From microscopic simulations to macroscopic material behavior Original Research Article

One challenge in computational physics is to bridge the gap between microscopic, “atomistic” sizes and the macroscopic length scale of experimental observation. First, an efficient algorithm for hard sphere molecular dynamics is presented, allowing for many-particle simulations of, e.g., granular systems. In the next step, a “micro–macro” transition is introduced which enables continuum quantities like the stress tensor to be accessed. The approach is used for dense and dissipative gases but can also be applied to more complicated systems like membranes.