Analysis of the kinetic energy functional in the generalized gradient approximation

Kohn-Sham accuracy from orbital-free density functional theory via Δ-machine learning

We present a Δ-machine learning model for obtaining Kohn-Sham accuracy from orbital-free density functional theory (DFT) calculations. In particular, we employ a machine-learned force field (MLFF) scheme based on the kernel method to capture the difference between Kohn-Sham and orbital-free DFT energies/forces. We implement this model in the context of on-the-fly molecular dynamics simulations and study its accuracy, performance, and sensitivity to parameters for representative systems. We find that the formalism not only improves the accuracy of Thomas-Fermi-von Weizsäcker orbital-free energies and forces by more than two orders of magnitude but is also more accurate than MLFFs based solely on Kohn-Sham DFT while being more efficient and less sensitive to model parameters. We apply the framework to study the structure of molten Al0.88Si0.12, the results suggesting no aggregation of Si atoms, in agreement with a previous Kohn-Sham study performed at an order of magnitude smaller length and time scales.

Variational principle to regularize machine-learned density functionals: The non-interacting kinetic-energy functional

Practical density functional theory (DFT) owes its success to the groundbreaking work of Kohn and Sham that introduced the exact calculation of the non-interacting kinetic energy of the electrons using an auxiliary mean-field system. However, the full power of DFT will not be unleashed until the exact relationship between the electron density and the non-interacting kinetic energy is found. Various attempts have been made to approximate this functional, similar to the exchange-correlation functional, with much less success due to the larger contribution of kinetic energy and its more non-local nature. In this work, we propose a new and efficient regularization method to train density functionals based on deep neural networks, with particular interest in the kinetic-energy functional. The method is tested on (effectively) one-dimensional systems, including the hydrogen chain, non-interacting electrons, and atoms of the first two periods, with excellent results. For atomic systems, the generalizability of the regularization method is demonstrated by training also an exchange-correlation functional, and the contrasting nature of the two functionals is discussed from a machine-learning perspective.

Orbital-Free Density Functional Theory: An Attractive Electronic Structure Method for Large-Scale First-Principles Simulations

Kohn-Sham Density Functional Theory (KSDFT) is the most widely used electronic structure method in chemistry, physics, and materials science, with thousands of calculations cited annually. This ubiquity is rooted in the favorable accuracy vs cost balance of KSDFT. Nonetheless, the ambitions and expectations of researchers for use of KSDFT in predictive simulations of large, complicated molecular systems are confronted with an intrinsic computational cost-scaling challenge. Particularly evident in the context of first-principles molecular dynamics, the challenge is the high cost-scaling associated with the computation of the Kohn-Sham orbitals. Orbital-free DFT (OFDFT), as the name suggests, circumvents entirely the explicit use of those orbitals. Without them, the structural and algorithmic complexity of KSDFT simplifies dramatically and near-linear scaling with system size irrespective of system state is achievable. Thus, much larger system sizes and longer simulation time scales (compared to conventional KSDFT) become accessible; hence, new chemical phenomena and new materials can be explored. In this review, we introduce the historical contexts of OFDFT, its theoretical basis, and the challenge of realizing its promise via approximate kinetic energy density functionals (KEDFs). We review recent progress on that challenge for an array of KEDFs, such as one-point, two-point, and machine-learnt, as well as some less explored forms. We emphasize use of exact constraints and the inevitability of design choices. Then, we survey the associated numerical techniques and implemented algorithms specific to OFDFT. We conclude with an illustrative sample of applications to showcase the power of OFDFT in materials science, chemistry, and physics.