Finite-inertia effects in Langevin dynamics of a lopsided elastic dumbbell using exponential-time differencing schemes

Abstract

Inertia effects in the Langevin dynamics of a lopsided elastic dumbbell are investigated using exponential-time-differencing (ETD) integrators for the corresponding stiff stochastic equations at small mass limit. Starting from the bead-level underdamped Langevin model, we formulate the dynamics in modal coordinates, highlighting two distinct friction scales: an additive friction $ζ_{\rm trans}=ζ_1+ζ_2$ controlling translation ($ζ_i, i=1,2$ are the friction factor on bead $i$), and an effective internal friction $1/ζ_{\rm eff}=1/ζ_1+1/ζ_2$ controlling configurational relaxation, with relaxation time $τ_R=ζ_{\rm eff}/H$ for a Hookean spring of stiffness $H$. We benchmark ETD against Euler--Maruyama and overdamped Brownian dynamics using equilibrium statistics, time-domain autocorrelations, and frequency-domain power spectra of the end-to-end vector. When time is rescaled by $τ_R$, configurational and orientational relaxation curves collapse across asymmetry ratios, showing that the dominant long-time structural dynamics remains close to the overdamped description. Inertial signatures are instead confined to short-time transients, high-frequency modifications of the configurational spectrum, and a transient coupling between translational and internal modes. This study provides a practical and accurate route for lopsided dumbbells across overdamped and weakly underdamped regimes, and clarify how mass and friction asymmetry affect the translational and internal dynamics.