Generic Sampling Strategies for Monte Carlo Simulation of Phase Behaviour Wilding

Wilding Generic Sampling Strategies for Monte Carlo Simulation of Phase Behaviour, Lect. Notes Phys. 703, 39—66 (2006) 

3 Prom Paths to Wormholes Phase Switch Monte Carlo. 60 

The phenomenon of phase behavior is the organization of many-body systems into forms which reflect the interplay between constraints imposed macro-scopically (through the prevailing external conditions) and microscopically (through the interactions between the elementary constituents). In this article we focus on generic computational strategies needed to address the problems of phase behavior, or more specifically the task of mapping equilibrium phase boundaries. 

Rather than attempt to perform an exhaustive description of the large number of contemporary MC methods for dealing with the problem of phase behaviour, we shall instead attempt to survey the rather more limited portfolio of inter-phase pathways and sampling techniques on which most methods are based. A few illustrative examples are provided, taken mainly from the author s own work. 

Consider a system of structure-less, classical particles, characterized macro-scopically by a set of thermod3mamic coordinates (such as the temperature T) and microscopically by a set of model parameters which prescribe their interactions. The two sets of parameters play a strategically similar role it is therefore convenient to denote them, collectively, by a single label, c (for conditions or constraints or control parameters in thermod3mamic-and-model space). 

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