English

VibroML: an automated toolkit for high-throughput vibrational analysis and dynamic instability remediation of crystalline materials using machine-learned potentials

Materials Science 2026-05-01 v1 Artificial Intelligence Machine Learning Computational Physics

Abstract

While machine-learned interatomic potentials (MLIPs) accelerate phonon dispersion calculations, merely identifying dynamical instabilities in computationally predicted materials is insufficient; automated pathways to resolve them are required. We introduce VibroML, an open-source Python toolkit driven by foundational MLIPs that shifts the paradigm from stability verification to automated structural remediation. VibroML employs an energy-guided genetic algorithm that vastly outperforms traditional soft-mode following, efficiently navigating the potential energy surface to uncover diverse, dynamically stable polymorphs. As 0 K harmonic stability does not guarantee macroscopic viability, an automated molecular dynamics workflow evaluates finite-temperature structural retention. VibroML also couples with ProtoCSP, our combinatorial structure prediction engine, to stabilize frustrated crystal topologies via targeted alloying, successfully rescuing functional perovskite networks like Cs2_2KInI6_6 and KTaSe3_3. Demonstrating broader applicability, we mined the Alexandria database -- where ~50% of quaternary and 99.5% of quinary elemental combinations lack any structural entries -- to identify thousands of abandoned, high-symmetry stoichiometries. Deploying ProtoCSP's "cold start" retrieval and VibroML's evolutionary search on a sample, we successfully identified dynamically stable low-symmetry candidates. Through integrated structural remediation, thermal validation, and systematic compositional exploration, VibroML enables a comprehensive deep-screening approach, yielding physically sound structural propositions that far surpass standard high-throughput workflows.

Cite

@article{arxiv.2604.27685,
  title  = {VibroML: an automated toolkit for high-throughput vibrational analysis and dynamic instability remediation of crystalline materials using machine-learned potentials},
  author = {Rogério Almeida Gouvêa and Gian-Marco Rignanese},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2604.27685},
  year   = {2026}
}