We note that since k B T /r 3 c = RT /N A r 3 c ≈ 2.3 × 10 7 Pa at T = 298 K, in real units the operating pressure 23.7 k B T /r 3 c ≈ 0.54 GPa . This is much larger than atmospheric pressure (100 kPa). We accept this, noting that unlike typical real liquids, there is no cohesive contribution to the interparticle forces in DPD to reduce the 'overpressure'.