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arXiv:2511.03439

QMeCha: quantum Monte Carlo package for fermions in embedding environments

Barborini, Matteo, Charry, Jorge, Ditte, Matej, Leventis, Andronikos, Kafanas, Georgios, Tkatchenko, Alexandre

Published Nov 5, 2025• 0 citations
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Abstract

We present the first open access version of the QMeCha (Quantum MeCha) code, a quantum Monte Carlo (QMC) package developed to study many-body interactions between different types of quantum particles, with a modular and easy-to-expand structure. The present code has been built to solve the Hamiltonian of a system that can include nuclei and fermions of different mass and charge, e.g. electrons and positrons, embedded in an environment of classical charges and quantum Drude oscillators. To approximate the ground state of this many-particle operator, the code features different wavefunctions. For the fermionic particles, beyond the traditional Slater determinant, QMeCha also includes Geminal functions such as the Pfaffian, and presents different types of explicit correlation terms in the Jastrow factors. The classical point charges and quantum Drude oscillators, described through different variational ansätze, are used to model a molecular environment capable of explicitly describing dispersion, polarization, and electrostatic effects experienced by the nuclear and fermionic subsystem. To integrate these wavefunctions, efficient variational Monte Carlo and diffusion Monte Carlo protocols have been developed, together with a robust wavefunction optimization procedure that features correlated sampling.

DOI
10.48550/arxiv.2511.03439

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We present the first open access version of the QMeCha (Quantum MeCha) code, a quantum Monte Carlo (QMC) package developed to study many-body interactions between different types of quantum particles, with a modular and easy-to-expand structure. The present code has been built to solve the Hamiltonian of a system that can include nuclei and fermions of different mass and charge, e.g. electrons and positrons, embedded in an environment of classical charges and quantum Drude oscillators. To approximate the ground state of this many-particle operator, the code features different wavefunctions. For the fermionic particles, beyond the traditional Slater determinant, QMeCha also includes Geminal functions such as the Pfaffian, and presents different types of explicit correlation terms in the Jastrow factors. The classical point charges and quantum Drude oscillators, described through different variational ansätze, are used to model a molecular environment capable of explicitly describing dispersion, polarization, and electrostatic effects experienced by the nuclear and fermionic subsystem. To integrate these wavefunctions, efficient variational Monte Carlo and diffusion Monte Carlo protocols have been developed, together with a robust wavefunction optimization procedure that features correlated sampling.
We present the first open access version of the QMeCha (Quantum MeCha /'mεkə/) code, a quantum Monte Carlo package developed to study many-body interactions between different types of quantum particles, with a modular and easy-to-expand structure. QMeCha is now available under a CC BY-NC-ND license through the repository github.com/QMeCha. The present code has been developed to solve the Hamiltonian of a system that can include nuclei and fermions of different mass and charge, e.g., electrons and positrons, embedded in an environment of classical charges and quantum Drude oscillators. To approximate the ground state of this many-particle operator, the code features different wavefunctions. For the fermionic particles, beyond the traditional Slater determinant, QMeCha also includes geminal functions, such as the Pfaffian, and presents different types of explicit correlation terms in Jastrow factors. The classical point charges and quantum Drude oscillators, described through different variational Ansätze, are used to model a molecular environment capable of explicitly describing dispersion, polarization, and electrostatic effects experienced by the nuclear and fermionic subsystems. To integrate these wavefunctions, efficient variational Monte Carlo and diffusion Monte Carlo protocols have been developed, together with a robust wavefunction optimization procedure that features correlated sampling.
QMCPACK is an open source quantum Monte Carlo package for ab initio electronic structure calculations. It supports calculations of metallic and insulating solids, molecules, atoms, and some model Hamiltonians. Implemented real space quantum Monte Carlo algorithms include variational, diffusion, and reptation Monte Carlo. QMCPACK uses Slater-Jastrow type trial wavefunctions in conjunction with a sophisticated optimizer capable of optimizing tens of thousands of parameters. The orbital space auxiliary-field quantum Monte Carlo method is also implemented, enabling cross validation between different highly accurate methods. The code is specifically optimized for calculations with large numbers of electrons on the latest high performance computing architectures, including multicore central processing unit and graphical processing unit systems. We detail the program's capabilities, outline its structure, and give examples of its use in current research calculations. The package is available at http://qmcpack.org.
Electronic structure quantum Monte Carlo Quantum Monte Carlo (QMC) is an advanced simulation methodology for studies of manybody quantum systems. The QMC approaches combine analytical insights with stochastic computational techniques for efficient solution of several classes of important many-body problems such as the stationary Schrödinger equation. QMC methods of various flavors have been applied to a great variety of systems spanning continuous and lattice quantum models, molecular and condensed systems, BEC-BCS ultracold condensates, nuclei, etc. In this review, we focus on the electronic structure QMC, i.e., methods relevant for systems described by the electron-ion Hamiltonians. Some of the key QMC achievements include direct treatment of electron correlation, accuracy in predicting energy differences and favorable scaling in the system size. Calculations of atoms, molecules, clusters and solids have demonstrated QMC applicability to real systems with hundreds of electrons while providing 90-95% of the correlation energy and energy differences typically within a few percent of experiments. Advances in accuracy beyond these limits are hampered by the so-called fixed-node approximation which is used to circumvent the notorious fermion sign problem. Many-body nodes of fermion states and their properties have therefore become one of the important topics for further progress in predictive power and efficiency of QMC calculations. Some of our recent results on the wave function nodes and related nodal domain topologies will be briefly reviewed. This includes analysis of few-electron systems and descriptions of exact and approximate nodes using transformations and projections of the highly-dimensional nodal hypersurfaces into the 3D space. Studies of fermion nodes offer new insights into topological properties of eigenstates such as explicit demonstrations that generic fermionic ground states exhibit the minimal number of two nodal domains. Recently proposed trial wave functions based on Pfaffians with pairing orbitals are presented and their nodal properties are tested in calculations of first row atoms and molecules. Finally, backflow "dressed" coordinates are introduced as another possibility for capturing correlation effects and for decreasing the fixed-node bias.
We review recent advances in the capabilities of the open source ab initio Quantum Monte Carlo (QMC) package QMCPACK and the workflow tool Nexus used for greater efficiency and reproducibility. The auxiliary field QMC (AFQMC) implementation has been greatly expanded to include k-point symmetries, tensor-hypercontraction, and accelerated graphical processing unit (GPU) support. These scaling and memory reductions greatly increase the number of orbitals that can practically be included in AFQMC calculations, increasing the accuracy. Advances in real space methods include techniques for accurate computation of bandgaps and for systematically improving the nodal surface of ground state wavefunctions. Results of these calculations can be used to validate application of more approximate electronic structure methods, including GW and density functional based techniques. To provide an improved foundation for these calculations, we utilize a new set of correlation-consistent effective core potentials (pseudopotentials) that are more accurate than previous sets; these can also be applied in quantum-chemical and other many-body applications, not only QMC. These advances increase the efficiency, accuracy, and range of properties that can be studied in both molecules and materials with QMC and QMCPACK.
We describe a new open-source Python-based package for high accuracy correlated electron calculations using quantum Monte Carlo (QMC) in real space: PyQMC. PyQMC implements modern versions of QMC algorithms in an accessible format, enabling algorithmic development and easy implementation of complex workflows. Tight integration with the PySCF environment allows for a simple comparison between QMC calculations and other many-body wave function techniques, as well as access to high accuracy trial wave functions.
mVMC (many-variable Variational Monte Carlo) is an open-source software package based on the variational Monte Carlo method applicable for a wide range of Hamiltonians for interacting fermion systems. In mVMC, we introduce more than ten thousands variational parameters and simultaneously optimize them by using the stochastic reconfiguration (SR) method. In this paper, we explain basics and user interfaces of mVMC. By using mVMC, users can perform the calculation by preparing only one input file of about ten lines for widely studied quantum lattice models, and can also perform it for general Hamiltonians by preparing several additional input files. We show the benchmark results of mVMC for the Hubbard model, the Heisenberg model, and the Kondo-lattice model. These benchmark results demonstrate that mVMC provides ground-state and low-energy-excited-state wave functions for interacting fermion systems with high accuracy. Program title: mVMC Program Files doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.17632/xhgyp6ncvt.1 Licensing provisions: GNU General Public License version 3 Programming language: C External routines/libraries: MPI, BLAS, LAPACK, Pfapack, ScaLAPACK (optional) Nature of problem: Physical properties (such as the charge/spin structure factors) of strongly correlated electrons at zero temperature. Solution method: Application software based on the variational Monte Carlo method for quantum lattice model such as the Hubbard model, the Heisenberg model and the Kondo model. Unusual features: It is possible to perform the highly-accurate calculations for ground states in a wide range of theoretical Hamiltonians in quantum many-body systems. In addition to the conventional orders such as magnetic and/or charge orders, user can treat the anisotropic superconductivities within the same framework. This flexibility is the main advantage of mVMC.