Zilong Yuan, Zechen Tang, Honggeng Tao, Xiaoxun Gong, Zezhou Chen, Yuxiang Wang, He Li, Yang Li, Zhiming Xu, Minghui Sun, Boheng Zhao, Chen Si, Chong Wang, Wenhui Duan, Yong Xu
Integrating essential physical priors into deep-learning first-principles methods is a critical fundamental problem. Here we demonstrate that the deep learning density functional theory Hamiltonian (DeepH) method can be substantially improved by changing the learning objective to a rotation-invariant and basis-free quantity-the real-space Kohn-Sham potential (named DeepH-R). Benefiting from the enhanced physical priors, DeepH-R achieves substantially improved prediction accuracy and generalization ability compared to previous DeepH approaches. Moreover, DeepH-R provides a more accurate and straightforward route to deep-learning density functional perturbation theory, and enables the training of foundation models of electronic structure with sub-meV accuracy, opening new opportunities for AI-driven materials discovery.