Efficient determination of thermodynamic properties from a single simulation

A method for calculating the density of states of a system directly from its trajectory in phase space is described. As a specific example, the method is applied to the Monte Carlo simulation of a two‐dimensional Ising model. The energy distribution function is calculated from the density of states and the associated Helmholtz free energy per spin is calculated for various system sizes and temperatures and shown to be in excellent agreement with the exact results.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/69798/2/JCPSA6-99-10-7993-1.pd