AIMNet Machine Learned Interatomic Potential
Project description
- Documentation: https://isayevlab.github.io/aimnetcentral/
- Repository: https://github.com/isayevlab/aimnetcentral/
AIMNet2 : ML Interatomic Potential for Fast and Accurate Atomistic Simulations
AIMNet2 is a neural network interatomic potential that predicts energies, forces, atomic charges, stress tensors, and Hessians for organic and elemental-organic molecules. It supports 14 elements (H, B, C, N, O, F, Si, P, S, Cl, As, Se, Br, I) with specialized models for open-shell chemistry and palladium catalysis.
Key Features
- Accurate for neutral, charged, organic, and elemental-organic systems
- GPU-accelerated with NVIDIA Warp CUDA kernels and
torch.compilesupport - ASE, PySisyphus, and TorchSim calculator interfaces
- Periodic boundary conditions with DSF and Ewald Coulomb methods
- DFT-D3 dispersion corrections (BJ damping, GPU-accelerated)
- Adaptive neighbor lists with automatic dense/sparse mode selection
Installation
Requirements
- Python 3.11+
- PyTorch 2.8+ (pytorch.org)
Using pip
# Install PyTorch first (with CUDA if you have a GPU)
pip install torch --index-url https://download.pytorch.org/whl/cu126
# Install AIMNet2
pip install aimnet
Using uv (recommended for fast installs)
# Install PyTorch + AIMNet2
uv pip install torch --index-url https://download.pytorch.org/whl/cu126
uv pip install aimnet
Using conda/mamba
# Create environment with PyTorch from conda-forge
mamba create -n aimnet python=3.12 pytorch pytorch-cuda=12.6 -c pytorch -c nvidia -c conda-forge
mamba activate aimnet
# Install AIMNet2 via pip (not yet on conda-forge)
pip install aimnet
Optional Extras
pip install "aimnet[ase]" # ASE calculator interface
pip install "aimnet[pysis]" # PySisyphus reaction path calculator
pip install "aimnet[sella]" # Sella TS optimizer (includes ASE)
pip install "aimnet[hf]" # Hugging Face Hub model loading
pip install "aimnet[torchsim,ase]" # TorchSim integration (Python 3.12+)
pip install "aimnet[train]" # Training pipeline (W&B, ignite)
pip install "aimnet[ase,pysis,sella,hf,torchsim,train]" # All extras available on this Python
Development Setup
git clone https://github.com/isayevlab/aimnetcentral.git
cd aimnetcentral
make install # Creates venv, installs all extras + dev tools
source .venv/bin/activate
Available Models
| Model | Elements | Description |
|---|---|---|
aimnet2 |
H, B, C, N, O, F, Si, P, S, Cl, As, Se, Br, I | wB97M-D3 (default) |
aimnet2-2025 |
H, B, C, N, O, F, Si, P, S, Cl, As, Se, Br, I | B97-3c + improved intermolecular (recommended) |
aimnet2-b973c |
H, B, C, N, O, F, Si, P, S, Cl, As, Se, Br, I | B97-3c (superseded by aimnet2-2025) |
aimnet2-nse |
H, B, C, N, O, F, Si, P, S, Cl, As, Se, Br, I | Open-shell / radical chemistry |
aimnet2-pd |
H, B, C, N, O, F, Si, P, S, Cl, Se, Br, Pd, I | Pd systems with CPCM solvation (THF) |
aimnet2-rxn |
H, C, N, O | Reactive chemistry (TS, NEB, IRC) |
Each model has 4 ensemble members (0-3). Models are auto-downloaded on first use. Previously published aliases (aimnet2_2025, aimnet2nse, aimnet2pd, etc.) continue to resolve.
Quick Start
Core Calculator
from aimnet.calculators import AIMNet2Calculator
calc = AIMNet2Calculator("aimnet2")
results = calc(
{"coord": coordinates, "numbers": atomic_numbers, "charge": 0.0},
forces=True,
)
print(results["energy"], results["forces"])
ASE Integration
from ase.io import read
from aimnet.calculators import AIMNet2ASE
atoms = read("molecule.xyz")
atoms.calc = AIMNet2ASE("aimnet2", charge=0)
energy = atoms.get_potential_energy()
forces = atoms.get_forces()
Periodic Systems
data = {
"coord": coordinates,
"numbers": atomic_numbers,
"charge": 0.0,
"cell": cell_vectors, # 3x3 array in Angstrom
}
results = calc(data, forces=True, stress=True)
# Configure Coulomb method for periodic systems
calc.set_lrcoulomb_method("dsf", cutoff=15.0, dsf_alpha=0.2)
# or Ewald summation with the default nvalchemiops accuracy
calc.set_lrcoulomb_method("ewald", ewald_accuracy=1e-6)
Performance: torch.compile
For molecular dynamics, compile_model=True gives ~5x speedup (requires CUDA):
calc = AIMNet2Calculator("aimnet2", compile_model=True)
Output Reference
| Key | Shape | Description |
|---|---|---|
energy |
(,) or (B,) |
Total energy in eV |
charges |
(N,) or (B, N) |
Atomic partial charges in e |
forces |
(N, 3) or (B, N, 3) |
Atomic forces in eV/A (if requested) |
hessian |
(N, 3, N, 3) |
Second derivatives (if requested) |
stress |
(3, 3) |
Stress tensor for PBC (if requested) |
Loading from Hugging Face
AIMNet2 models are available on Hugging Face. Install the optional HF extras:
pip install "aimnet[hf]"
from aimnet.calculators import AIMNet2Calculator
# Load from Hugging Face — downloads and caches automatically
calc = AIMNet2Calculator("isayevlab/aimnet2-wb97m-d3")
# All available HF repos:
# isayevlab/aimnet2-wb97m-d3 general purpose (wB97M-D3)
# isayevlab/aimnet2-2025 improved intermolecular (B97-3c)
# isayevlab/aimnet2-nse open-shell / radicals
# isayevlab/aimnet2-pd palladium chemistry
# isayevlab/aimnet2-rxn reactive chemistry / TS / IRC
# Load a specific ensemble member (0–3) or a pinned revision:
calc = AIMNet2Calculator("isayevlab/aimnet2-wb97m-d3", ensemble_member=2)
calc = AIMNet2Calculator("isayevlab/aimnet2-wb97m-d3", revision="v1.0")
# Private repos — pass a HF token:
calc = AIMNet2Calculator("myorg/private-model", token="hf_...")
# Local directory in HF repo layout (config.json + ensemble_N.safetensors):
calc = AIMNet2Calculator("/path/to/local/repo")
# Existing registry aliases still work without any HF deps:
calc = AIMNet2Calculator("aimnet2")
Try the interactive demo!
How It Works
Architecture
AIMNet2 uses a message-passing neural network with iterative charge equilibration:
- AEVSV - Gaussian basis expansion of pairwise distances and displacement vectors
- ConvSV - Sparse indexed convolution combining atomic features with local geometry (GPU-accelerated via NVIDIA Warp kernels)
- MLP passes - Iterative refinement with charge prediction and Coulomb-aware features
- Output modules - Energy, forces (via autograd), charges, stress, Hessian
Dense vs Sparse Mode
The calculator automatically selects the optimal strategy:
- Dense mode (O(N^2)) - Small molecules on GPU. Fully connected graph, maximum parallelism.
- Sparse mode (O(N)) - Large systems or CPU. Adaptive neighbor lists with ~75% buffer utilization, 16-byte aligned allocations, automatic overflow handling.
The threshold is configurable via nb_threshold (default: 120 atoms).
Long-Range Corrections
- DFT-D3 dispersion with BJ damping (GPU-accelerated via nvalchemiops)
- Coulomb: Simple (all-pairs), DSF (damped-shifted force), or Ewald summation
- Long-range modules support inference forces and stress where documented; DSF and DFT-D3 use specialized backend paths, with Hessian support limited to the documented pure-torch DFT-D3 path
Training
pip install "aimnet[train]"
aimnet train --config my_config.yaml --model aimnet2.yaml
See the training documentation for dataset preparation, configuration, and W&B integration.
Development
make check # Linters and code quality (ruff, markdownlint, prettier)
make test # Tests with coverage (pytest, parallel)
make docs # Build and serve documentation (mkdocs)
make docs-test # Validate docs build
Citation
If you use AIMNet2 in your research, please cite:
AIMNet2:
@article{aimnet2,
title={AIMNet2: A Neural Network Potential to Meet Your Neutral, Charged, Organic, and Elemental-Organic Needs},
author={Anstine, Dylan M and Zubatyuk, Roman and Isayev, Olexandr},
journal={Chemical Science},
volume={16},
pages={10228--10244},
year={2025},
doi={10.1039/D4SC08572H}
}
AIMNet2-NSE: ChemRxiv preprint
AIMNet2-Pd: ChemRxiv preprint
License
See LICENSE file for details.
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