Riemannian denoising model for molecular structure optimization with chemical accuracy.

Woo, Jeheon; Kim, Seonghwan; Kim, Jun Hyeong; Kim, Woo Youn · Nat Comput Sci · 2026

basic_science · Level V

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Abstract

Here we introduce a framework for molecular structure optimization using a denoising model on a physics-informed Riemannian manifold (R-DM). Unlike conventional approaches operating in Euclidean space, our method leverages a Riemannian metric that better aligns with molecular energy change, enabling more robust modeling of potential energy surfaces. By incorporating internal coordinates reflective of energetic properties, R-DM achieves chemical accuracy with an energy error below 1 kcal mol<sup>-1</sup>. Comparative evaluations on QM9, QM7-X and GEOM datasets demonstrate improvements in both structural and energetic accuracy, surpassing conventional Euclidean-based denoising models. This approach highlights the potential of physics-informed coordinates for tackling complex molecular optimization problems, with implications for tasks in computational chemistry and materials science.