Variational path sampling of rare dynamical events

Abstract

This article reviews the concepts and methods of variational path sampling. These methods allow computational studies of rare events in systems driven arbitrarily far from equilibrium. Based upon a statistical mechanics of trajectory space and leveraging the theory of large deviations, they provide a perspective with which dynamical phenomena can be studied with the same types of ensemble reweighting ideas that have been used for static equilibrium properties. Applications to chemical, material, and biophysical systems are highlighted.