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Machine Learning Science and Technology

A Three-Head Hamiltonian-consistent neural network for nonadiabatic time-dependent density functional theory dynamics

Likun Wang, Jianing Zhou, Linjing Li, Daniel Dajun Zeng

Published Aug 1, 2026• 0 citations
Publisher

Abstract

Abstract The exact exchange-correlation potential v xc in time-dependent density functional theory is a causal functional of the full density history, a dependence that widely used adiabatic approximations discard. We ask whether this history dependence can be approximated by a learnable finite-dimensional memory state while retaining a Hamiltonian-consistent description of the Kohn–Sham phase-space dynamics. To this end, we propose a Three-Head neural architecture consisting of a Hamiltonian dynamics head that induces a symplectic vector field from a parameterized scalar energy, a direct vector field head that supplies a flexible correction pathway, and a memory XC potential head that reconstructs v xc from density history through a recurrent memory module with cross-window carry. We evaluate the model on two physically distinct benchmarks. On the one-dimensional two-electron electron–hydrogen scattering model, it attains the lowest density reconstruction error among all baselines over the full propagation window, by the largest margin during the pre-collision approach phase, and is the only model that recovers the peak-and-step structure of v xc in the subsequent strongly nonadiabatic scattering window. On a one-dimensional helium Rabi oscillation model under strong-field driving, it reduces the correlation-potential reconstruction error by roughly an order of magnitude relative to all adiabatic baselines at every driven phase of both the Rabi and optical cycles, including the adiabatically exact ground-state limit, which shows that the residual error along the adiabatic axis is controlled by the missing density history rather than by the accuracy of the time-local map. Ablation studies show that structured dynamics and memory-based potential learning are mutually supportive rather than separable.

DOI
10.1088/2632-2153/ae9af1

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Abstract The exact exchange-correlation potential v xc in time-dependent density functional theory is a causal functional of the full density history, a dependence that widely used adiabatic approximations discard. We ask whether this history dependence can be approximated by a learnable finite-dimensional memory state while retaining a Hamiltonian-consistent description of the Kohn–Sham phase-space dynamics. To this end, we propose a Three-Head neural architecture consisting of a Hamiltonian dynamics head that induces a symplectic vector field from a parameterized scalar energy, a direct vector field head that supplies a flexible correction pathway, and a memory XC potential head that reconstructs v xc from density history through a recurrent memory module with cross-window carry. We evaluate the model on two physically distinct benchmarks. On the one-dimensional two-electron electron–hydrogen scattering model, it attains the lowest density reconstruction error among all baselines over the full propagation window, by the largest margin during the pre-collision approach phase, and is the only model that recovers the peak-and-step structure of v xc in the subsequent strongly nonadiabatic scattering window. On a one-dimensional helium Rabi oscillation model under strong-field driving, it reduces the correlation-potential reconstruction error by roughly an order of magnitude relative to all adiabatic baselines at every driven phase of both the Rabi and optical cycles, including the adiabatically exact ground-state limit, which shows that the residual error along the adiabatic axis is controlled by the missing density history rather than by the accuracy of the time-local map. Ablation studies show that structured dynamics and memory-based potential learning are mutually supportive rather than separable.
Time-dependent density functional theory, though exact in theory, is in practice applied in an adiabatic approximation using exchange-correlation functionals with only local temporal dependence. Simultaneously, the exact correlation potential formally depends on, among other quantities, the time-history of electron densities. Here we develop a framework to learn neural network models of correlation functionals that feature explicit memory-dependence. Our framework includes two different approaches, both linked through their use of adjoint-based optimization. One approach decouples the learning of the functional from inversion to find ground truth values of the correlation potential. The other approach learns the functional directly without requiring inversion. We apply these methods to modeling the electron dynamics of two-electron systems in two spatial dimensions. In both cases, our methods yield correlation functionals with low test set propagation error, outperforming standard local density and generalized gradient approximation functionals by one to two orders of magnitude. Overall, our framework points at one strategy to move beyond the adiabatic approximation and develop memory-dependent correlation functionals that yield accurate propagation for excited state and/or non-equilibrium dynamics.
We address and quantify the role of nonadiabaticity (``memory effects'') in the exchange-correlation (xc) functional of time-dependent density functional theory (TDDFT) for describing nonlinear dynamics of many-body systems. Time-dependent resonant processes are particularly challenging for available TDDFT approximations, due to their strong nonlinear and nonadiabatic character. None of the known approximate density functionals are able to cope with this class of problems in a satisfactory manner. In this work we look at the prototypical example of the resonant processes by considering Rabi oscillations within the exactly soluble two-site Hubbard model. We construct the exact adiabatic xc functional and show that (i) it does not reproduce correctly resonant Rabi dynamics, and (ii) there is a sizable nonadiabatic contribution to the exact xc potential, which turns out to be small only at the beginning and at the end of the Rabi cycle when the ground-state population is dominant. We then propose a ``two-level'' approximation for the time-dependent xc potential which can capture Rabi dynamics in the two-site problem. It works well both for resonant and for detuned Rabi oscillations and becomes essentially exact in the linear response regime.
Most applications of time-dependent density-functional theory (TDDFT) use the adiabatic local-density approximation (ALDA) for the dynamical exchange-correlation potential V(xc)(r,t). An exact (i.e., nonadiabatic) extension of the ground-state LDA into the dynamical regime leads to a V(xc)(r,t) with a memory, which causes the electron dynamics to become dissipative. To illustrate and explain this nonadiabatic behavior, this paper studies the dynamics of two interacting electrons on a two-dimensional quantum strip of finite size, comparing TDDFT within and beyond the ALDA with numerical solutions of the two-electron time-dependent Schrodinger equation. It is shown explicitly how dissipation arises through multiple particle-hole excitations, and how the nonadiabatic extension of the ALDA fails for finite systems but becomes correct in the thermodynamic limit.
Most present applications of time-dependent density functional theory use adiabatic functionals, i.e., the effective potential at time t is determined solely by the density at the same time. This paper discusses a method that aims to go beyond this approximation, by incorporating "memory" effects: the derived exchange-correlation potential will depend not only on present densities but also on the past. In order to ensure the potentials are causal, we formulate the action on the Keldysh contour for electrons in electromagnetic fields, from which we derive suitable Kohn-Sham equations. The exchange-correlation action is now a functional of the electron density and velocity field. A specific action functional is constructed which is Galilean invariant and yields a causal exchange-correlation vector potential for the Kohn-Sham equations incorporating memory effects. We show explicitly that the net exchange-correlation Lorentz force is zero. The potential is consistent with known dynamical properties of the homogeneous electron gas (in the linear response limit).
Abstract The construction of a better exchange-correlation potential in time-dependent density functional theory (TDDFT) can improve the accuracy of TDDFT calculations and provide more accurate predictions of the properties of many-electron systems. Here, we propose a machine learning method to develop the energy functional and the Kohn–Sham potential of a time-dependent Kohn–Sham (TDKS) system is proposed. The method is based on the dynamics of the Kohn–Sham system and does not require any data on the exact Kohn–Sham potential for training the model. We demonstrate the results of our method with a 1D harmonic oscillator example and a 1D two-electron example. We show that the machine-learned Kohn–Sham potential matches the exact Kohn–Sham potential in the absence of memory effect. Our method can still capture the dynamics of the Kohn–Sham system in the presence of memory effects. The machine learning method developed in this article provides insight into making better approximations of the energy functional and the Kohn–Sham potential in the TDKS system.
The exact exchange-correlation (xc) kernel ${f}_{\text{xc}}(x,{x}^{\ensuremath{'}},\ensuremath{\omega})$ of linear response time-dependent density functional theory is computed over a wide range of frequencies for three canonical one-dimensional finite systems. Methods used to ensure the numerical robustness of fxc{f}_{\text{xc}}fxc​ are set out. The frequency dependence of fxc{f}_{\text{xc}}fxc​ is found to be largely due to its analytic structure, i.e., its singularities at certain frequencies, which are required in order to capture particular transitions, including those of double excitation character. However, within the frequency range of the first few interacting excitations, fxc{f}_{\text{xc}}fxc​ is approximately $\ensuremath{\omega}$ independent, meaning the exact adiabatic approximation ${f}_{\text{xc}}(\ensuremath{\omega}=0)$ remedies the failings of the local density approximation and random phase approximation for these lowest transitions. The key differences between the exact fxc{f}_{\text{xc}}fxc​ and its common approximations are analyzed, and cannot be eliminated by exploiting the limited gauge freedom in fxc{f}_{\text{xc}}fxc​. The optical spectrum benefits from using as accurate as possible an fxc{f}_{\text{xc}}fxc​ and ground-state xc potential, while maintaining exact compatibility between the two is of less importance.