arXiv Machine Learning
Oct 8

Physics-Aligned Electronic Ground-State Learning Improves Generalization

The paper introduces Physics‑Aligned Electronic Ground‑State Models (GSMs) that sit between machine‑learned interatomic potentials and Kohn‑Sham density functional theory in terms of computational cost and accuracy. By aligning GSM learning objectives with KS‑DFT equations and enforcing physical constraints, the authors develop new training techniques—OrthoNormal‑Loss (ON‑Loss), Grassmann Restricted Occupied‑Orbital Training (GROOT), and Residual Optimal‑gauge Conditioning‑aware KS‑Eq. Training (ROCKET)—which dramatically reduce energy and force errors in size‑extrapolation tests from QM9 to QM40. The models also achieve near‑chemical‑accuracy predictions on reactive chemistry benchmarks and demonstrate efficient label‑free self‑consistency fine‑tuning. whyItMatters":"The work advances the cost‑accuracy frontier for electronic structure predictions, enabling more reliable out‑of‑distribution generalization in drug and material discovery."

By Eike S. Eberhard, Xaver Kainz, Viktor Kotsev, Abdulrahman Aldossary, Stephan G\"unnemann