Solid-angle based nearest-neighbor algorithm adapted for systems with low coordination number

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Ulugöl, Alptuğ, Smallenburg, Frank, Filion, Laura
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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author Ulugöl, Alptuğ
Smallenburg, Frank
Filion, Laura
author_facet Ulugöl, Alptuğ
Smallenburg, Frank
Filion, Laura
contents Nearest-neighbor identification is central to the analysis of local structure in condensed matter systems. The solid-angle-based nearest-neighbor (SANN) algorithm is widely used offering a parameter-free and computationally efficient alternative to cutoff- or Voronoi-based methods. Unfortunately, however, in systems with low coordination numbers, SANN tends to identify many particles as neighbors that are outside the nearest neighbor shell. Here, we propose a solution to this problem. Specifically, we propose a geometric modification, the ``inscribed circle modification'', that resolves systematic overcounting in low-coordination lattices without introducing free parameters. We benchmark the modified algorithm (mSANN) against Voronoi and the original SANN algorithm in crystalline, quasicrystalline, and heterogeneous systems, and demonstrate that it provides robust and low-cost neighbor identification across both two and three dimensions.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2511_10748
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Solid-angle based nearest-neighbor algorithm adapted for systems with low coordination number
Ulugöl, Alptuğ
Smallenburg, Frank
Filion, Laura
Soft Condensed Matter
Materials Science
Statistical Mechanics
Nearest-neighbor identification is central to the analysis of local structure in condensed matter systems. The solid-angle-based nearest-neighbor (SANN) algorithm is widely used offering a parameter-free and computationally efficient alternative to cutoff- or Voronoi-based methods. Unfortunately, however, in systems with low coordination numbers, SANN tends to identify many particles as neighbors that are outside the nearest neighbor shell. Here, we propose a solution to this problem. Specifically, we propose a geometric modification, the ``inscribed circle modification'', that resolves systematic overcounting in low-coordination lattices without introducing free parameters. We benchmark the modified algorithm (mSANN) against Voronoi and the original SANN algorithm in crystalline, quasicrystalline, and heterogeneous systems, and demonstrate that it provides robust and low-cost neighbor identification across both two and three dimensions.
title Solid-angle based nearest-neighbor algorithm adapted for systems with low coordination number
topic Soft Condensed Matter
Materials Science
Statistical Mechanics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2511.10748