RANDOM_SEED

From VASP Wiki

RANDOM_SEED = [integer][integer][integer]
Default: RANDOM_SEED = based on the system clock 

Description: RANDOM_SEED specifies the seed of the random-number generator (compile VASP with -Dtbdyn).


The random-number generator (RNG) generates a sequence of random numbers for molecular-dynamics simulations for example to initialize atomic velocities and for the Andersen thermostat (MDALGO=1 | 11). The seed for the RNG determines the trajectory a molecular-dynamics simulation takes. Set the RANDOM_SEED tag to reproduce a previously performed calculation. The three integers of RANDOM_SEED must fulfill these conditions:

0 <= RANDOM_SEED(1) < 900000000
0 <= RANDOM_SEED(2) < 1000000
0 <= RANDOM_SEED(3)

A typical input for the RANDOM_SEED looks like this:

RANDOM_SEED =         248489752                0                0

The initial value of RANDOM_SEED and the value after each MD step are written to the REPORT file.

Tip: The random seed is used to improve reproducibility of exact numbers during every step. If the time-averaged results depend on the random seed, the ensemble is not big enough, i.e., the molecular-dynamics simulation time is too short.

Related tags and articles

IBRION, MDALGO

Examples that use this tag