[gmx-users] Center of mass drift in interfacial systems.

[Anders Lervik]

Dear all,

I have been simulating an inhomogeneous system consisting of a membrane and
a solvent (e.g a lipid bilayer solvated in water). In these simulations, I
have noticed lateral movement in the COMs of the membrane and solvent -
they move in opposite directions such that the overall center of mass of
the system is fixed. A bit of reading on this mailing list tells me that I
should reset the center of mass of the membrane and solvent separately to
avoid this.

I just wonder what the cause of the lateral drift/movement is? Is it a
general "feature" of interfacial systems?


All the best,
Anders