The minimum energy path (MEP) is the most probable transition path that connects two equilibrium states of a potential energy landscape. It has been widely used to study transition mechanisms as well as transition rates in the fields of chemistry, physics, and materials science. In this paper, we derive a novel result establishing the stability of MEPs under perturbations of the energy landscape. The result also represents a crucial step towards studying the convergence of various numerical approximations of MEPs, such as the nudged elastic band and string methods.
翻译:最小能源路径(MEP)是连接潜在能源景观两个平衡状态的最可能的过渡路径,被广泛用于研究化学、物理和材料科学领域的过渡机制以及过渡率。在本文中,我们得出了在能源景观扰动下建立MEP稳定性的新结果。结果也代表着研究各种MEP数字近似值(如螺旋弹性带和弦方法)的趋同的关键一步。