause problems when trying to read in PDB files from sources such as CHARMM-GUI that do not generate PDB files that comply with the PDB standard. If you’re using files from CHARMM-GUI, it’s easiest to load the PSF file directly, as discussed in Section 3.4.

Tip

Trying to read in PDB files from sources such as CHARMM-GUI that do not generate PDB files that comply with the PDB standard and omit CONECT records specifying bonds between residues (such as cysteines) or include CONECT records specifying non-chemical H-H bonds in waters can cause issues with the detection and parameter assignment for disulfide bonds. Make sure the files you read in comply with the appropriate standards regarding additional bonds and nonstandard residue definitions. If you’re using files from CHARMM-GUI, it’s easiest to load the PSF file directly, as discussed in Section 3.4.

The converted parameter sets come from the CHARMM36 July 2017 update and were converted using the openmm-forcefields package and parmed.

Implicit Solvent

The Amber and CHARMM force fields described above can be used with any of the Generalized Born implicit solvent models from AMBER. To use them, include an extra file when creating the ForceField. For example,

forcefield = ForceField('amber14-all.xml', 'implicit/gbn2.xml')

File	Implicit Solvent Model
implicit/hct.xml	Hawkins-Cramer-Truhlar GBSA model[13] (corresponds to igb=1 in AMBER)
implicit/obc1.xml	Onufriev-Bashford-Case GBSA model[14] using the GBOBCI parameters (corresponds to igb=2 in AMBER).
implicit/obc2.xml	Onufriev-Bashford-Case GBSA model[14] using the GBOBCII parameters (corresponds to igb=5 in AMBER).
implicit/gbn.xml	GBn solvation model[15] (corresponds to igb=7 in AMBER).
implicit/gbn2.xml	GBn2 solvation model[16] (corresponds to igb=8 in AMBER).

The only nonbonded methods that are supported with implicit solvent are NoCutoff (the default), CutoffNonPeriodic, and CutoffPeriodic. If you choose to use a nonbonded cutoff with implicit solvent, it is usually best to set the cutoff distance larger than is typical with explicit solvent. A cutoff of 2 nm gives good results in most cases. Periodic boundary conditions are not usually used with implicit solvent. In fact, the lack of need for periodicity and the artifacts it creates is one of the advantages of implicit solvent. The option is still offered, since it could be useful in some unusual situations.

You can further control the solvation model in a few ways. First, you can specify the dielectric constants to use for the solute and solvent:

system = forcefield.createSystem(topology, soluteDielectric=1.0, solventDielectric=80.0)

If they are not specified, the solute and solvent dielectric constants default to 1.0 and 78.5, respectively.

You also can model the effect of a non-zero salt concentration by specifying the Debye-Huckel screening parameter[17]:

system = forcefield.createSystem(topology, implicitSolventKappa=1.0/nanometer)

The screening parameter can be calculated as

\[\kappa = 367.434915 \sqrt{\frac{I}{\epsilon T}}\]

where \(I\) is the ionic strength in moles/liter, \(\epsilon\) is the solvent dielectric constant, and \(T\) is the temperature in Kelvin.

AMOEBA

The AMOEBA polarizable force field provides parameters for proteins, nucleic acids, water, and ions.

File	Parameters
amoeba2018.xml	AMOEBA 2018[18]
amoeba2018_gk.xml	Generalized Kirkwood solvation model[19] for use with AMOEBA 2018 force field
amoeba2013.xml	AMOEBA 2013. This force field is deprecated. It is recommended to use AMOEBA 2018 instead.
amoeba2013_gk.xml	Generalized Kirkwood solvation model for use with AMOEBA 2013 force field
amoeba2009.xml	AMOEBA 2009[20]. This force field is deprecated. It is recommended to use AMOEBA 2018 instead.
amoeba2009_gk.xml	Generalized Kirkwood solvation model for use with AMOEBA 2009 force field

For explicit solvent simulations, just include the single file amoeba2018.xml. AMOEBA also supports implicit solvent using a Generalized Kirkwood model. To enable it, also include amoeba2018_gk.xml.

The older AMOEBA 2009 and 2013 force fields are provided only for backward compatibility, and are not recommended for most simulations.

CHARMM Polarizable Force Field

To use the CHARMM 2019 polarizable force field[12], include the single file charmm_polar_2019.xml. It includes parameters for proteins, lipids, water, and ions. When using this force field, remember to add extra particles to the Topology as described in section 4.4. This force field also requires that you use one of the special integrators that supports Drude particles. The options are DrudeLangevinIntegrator, DrudeNoseHooverIntegrator, and DrudeSCFIntegrator.

Older Force Fields

OpenMM includes several older force fields as well. For most simulations, the newer force fields described above are preferred over any of these, but they are still useful for reproducing older results.

File	Force Field
amber96.xml	Amber96[21]
amber99sb.xml	Amber99[22] with modified backbone torsions[23]
amber99sbildn.xml	Amber99SB plus improved side chain torsions[24]
amber99sbnmr.xml	Amber99SB with modifications to fit NMR data[25]
amber03.xml	Amber03[26]
amber10.xml	Amber10 (documented in the AmberTools manual as ff10)
charmm_polar_2013.xml	2013 version of the CHARMM polarizable force field[12]

Several of these force fields support implicit solvent. To enable it, also include the corresponding OBC file.

File	Implicit Solvation Model
amber96_obc.xml	GBSA-OBC solvation model[14] for use with Amber96 force field
amber99_obc.xml	GBSA-OBC solvation model for use with Amber99 force field and its variants
amber03_obc.xml	GBSA-OBC solvation model for use with Amber03 force field
amber10_obc.xml	GBSA-OBC solvation model for use with Amber10 force field

Note that the GBSA-OBC parameters in these files are those used in TINKER.[27] They are designed for use with Amber force fields, but they are different from the parameters found in the AMBER application.

Water Models

The following files define popular water models. They can be used with force fields that do not provide their own water models. When using Amber14 or CHARMM36, use the water files included with those force fields instead, since they also include ion parameters.

File	Water Model
tip3p.xml	TIP3P water model[3]
tip3pfb.xml	TIP3P-FB water model[4]
tip4pew.xml	TIP4P-Ew water model[5]
tip4pfb.xml	TIP4P-FB water model[4]
tip5p.xml	TIP5P water model[10]
spce.xml	SPC/E water model[6]
swm4ndp.xml	SWM4-NDP water model[28]

3.6.3. Small molecule parameters

The OpenMM force fields above include pregenerated templates for biopolymers and solvents. If your system instead contain small molecules, it is often necessary to generate these parameters on the fly.

There are two options for doing this within the OpenMM app ecosystem:

Small molecule residue template generators

One approach is to use residue template generators for small molecules from the openmmforcefields conda package. You can install this via conda with:

$ conda install -c conda-forge openmmforcefields

You can then add a small molecule residue template generator using the Open Force Field Initiative small molecule force fields using the following example:

# Create an OpenFF Molecule object for benzene from SMILES
from openff.toolkit.topology import Molecule
molecule = Molecule.from_smiles('c1ccccc1')
# Create the SMIRNOFF template generator with the default installed force field (openff-1.0.0)
from openmmforcefields.generators import SMIRNOFFTemplateGenerator
smirnoff = SMIRNOFFTemplateGenerator(molecules=molecule)
# Create an OpenMM ForceField object with AMBER ff14SB and TIP3P with compatible ions
from openmm.app import ForceField
forcefield = ForceField('amber/protein.ff14SB.xml', 'amber/tip3p_standard.xml', 'amber/tip3p_HFE_multivalent.xml')
# Register the SMIRNOFF template generator
forcefield.registerTemplateGenerator(smirnoff.generator)

Alternatively, you can use the older AMBER GAFF small molecule force field:

# Create an OpenFF Molecule object for benzene from SMILES
from openff.toolkit.topology import Molecule
molecule = Molecule.from_smiles('c1ccccc1')
# Create the GAFF template generator
from openmmforcefields.generators import GAFFTemplateGenerator
gaff = GAFFTemplateGenerator(molecules=molecule)
# Create an OpenMM ForceField object with AMBER ff14SB and TIP3P with compatible ions
from openmm.app import ForceField
forcefield = ForceField('amber/protein.ff14SB.xml', 'amber/tip3p_standard.xml', 'amber/tip3p_HFE_multivalent.xml')
# Register the GAFF template generator
forcefield.registerTemplateGenerator(gaff.generator)
# You can now parameterize an OpenMM Topology object that contains the specified molecule.
# forcefield will load the appropriate GAFF parameters when needed, and antechamber
# will be used to generate small molecule parameters on the fly.
from openmm.app import PDBFile
pdbfile = PDBFile('t4-lysozyme-L99A-with-benzene.pdb')
system = forcefield.createSystem(pdbfile.topology)

More documentation can be found on the openmmforcefields page.

Managing force fields with SystemGenerator

As an alternative to explicitly registering template generators, the openmmforcefields package provides a SystemGenerator facility to simplify biopolymer and small molecule force field management. To use this, you can simply specify the small molecule force field you want to use:

# Define the keyword arguments to feed to ForceField
from openmm import unit, app
forcefield_kwargs = { 'constraints' : app.HBonds, 'rigidWater' : True, 'removeCMMotion' : False, 'hydrogenMass' : 4*unit.amu }
# Initialize a SystemGenerator using GAFF
from openmmforcefields.generators import SystemGenerator
system_generator = SystemGenerator(forcefields=['amber/ff14SB.xml', 'amber/tip3p_standard.xml'], small_molecule_forcefield='gaff-2.11', forcefield_kwargs=forcefield_kwargs, cache='db.json')
# Create an OpenMM System from an OpenMM Topology object
system = system_generator.create_system(openmm_topology)
# Alternatively, create an OpenMM System from an OpenMM Topology object and a list of OpenFF Molecule objects
molecules = Molecule.from_file('molecules.sdf', file_format='sdf')
system = system_generator.create_system(openmm_topology, molecules=molecules)

The SystemGenerator will match any instances of the molecules found in molecules.sdf to those that appear in topology. Note that the protonation and tautomeric states must match exactly between the molecules read and those appearing in the Topology. See the openmmforcefields documentation for more details.

3.6.4. AMBER Implicit Solvent

When creating a system from a prmtop file you do not specify force field files, so you need a different way to tell it to use implicit solvent. This is done with the implicitSolvent parameter:

system = prmtop.createSystem(implicitSolvent=OBC2)

OpenMM supports all of the Generalized Born models used by AMBER. Here are the allowed values for implicitSolvent:

Value	Meaning
None	No implicit solvent is used.
HCT	Hawkins-Cramer-Truhlar GBSA model[13] (corresponds to igb=1 in AMBER)
OBC1	Onufriev-Bashford-Case GBSA model[14] using the GBOBCI parameters (corresponds to igb=2 in AMBER).
OBC2	Onufriev-Bashford-Case GBSA model[14] using the GBOBCII parameters (corresponds to igb=5 in AMBER). This is the same model used by the GBSA-OBC files described in Section 3.6.2.
GBn	GBn solvation model[15] (corresponds to igb=7 in AMBER).
GBn2	GBn2 solvation model[16] (corresponds to igb=8 in AMBER).

You can further control the solvation model in a few ways. First, you can specify the dielectric constants to use for the solute and solvent:

system = prmtop.createSystem(implicitSolvent=OBC2, soluteDielectric=1.0,
        solventDielectric=80.0)

If they are not specified, the solute and solvent dielectrics default to 1.0 and 78.5, respectively. These values were chosen for consistency with AMBER, and are slightly different from those used elsewhere in OpenMM: when building a system from a force field, the solvent dielectric defaults to 78.3.

You also can model the effect of a non-zero salt concentration by specifying the Debye-Huckel screening parameter[17]:

system = prmtop.createSystem(implicitSolvent=OBC2, implicitSolventKappa=1.0/nanometer)

3.6.5. Nonbonded Interactions

When creating the system (either from a force field or a prmtop file), you can specify options about how nonbonded interactions should be treated:

system = prmtop.createSystem(nonbondedMethod=PME, nonbondedCutoff=1*nanometer)

The nonbondedMethod parameter can have any of the following values:

Value	Meaning
NoCutoff	No cutoff is applied.
CutoffNonPeriodic	The reaction field method is used to eliminate all interactions beyond a cutoff distance. Not valid for AMOEBA.
CutoffPeriodic	The reaction field method is used to eliminate all interactions beyond a cutoff distance. Periodic boundary conditions are applied, so each atom interacts only with the nearest periodic copy of every other atom. Not valid for AMOEBA.
Ewald	Periodic boundary conditions are applied. Ewald summation is used to compute long range Coulomb interactions. (This option is rarely used, since PME is much faster for all but the smallest systems.) Not valid for AMOEBA.
PME	Periodic boundary conditions are applied. The Particle Mesh Ewald method is used to compute long range Coulomb interactions.
LJPME	Periodic boundary conditions are applied. The Particle Mesh Ewald method is used to compute long range interactions for both Coulomb and Lennard-Jones.

When using any method other than NoCutoff, you should also specify a cutoff distance. Be sure to specify units, as shown in the examples above. For example, nonbondedCutoff=1.5*nanometers or nonbondedCutoff=12*angstroms are legal values.

When using Ewald, PME, or LJPME, you can optionally specify an error tolerance for the force computation. For example:

system = prmtop.createSystem(nonbondedMethod=PME, nonbondedCutoff=1*nanometer,
        ewaldErrorTolerance=0.00001)

The error tolerance is roughly equal to the fractional error in the forces due to truncating the Ewald summation. If you do not specify it, a default value of 0.0005 is used.

Another optional parameter when using a cutoff is switchDistance. This causes Lennard-Jones interactions to smoothly go to zero over some finite range, rather than being sharply truncated at the cutoff distance. This can improve energy conservation. To use it, specify a distance at which the interactions should start being reduced. For example:

system = prmtop.createSystem(nonbondedMethod=PME, nonbondedCutoff=1*nanometer,
        switchDistance=0.9*nanometer)

Nonbonded Forces for AMOEBA

For the AMOEBA force field, the valid values for the nonbondedMethod are NoCutoff and PME. The other nonbonded methods, CutoffNonPeriodic, CutoffPeriodic, and Ewald are unavailable for this force field.

For implicit solvent runs using AMOEBA, only the nonbondedMethod option NoCutoff is available.

Lennard-Jones Interaction Cutoff Value

In addition, for the AMOEBA force field a cutoff for the Lennard-Jones interaction independent of the value used for the electrostatic interactions may be specified using the keyword vdwCutoff.

system = forcefield.createSystem(nonbondedMethod=PME, nonbondedCutoff=1*nanometer,
        ewaldErrorTolerance=0.00001, vdwCutoff=1.2*nanometer)

If vdwCutoff is not specified, then the value of nonbondedCutoff is used for the Lennard-Jones interactions.

Specifying the Polarization Method

When using the AMOEBA force field, OpenMM allows the induced dipoles to be calculated in any of three different ways. The slowest but potentially most accurate method is to iterate the calculation until the dipoles converge to a specified tolerance. To select this, specify polarization='mutual'. Use the mutualInducedTargetEpsilon option to select the tolerance; for most situations, a value of 0.00001 works well. Alternatively you can specify polarization='extrapolated'. This uses an analytic approximation [29] to estimate what the fully converged dipoles will be without actually continuing the calculation to convergence. In many cases this can be significantly faster with only a small loss in accuracy. Finally, you can specify polarization='direct' to use the direct polarization approximation, in which induced dipoles depend only on the fixed multipoles, not on other induced dipoles. This is even faster, but it produces very different forces from mutual polarization, so it should only be used with force fields that have been specifically parameterized for use with this approximation.

Here are examples of using each method:

system = forcefield.createSystem(nonbondedMethod=PME, nonbondedCutoff=1*nanometer,
    vdwCutoff=1.2*nanometer, polarization='mutual', mutualInducedTargetEpsilon=0.00001)

system = forcefield.createSystem(nonbondedMethod=PME, nonbondedCutoff=1*nanometer,
    vdwCutoff=1.2*nanometer, polarization='extrapolated')

system = forcefield.createSystem(nonbondedMethod=PME, nonbondedCutoff=1*nanometer,
    vdwCutoff=1.2*nanometer, polarization='direct')

Implicit Solvent and Solute Dielectrics

For implicit solvent simulations using the AMOEBA force field, the amoeba2013_gk.xml file should be included in the initialization of the force field:

forcefield = ForceField('amoeba2009.xml', 'amoeba2009_gk.xml')

Only the nonbondedMethod option NoCutoff is available for implicit solvent runs using AMOEBA. In addition, the solvent and solute dielectric values can be specified for implicit solvent simulations:

system=forcefield.createSystem(nonbondedMethod=NoCutoff, soluteDielectric=2.0,
        solventDielectric=80.0)

The default values are 1.0 for the solute dielectric and 78.3 for the solvent dielectric.

3.6.6. Constraints

When creating the system (either from a force field or an AMBER prmtop file), you can optionally tell OpenMM to constrain certain bond lengths and angles. For example,

system = prmtop.createSystem(nonbondedMethod=NoCutoff, constraints=HBonds)

The constraints parameter can have any of the following values:

Value	Meaning
None	No constraints are applied. This is the default value.
HBonds	The lengths of all bonds that involve a hydrogen atom are constrained.
AllBonds	The lengths of all bonds are constrained.
HAngles	The lengths of all bonds are constrained. In addition, all angles of the form H-X-H or H-O-X (where X is an arbitrary atom) are constrained.

The main reason to use constraints is that it allows one to use a larger integration time step. With no constraints, one is typically limited to a time step of about 1 fs for typical biomolecular force fields like AMBER or CHARMM. With HBonds constraints, this can be increased to about 2 fs for Verlet dynamics, or about 4 fs for Langevin dynamics. With HAngles, it can sometimes be increased even further.

Regardless of the value of this parameter, OpenMM makes water molecules completely rigid, constraining both their bond lengths and angles. You can disable this behavior with the rigidWater parameter:

system = prmtop.createSystem(nonbondedMethod=NoCutoff, constraints=None, rigidWater=False)

Be aware that flexible water may require you to further reduce the integration step size, typically to about 0.5 fs.

Note

The AMOEBA forcefield is designed to be used without constraints, so by default OpenMM makes AMOEBA water flexible. You can still force it to be rigid by specifying rigidWater=True.

3.6.7. Heavy Hydrogens

When creating the system (either from a force field or an AMBER prmtop file), you can optionally tell OpenMM to increase the mass of hydrogen atoms. For example,

system = prmtop.createSystem(hydrogenMass=4*amu)

This applies only to hydrogens that are bonded to heavy atoms, and any mass added to the hydrogen is subtracted from the heavy atom. This keeps their total mass constant while slowing down the fast motions of hydrogens. When combined with constraints (typically constraints=AllBonds), this often allows a further increase in integration step size.

3.6.8. Integrators

OpenMM offers a choice of several different integration methods. You select which one to use by creating an integrator object of the appropriate type. Detailed descriptions of all these integrators can be found in Chapter 20. In addition to these built in integrators, lots of others are available as part of the OpenMMTools package.

Langevin Middle Integrator

In the examples of the previous sections, we used Langevin integration:

integrator = LangevinMiddleIntegrator(300*kelvin, 1/picosecond, 0.004*picoseconds)

The three parameter values in this line are the simulation temperature (300 K), the friction coefficient (1 ps^-1), and the step size (0.004 ps). You are free to change these to whatever values you want. Be sure to specify units on all values. For example, the step size could be written either as 0.004*picoseconds or 4*femtoseconds. They are exactly equivalent. Note that LangevinMiddleIntegrator is a leapfrog integrator, so the velocities are offset by half a time step from the positions.

Langevin Integrator

LangevinIntegrator is very similar to LangevinMiddleIntegrator, but it uses a different discretization of the Langevin equation. LangevinMiddleIntegrator tends to produce more accurate configurational sampling, and therefore is preferred for most applications. Also note that LangevinIntegrator, like LangevinMiddleIntegrator, is a leapfrog integrator, so the velocities are offset by half a time step from the positions.

Nosé-Hoover Integrator

The NoseHooverIntegrator uses the same “middle” leapfrog propagation algorithm as LangevinMiddleIntegrator, but replaces the stochastic temperature control with a velocity scaling algorithm that produces more accurate transport properties [30]. This velocity scaling results from propagating a chain of extra variables, which slightly reduces the computational efficiency with respect to LangevinMiddleIntegrator. The thermostated integrator is minimally created with syntax analogous to the LangevinMiddleIntegrator example above:

NoseHooverIntegrator integrator(300*kelvin, 1/picosecond,
                                0.004*picoseconds);

The first argument specifies the target temperature. The second specifies the frequency of interaction with the heat bath: a lower value interacts minimally, yielding the microcanonical ensemble in the limit of a zero frequency, while a larger frequency will perturb the system greater, keeping it closer to the target temperature. The third argument is the integration timestep that, like the other arguments, must be specified with units. For initial equilibration to the target temperature, a larger interaction frequency is recommended, e.g. 25 ps^-1.

This integrator supports lots of other options, including the ability to couple different parts of the system to thermostats at different temperatures. See the API documentation for details.

Leapfrog Verlet Integrator

A leapfrog Verlet integrator can be used for running constant energy dynamics. The command for this is:

integrator = VerletIntegrator(0.002*picoseconds)

The only option is the step size.

Brownian Integrator

Brownian (diffusive) dynamics can be used by specifying the following:

integrator = BrownianIntegrator(300*kelvin, 1/picosecond, 0.002*picoseconds)

The parameters are the same as for Langevin dynamics: temperature (300 K), friction coefficient (1 ps^-1), and step size (0.002 ps).

Variable Time Step Langevin Integrator

A variable time step Langevin integrator continuously adjusts its step size to keep the integration error below a specified tolerance. In some cases, this can allow you to use a larger average step size than would be possible with a fixed step size integrator. It also is very useful in cases where you do not know in advance what step size will be stable, such as when first equilibrating a system. You create this integrator with the following command:

integrator = VariableLangevinIntegrator(300*kelvin, 1/picosecond, 0.001)

In place of a step size, you specify an integration error tolerance (0.001 in this example). It is best not to think of this value as having any absolute meaning. Just think of it as an adjustable parameter that affects the step size and integration accuracy. Smaller values will produce a smaller average step size. You should try different values to find the largest one that produces a trajectory sufficiently accurate for your purposes.

Variable Time Step Leapfrog Verlet Integrator

A variable time step leapfrog Verlet integrator works similarly to the variable time step Langevin integrator in that it continuously adjusts its step size to keep the integration error below a specified tolerance. The command for this integrator is:

integrator = VariableVerletIntegrator(0.001)

The parameter is the integration error tolerance (0.001), whose meaning is the same as for the Langevin integrator.

Multiple Time Step Integrator

The MTSIntegrator class implements the rRESPA multiple time step algorithm[31]. This allows some forces in the system to be evaluated more frequently than others. For details on how to use it, consult the API documentation.

Multiple Time Step Langevin Integrator

MTSLangevinIntegrator is similar to MTSIntegrator, but it uses the Langevin method to perform constant temperature dynamics. For details on how to use it, consult the API documentation.

Compound Integrator

The CompoundIntegrator class is useful for cases where you want to use multiple integration algorithms within a single simulation. It allows you to create multiple integrators, then switch back and forth between them. For details on how to use it, consult the API documentation.

3.6.9. Temperature Coupling

If you want to run a simulation at constant temperature, using a Langevin integrator (as shown in the examples above) is usually the best way to do it. OpenMM does provide an alternative, however: you can use a Verlet integrator, then add an Andersen thermostat to your system to provide temperature coupling.

To do this, we can add an AndersenThermostat object to the System as shown below.

...
system = prmtop.createSystem(nonbondedMethod=PME, nonbondedCutoff=1*nanometer,
        constraints=HBonds)
system.addForce(AndersenThermostat(300*kelvin, 1/picosecond))
integrator = VerletIntegrator(0.002*picoseconds)
...

The two parameters of the Andersen thermostat are the temperature (300 K) and collision frequency (1 ps^-1).

3.6.10. Pressure Coupling

All the examples so far have been constant volume simulations. If you want to run at constant pressure instead, add a Monte Carlo barostat to your system. You do this exactly the same way you added the Andersen thermostat in the previous section:

...
system = prmtop.createSystem(nonbondedMethod=PME, nonbondedCutoff=1*nanometer,
        constraints=HBonds)
system.addForce(MonteCarloBarostat(1*bar, 300*kelvin))
integrator = LangevinMiddleIntegrator(300*kelvin, 1/picosecond, 0.004*picoseconds)
...

The parameters of the Monte Carlo barostat are the pressure (1 bar) and temperature (300 K). The barostat assumes the simulation is being run at constant temperature, but it does not itself do anything to regulate the temperature.

Warning

It is therefore critical that you always use it along with a Langevin integrator or Andersen thermostat, and that you specify the same temperature for both the barostat and the integrator or thermostat. Otherwise, you will get incorrect results.

There also is an anisotropic barostat that scales each axis of the periodic box independently, allowing it to change shape. When using the anisotropic barostat, you can specify a different pressure for each axis. The following line applies a pressure of 1 bar along the X and Y axes, but a pressure of 2 bar along the Z axis:

system.addForce(MonteCarloAnisotropicBarostat((1, 1, 2)*bar, 300*kelvin))

Another feature of the anisotropic barostat is that it can be applied to only certain axes of the periodic box, keeping the size of the other axes fixed. This is done by passing three additional parameters that specify whether the barostat should be applied to each axis. The following line specifies that the X and Z axes of the periodic box should not be scaled, so only the Y axis can change size.

system.addForce(MonteCarloAnisotropicBarostat((1, 1, 1)*bar, 300*kelvin,
        False, True, False))

There is a third barostat designed specifically for simulations of membranes. It assumes the membrane lies in the XY plane, and treats the X and Y axes of the box differently from the Z axis. It also applies a uniform surface tension in the plane of the membrane. The following line adds a membrane barostat that applies a pressure of 1 bar and a surface tension of 200 bar*nm. It specifies that the X and Y axes are treated isotropically while the Z axis is free to change independently.

system.addForce(MonteCarloMembraneBarostat(1*bar, 200*bar*nanometer,
    MonteCarloMembraneBarostat.XYIsotropic, MonteCarloMembraneBarostat.ZFree, 300*kelvin))

See the API documentation for details about the allowed parameter values and their meanings.

3.6.11. Energy Minimization

As seen in the examples, performing a local energy minimization takes a single line in the script:

simulation.minimizeEnergy()

In most cases, that is all you need. There are two optional parameters you can specify if you want further control over the minimization. First, you can specify a tolerance for when the energy should be considered to have converged:

simulation.minimizeEnergy(tolerance=5*kilojoule/mole)

If you do not specify this parameter, a default tolerance of 10 kJ/mole is used.

Second, you can specify a maximum number of iterations:

simulation.minimizeEnergy(maxIterations=100)

The minimizer will exit once the specified number of iterations is reached, even if the energy has not yet converged. If you do not specify this parameter, the minimizer will continue until convergence is reached, no matter how many iterations it takes.

These options are independent. You can specify both if you want:

simulation.minimizeEnergy(tolerance=0.1*kilojoule/mole, maxIterations=500)

3.6.12. Removing Center of Mass Motion

By default, System objects created with the OpenMM application tools add a CMMotionRemover that removes all center of mass motion at every time step so the system as a whole does not drift with time. This is almost always what you want. In rare situations, you may want to allow the system to drift with time. You can do this by specifying the removeCMMotion parameter when you create the System:

system = forcefield.createSystem(pdb.topology, nonbondedMethod=NoCutoff,
        removeCMMotion=False)

3.6.13. Writing Trajectories

OpenMM can save simulation trajectories to disk in three formats: PDB, PDBx/mmCIF, and DCD. All of these are widely supported formats, so you should be able to read them into most analysis and visualization programs.

To save a trajectory, just add a “reporter” to the simulation, as shown in the example scripts above:

simulation.reporters.append(PDBReporter('output.pdb', 1000))

The two parameters of the PDBReporter are the output filename and how often (in number of time steps) output structures should be written. To use PDBx/mmCIF or DCD format, just replace PDBReporter with PDBxReporter or DCDReporter. The parameters represent the same values:

simulation.reporters.append(DCDReporter('output.dcd', 1000))

3.6.14. Recording Other Data

In addition to saving a trajectory, you may want to record other information over the course of a simulation, such as the potential energy or temperature. OpenMM provides a reporter for this purpose also. Create a StateDataReporter and add it to the simulation:

simulation.reporters.append(StateDataReporter('data.csv', 1000, time=True,
        kineticEnergy=True, potentialEnergy=True))

The first two parameters are the output filename and how often (in number of time steps) values should be written. The remaining arguments specify what values should be written at each report. The available options are step (the index of the current time step), time, progress (what percentage of the simulation has completed), remainingTime (an estimate of how long it will take the simulation to complete), potentialEnergy, kineticEnergy, totalEnergy, temperature, volume (the volume of the periodic box), density (the total system mass divided by the volume of the periodic box), and speed (an estimate of how quickly the simulation is running). If you include either the progress or remainingTime option, you must also include the totalSteps parameter to specify the total number of time steps that will be included in the simulation. One line is written to the file for each report containing the requested values. By default the values are written in comma-separated-value (CSV) format. You can use the separator parameter to choose a different separator. For example, the following line will cause values to be separated by spaces instead of commas:

simulation.reporters.append(StateDataReporter('data.txt', 1000, progress=True,
        temperature=True, totalSteps=10000, separator=' '))

3.6.15. Saving Simulation Progress and Results

There are three built-in ways to save the results of your simulation in OpenMM (additional methods can be written yourself or imported through other packages like mdtraj or parmed). If you are simply interested in saving the structure, you can write it out as a PDB file using PDBFile.writeFile(). You can see an example of this in the modeller section 4.6.

If you are hoping to save more information than just positions, you can use simulation.saveState(). This will save the entire state of the simulation, including positions, velocities, box dimensions and much more in an XML file. This same file can be loaded back into OpenMM and used to continue the simulation. Importantly, because this file is a text file, it can be transfered between different platforms and different versions of OpenMM. A potential downside to this approach is that state files are often quite large, and may not fit all use cases. Here’s an example of how to use it:

simulation.saveState('output.xml')

To load the simulation back in:

simulation.loadState('output.xml')

There is a third way to save your simulation, known as a checkpoint file, which will save the entire simulation as a binary file. It will allow you to exactly continue a simulation if the need arises (though whether the simulation is deterministic depends on platform and methods, see 10.4). There are important caveats to this approach, however. This binary can only be used to restart simulations on machines with the same hardware and the same OpenMM version as the one that saved it. Therefore, it should only be used when it’s clear that won’t be an issue.

simulation.saveCheckpoint('state.chk')

And can be loaded back in like this:

simulation.loadCheckpoint('state.chk')

Finally, OpenMM comes with a built-in reporter for saving checkpoints, the CheckpointReporter, which can be helpful in restarting simulations that failed unexpectedly or due to outside reasons (e.g. server crash). To save a checkpoint file every 5,000 steps, for example:

simulation.reporters.append(CheckpointReporter('checkpnt.chk', 5000))

Note that the checkpoint reporter will overwrite the last checkpoint file.

3.6.16. Enhanced Sampling Methods

In many situations, the goal of a simulation is to sample the range of configurations accessible to a system. It does not matter whether the simulation represents a single, physically realistic trajectory, only whether it produces a correct distribution of states. In this case, a variety of methods can be used to sample configuration space much more quickly and efficiently than a single physical trajectory would. These are known as enhanced sampling methods. OpenMM offers several that you can choose from. They are briefly described here. Consult the API documentation for more detailed descriptions and example code.

Simulated Tempering

Simulated tempering[32] involves making frequent changes to the temperature of a simulation. At high temperatures, it can quickly cross energy barriers and explore a wide range of configurations. At lower temperatures, it more thoroughly explores each local region of configuration space. This is a powerful method to speed up sampling when you do not know in advance what motions you want to sample. Simply specify the range of temperatures to simulate and the algorithm handles everything for you mostly automatically.

Metadynamics

Metadynamics[33] is used when you do know in advance what motions you want to sample. You specify one or more collective variables, and the algorithm adds a biasing potential to make the simulation explore a wide range of values for those variables. It does this by periodically adding “bumps” to the biasing potential at the current values of the collective variables. This encourages the simulation to move away from regions it has already explored and sample a wide range of values. At the end of the simulation, the biasing potential can be used to calculate the free energy of the system as a function of the collective variables.

Accelerated Molecular Dynamics (aMD)

aMD[34] is another method that can be used when you do not know in advance what motions you want to accelerate. It alters the potential energy surface by adding a “boost” potential whenever the potential energy is below a threshold. This makes local minima shallower and allows more frequent transitions between them. The boost can be applied to the total potential energy, to just a subset of interactions (typically the dihedral torsions), or both. There are separate integrator classes for each of these options: AMDIntegrator, AMDForceGroupIntegrator, and DualAMDIntegrator.