  Dissipative particle dynamics (DPD) is a novel particle method for mesoscale
modeling of complex fluids. DPD particles are often thought to represent
packets of real atoms, and the physical scale probed in DPD models are
determined by the mapping of DPD variables to the corresponding physical
quantities. However, the non-uniqueness of such mapping has led to difficulties
in setting up simulations to mimic real systems and in interpreting results.
For modeling transport phenomena where thermal fluctuations are important
(e.g., fluctuating hydrodynamics), an area particularly suited for DPD method,
we propose that DPD fluid particles should be viewed as only 1) to provide a
medium in which the momentum and energy are transferred according to the
hydrodynamic laws and 2) to provide objects immersed in the DPD fluids the
proper random "kicks" such that these objects exhibit correct fluctuation
behaviors at the macroscopic scale. We show that, in such a case, the choice of
system temperature and mapping of DPD scales to physical scales are uniquely
determined by the level of coarse-graining and properties of DPD fluids. We
also verified that DPD simulation can reproduce the macroscopic effects of
thermal fluctuation in particulate suspension by showing that the Brownian
diffusion of solid particles can be computed in DPD simulations with good
accuracy.
