Recoil growth: An efficient simulation method for multi-polymer systems

We present a new Monte Carlo scheme for the efficient simulation of multi-p olymer systems. The method permits chains to be inserted into the system us ing a biased growth technique. The growth proceeds via the use of a retract able feeler, which probes possible pathways ahead of the growing chain. By recoiling from traps and excessively dense regions, the growth process yiel ds high success rates for both chain construction and acceptance. Extensive tests of the method using self-avoiding walks on a cubic lattice show that for long chains and at high densities it is considerably more efficient th an configurational bias Monte Carlo, of which it may be considered a genera lization. (C) 1999 American Institute of Physics. [S0021-9606(99)51406-2].