Antoni Wadowski | Searcharxiv

arXiv2026

Dyna-Mat: End-to-end benchmarking of foundation machine learning interatomic potentials in finite-temperature ensembles

Foundation machine learning interatomic potentials (MLIPs) are increasingly being used as drop-in replacements for first-principles calculations, enabling simulations of materials at length and time scales that were previously inaccessible. However, due to lack of ground truth data, their accuracy on structural and dynamical observables in finite thermodynamic ensembles is yet to be established. Here, we introduce Dyna-Mat-v1.0, a benchmark dataset of condensed-phase first-principles molecular dynamics trajectories designed to test foundation MLIPs at realistic finite-temperature conditions. Using this dataset, we evaluate 15 foundation MLIPs across four model tiers by comparing both single-point energy and force errors on first-principles configurations and observables generated from MLIP-driven trajectories. We find that "on average" models with lower single-point force errors also yield lower errors for structural and dynamical observables. However, there are individual systems for which low force errors lead to qualitative failures in the predicted structure. Pressure remains poorly described across most models, pointing to limitations in the density functional theory stress labels available in current large-scale training datasets. Finally, we construct an accuracy-cost Pareto frontier to identify the best trade-offs for molecular dynamics with foundation MLIPs, finding that the latest generation of cross-trained models is close to Pareto-optimal according to the accuracy metrics considered here. Overall, Dyna-Mat-v1.0 shows that end-to-end finite-temperature validation is essential for quantifying the predictive behaviour of foundation MLIPs, and provides a simple, scalable route for assessing them beyond static and harmonic benchmarks relevant to materials design.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2024

Efficient training of machine learning potentials for metallic glasses: CuZrAl validation

Interatomic potentials are key to uncovering microscopic structure-property relationships, essential for multiscale simulations and high-throughput experiments. For metallic glasses, their disordered atomic structure makes the development of potentials particularly challenging, resulting in the scarcity of chemistry-specific parametrizations for this important class of materials. We address this gap by introducing an efficient methodology to design machine learning interatomic potentials (MLIPs), benchmarked on the CuZrAl system. Using a Lennard-Jones surrogate model, swap-Monte Carlo sampling, and single-point Density Functional Theory (DFT) corrections, we capture amorphous structures spanning 14 decades of supercooling. These representative configurations, competing with the experimental time scale, enable robust model training across diverse states, while minimizing the need for extensive DFT datasets. The resulting MLIP matches the experimental data and predictions of the classical embedded atom method (EAM) for structural, dynamical, energetic, and mechanical properties. This approach offers a scalable path to develop accurate MLIPs for complex metallic glasses, including emerging multi-component and high-entropy systems.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗