comment was removed at 8780cd8 but mistakenly not added somewhere else

src/REPLICA/bosonic_exchange.cpp

@@ -381,6 +381,18 @@ void BosonicExchange::spring_force_interior_bead(double **f) const
 
 double BosonicExchange::prim_estimator()
 {
+  // In the "reduced-beta convention" [e.g. in J. Chem. Phys. 133, 124104 (2010); also J. Chem. Phys. 74, 4078-4095 (1981)],
+  // the Boltzmann exponents have the form exp[-(beta/P)H], where H is the classical Hamiltonian of the
+  // ring polymers. This results in a canonical distribution at P times the physical temperature.
+  // In contrast, the "physical-beta convention" [e.g. in J. Chem. Phys. 99, 2796-2808 (1993)] uses weights of the form exp(-beta*H),
+  // such that the temperature of the canonical ensemble coincides with the physical temperature.
+  // Notably, the classical Hamiltonians of the two conventions differ, with the spring constant
+  // in the reduced-beta convention being P times larger than that in the physical-beta convention. Additionally, the reduced-beta convention
+  // lacks a 1/P prefactor in front of the external potential. The Hamiltonians of the two conventions are related through
+  // H_physical = H_reduced / P. Note however that the expressions for the various estimators are unaffected by this choice,
+  // so as the algorithm for bosonic exchange. The code below was designed to be compatible with both conventions,
+  // and the choice of convention only affects a single calculation within it.
+  // Setting the following boolian variable to false amounts to adopting the reduced-beta convention.
   double convention_correction = (physical_beta_convention ? 1 : 1.0 / np);
 
   // Adds the contribution of an interior spring, which is the same as for distinguishable particles.