Hessian Update Variants for TS Optimization

The Update keyword selects the Hessian update formula.

OPT
  TransitionState true
  Update bofill
END

Update Formulas

Update=Description
bfgsStandard BFGS (minima)
psbPowell–Symmetric–Broyden, rank-2 (TS)
msMurtagh–Sargent, rank-1 (TS, allows negative curvature)
bofillφ·PSB + (1-φ)·MS, blends PSB and MS (TS)
sr1Symmetric rank-1 (naturally indefinite)
dfpDavidon–Fletcher–Powell (positive-definite)
bfgs_powellAuto: BFGS for minima, Bofill for TS
ts-bfgsTS-BFGS: BFGS in |H| space (saddle points)

Examples

Bofill with TS search:

OPT
  TransitionState true
  Update bofill
END

Bofill with primitive internal coordinates:

OPT
  TransitionState true
  Update bofill
  Coord primitive
END

Bofill with DLC coordinates:

OPT
  TransitionState true
  Update bofill
  Coord dlc
  MaxCycle 100
END

PSB with TS search:

OPT
  TransitionState true
  Update psb
END

PSB with TRIC coordinates:

OPT
  TransitionState true
  Update psb
  Coord tric
END

MS with TS search:

OPT
  TransitionState true
  Update ms
END

BFGS/Powell mixed for minimum:

OPT
  Update bfgs_powell
END

BFGS/Powell mixed for TS (auto Bofill):

OPT
  TransitionState true
  Update bfgs_powell
END

Combined GEDIIS + Bofill for TS:

OPT
  TransitionState true
  Update bofill
  Diis true
  MaxCycle 150
END

Sella + Bofill:

OPT
  Algorithm       sella
  TransitionState true
  Update          bofill
  MaxCycle        100
END

Sella + Bofill + DLC:

OPT
  Algorithm       sella
  TransitionState true
  Update          bofill
  Coord           dlc
  MaxCycle        100
END

Notes

  • Default for Berny TS: Bofill (blends PSB and MS)
  • Default for Sella TS: TS-BFGS
  • Default for minima: MSP (Berny) or MSP/TS-BFGS (Sella)
  • Bofill is recommended for TS searches with Berny optimizer
  • TS-BFGS is default for Sella and preserves negative curvature
  • BFGS/Powell automatically selects the appropriate update