Machine-learned bond-order potential for exploring the configuration space of carbon

Construction of transferable machine-learning interatomic potentials with a minimal number of parameters is important for their general applicability. Here, we present a machine-learning interatomic potential with the functional form of the bond-order potential for comprehensive exploration over the configuration space of carbon. The physics-based design of this potential enables robust and accurate description over a wide range of the potential energy surface with a small number of parameters. We demonstrate the versatility of this potential through validations across various tasks, including phonon dispersion calculations, global structure searches for clusters, phase diagram calculations, and enthalpy-volume mappings of local minima structures. We expect that this potential can contribute to the discovery of novel carbon materials.