Thank you again, 

<span style="color: rgb(32, 33, 36); font-family: Roboto, Arial, sans-serif; letter-spacing: 0.25px; text-wrap-mode: nowrap;">Jürg.</span><div><font color="#202124" face="Roboto, Arial, sans-serif"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.25px; text-wrap-mode: nowrap;"><br /></span></font></div><div><font color="#202124" face="Roboto, Arial, sans-serif"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.25px; text-wrap-mode: nowrap;">Best Regards,</span></font></div><div><font color="#202124" face="Roboto, Arial, sans-serif"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.25px; text-wrap-mode: nowrap;">Dobromir</span></font></div><div><font color="#202124" face="Roboto, Arial, sans-serif"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.25px; text-wrap-mode: nowrap;"><br /></span></font></div><div><font color="#202124" face="Roboto, Arial, sans-serif"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.25px; text-wrap-mode: nowrap;">  <br /></span></font><br /></div><div class="gmail_quote"><div dir="auto" class="gmail_attr">On Tuesday, February 3, 2026 at 10:35:41 AM UTC+2 Jürg Hutter wrote:<br/></div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin: 0 0 0 0.8ex; border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding-left: 1ex;">Hi
<br>
<br>I would strongly suggest to check that CP2K can correctly read your SK files.
<br>When DFTB was included in CP2K, only the files distributed with CP2K were
<br>available. Since then the DFTB community has added new functionality and
<br>parameters that are missing in CP2K.
<br>
<br>regards
<br>JH
<br>
<br>________________________________________
<br>From: <a href data-email-masked rel="nofollow">cp...@googlegroups.com</a> <<a href data-email-masked rel="nofollow">cp...@googlegroups.com</a>> on behalf of Dobromir A Kalchevski <<a href data-email-masked rel="nofollow">dobro...@gmail.com</a>>
<br>Sent: Tuesday, February 3, 2026 1:12 AM
<br>To: cp2k
<br>Subject: Re: [CP2K:22078] DFTB3 D3(BJ) GAMMA
<br>
<br>Hello,
<br>
<br>many thanx for the answers.
<br>
<br>Yes, I found the DFTB3 examples in the test files and I tried those inputs, but to no avail. I played around with some of the settings and I think I found something that works, but I'm no sure it gives the right barrier.
<br>
<br>With the settings below (the rest of the input is the same, as the uploaded in the first post) I get broken calculations - either the reagent breaks or different H atoms (one from the MM region, one from the QM) get way too close and the calculation stops:
<br>
<br>DFTB3 + D3(BJ) with default D3BJ_SCALING from the test files, no HB_SR_GAMMA (as per the test files) and no EWALD (as per the test files) - eventually the reagent (QM region) breaks in pieces:
<br>      &DFTB
<br>        DIAGONAL_DFTB3 T
<br>        !ORTHOGONAL_BASIS F
<br>        SELF_CONSISTENT T
<br>        DO_EWALD F
<br>        DISPERSION T
<br>        !HB_SR_GAMMA T
<br>        &PARAMETER
<br>          PARAM_FILE_PATH ${LIBPATH}/DFTB/3ob-3-1
<br>          PARAM_FILE_NAME param_file
<br>          DISPERSION_TYPE D3(BJ)
<br>          DISPERSION_PARAMETER_FILE ${LIBPATH}/dftd3.dat
<br>          D3BJ_SCALING 1.0 0.4 1.5 4.0
<br>          !HB_SR_PARAM 4.0
<br>        &END PARAMETER
<br>      &END DFTB
<br>----
<br>
<br>DFTB3 + D3(BJ) with default D3BJ_SCALING from the test files + HB_SR_GAMMA (= 4.2, as per the original paper) and no EWALD (as per the test files) - H atoms get way too close (< 1 A) and the calculations stops:
<br>      &DFTB
<br>        DIAGONAL_DFTB3 T
<br>        !ORTHOGONAL_BASIS F
<br>        SELF_CONSISTENT T
<br>        DO_EWALD T
<br>        DISPERSION T
<br>        HB_SR_GAMMA T
<br>        &PARAMETER
<br>          PARAM_FILE_PATH ${LIBPATH}/DFTB/3ob-3-1
<br>          PARAM_FILE_NAME param_file
<br>          DISPERSION_TYPE D3(BJ)
<br>          DISPERSION_PARAMETER_FILE ${LIBPATH}/dftd3.dat
<br>          D3BJ_SCALING 1.0 0.4 1.5 4.0
<br>          HB_SR_PARAM 4.2
<br>        &END PARAMETER
<br>      &END DFTB
<br>----
<br>
<br>DFTB3 + D3(BJ) with original D3BJ_SCALING from the original paper + HB_SR_GAMMA (= 4.2, as per the original paper), no EWALD (as per the test files) - H atoms get way too close (< 1 A) and the calculations stops:
<br>      &DFTB
<br>        DIAGONAL_DFTB3 T
<br>        !ORTHOGONAL_BASIS F
<br>        SELF_CONSISTENT T
<br>        DO_EWALD F
<br>        DISPERSION T
<br>        HB_SR_GAMMA T
<br>        &PARAMETER
<br>          PARAM_FILE_PATH ${LIBPATH}/DFTB/3ob-3-1
<br>          PARAM_FILE_NAME param_file
<br>          DISPERSION_TYPE D3(BJ)
<br>          DISPERSION_PARAMETER_FILE ${LIBPATH}/dftd3.dat
<br>          D3BJ_SCALING 1.0 .5719 .5883 3.6017
<br>          HB_SR_PARAM 4.2
<br>        &END PARAMETER
<br>      &END DFTB
<br>---
<br>
<br>ORTHOGONAL_BASIS T always breaks the calculation from the beginning (not a single geometry in the output), so I guess 3ob-3-1 does not have an orthogonal basis or DFTB3 simply does not use one. As I can see - the default in CP2K is FALSE, anyway.
<br>DO_EWALD F breaks even DFTB2 calculations - the reagent (QM region) breaks in pieces
<br>---
<br>
<br>However, the following setup seems to work, although I'm not sure I can trust the barrier (it is very sensitive to intermolecular interactions and it seems kind of high, and there is no available experimental value):
<br>
<br>DFTB3 + D3(BJ), no D3BJ_SCALING keyword (I let cp2k determine s6, sr6, s8 automatically, as suggested in a recent new thread in this google group) + HB_SR_GAMMA (=4 as usual default), with EWALD - it seems to work:
<br>      &DFTB
<br>        DIAGONAL_DFTB3 T
<br>        SELF_CONSISTENT  T
<br>        DO_EWALD  T
<br>        DISPERSION  T
<br>        HB_SR_GAMMA T
<br>        &PARAMETER
<br>          PARAM_FILE_PATH ${LIBPATH}/DFTB/3ob-3-1
<br>          PARAM_FILE_NAME param_file
<br>        !  UFF_FORCE_FIELD uff_table
<br>          DISPERSION_TYPE D3(BJ)
<br>          DISPERSION_PARAMETER_FILE ${LIBPATH}/dftd3.dat
<br>          HB_SR_PARAM 4
<br>        &END PARAMETER
<br>      &END DFTB
<br>---
<br>
<br>Next I will try to explicitly provide the Hubbard parameters with in the input with DFTB3_PARAM.
<br>
<br>Thank you again for the help.
<br>If you can think of anything else - please - tell me.
<br>
<br>Best Regards,
<br>Dobromir
<br>
<br>
<br>On Monday, February 2, 2026 at 11:23:58 AM UTC+2 Jürg Hutter wrote:
<br>Hi
<br>
<br>1) and 2) Have a look in "tests/DFTB/regtest-vdw" . There you find some examples on how to use D3 with DFTB.
<br>3) The D3(BJ) parameters have to be given in the input file. The data file only contains the atom specific parameters,
<br>not the method parameters.
<br>4) Yes, this is the DFTB3 parameter. I don't know if CP2K can read the parameter from the DFTB parameter file. I would have to check.
<br>5) You need the keyword. According to the manual the default is not to use it.
<br>6) I cannot answer this question.
<br>
<br>regards
<br>JH
<br>
<br>________________________________________
<br>From: <a href data-email-masked rel="nofollow">cp...@googlegroups.com</a> <<a href data-email-masked rel="nofollow">cp...@googlegroups.com</a>> on behalf of Dobromir A Kalchevski <<a href data-email-masked rel="nofollow">dobro...@gmail.com</a>>
<br>Sent: Saturday, January 31, 2026 11:21 AM
<br>To: cp2k
<br>Subject: [CP2K:22073] DFTB3 D3(BJ) GAMMA
<br>
<br>Hello valued developers and users,
<br>
<br>I am trying to setup DFTB3 with D3 correction and GAMMA damping and I can't find the answers to all of my questions in the forum threads. Also some answers are not completely clear to me.
<br>
<br>1) If I am to use the D3 correction - is it enough to include
<br>DISPERSION_TYPE D3(BJ)
<br>DISPERSION_PARAMETER_FILE ${LIBPATH}/dftd3.dat
<br>
<br>or should I also include the &VDW_POTENTIAL section and where if I am not using DFT (&XC section)
<br>
<br>2) does D3(BJ) work with DFTB3 or does only D3 work
<br>
<br>3) are both the D3 and the D3(BJ) parameters in the dft3d.dat file. If not - for D3(BJ) I can find only a1, a2 and s8, but I can't find anywhere the fourth one. Why are the default values set to 0
<br>
<br>4) is the keyword DFTB3_PARAM in KIND the Hubbard parameter and is it necessary. The 3ob .skf files technically include it, basically does CP2K read it from the .skfs.
<br>
<br>5) is using 3ob enough for DFTB3 or do I have to include the keyword DIAGONAL_DFTB3 in &DFTB
<br>
<br>6) if HB_SR_GAMMA is the GAMMA damping for hydrogen bonds, is its use recommended for general organics at the moment or it would rather worsen the results, as before
<br>
<br>I am attaching an example input file for QM/MM Metadynamics.
<br>
<br>Best Regards,
<br>Dobromir
<br>
<br>
<br>
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