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    Nonadiabatic Molecular Dynamics on Real-Time Excited-State Surfaces via Machine Learning Hamiltonians

    Changwei Zhang1, Yang Zhong1, Zhi-Guo Tao1, Yingzhou Li2, Zhenggang Lan3, Oleg V. Prezhdo4, Xin-Gao Gong1, Weibin Chu1,*, and Hongjun Xiang1,†

    • 1Key Laboratory of Computational Physical Sciences (Ministry of Education), Institute of Computational Physical Sciences, State Key Laboratory of Surface Physics, and Department of Physics, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200433, China
    • 2School of Mathematical Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200433, China
    • 3SCNU Environmental Research Institute, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Chemical Pollution and Environmental Safety and MOE Key Laboratory of Environmental Theoretical Chemistry, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, 510006, China
    • 4Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico, 87106, USA

    • *Contact author: wbchu@fudan.edu.cn
    • †Contact author: hxiang@fudan.edu.cn

    Phys. Rev. Lett. 137, 076905 – Published 14 August, 2026

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/9wbw-h87d

    Abstract

    Simulating the coupled, nonequilibrium dynamics of electrons and nuclei is a central challenge in chemistry, physics, and materials science, governing phenomena from photocatalysis to quantum information. The primary bottleneck has been the lack of a general, accurate, and efficient method for modeling the complete excited-state landscape: the potential energy surfaces, forces, and nonadiabatic couplings for multiple electronic states. While machine learning has revolutionized ground-state simulations and shown promise for excited states in molecules, a unified framework that solves the complete multistate problem for general condensed matter systems has remained elusive. Here, we introduce on-the-fly neural network nonadiabatic molecular dynamics (NAMD), a machine learning framework that makes on-the-fly NAMD in solids a reality. By employing an equivariant neural network to predict the system Hamiltonian, the framework delivers excited-state energies, forces, and nonadiabatic coupling vectors at a fraction of the cost of ab initio calculations. Crucially, it allows simulations with hybrid functional accuracy, a level of approach previously inaccessible for NAMD. We showcase its capabilities with three topical examples: correcting order-of-magnitude errors in carrier dynamics predicted by conventional procedure in a MoS2/WS2 heterostructure, simulating previously inaccessible photoinduced ferroelectric switching, and capturing real-time polaron formation in TiO2 at the hybrid-functional level. On-the-fly neural network NAMD moves beyond the limitations of equilibrium theory, establishing a new paradigm for the predictive, first-principles design of materials operating far from equilibrium.

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