Electron correlation effects in SCF+CI wave functions—Fermi and coulomb correlation holes in HCN

The Coulomb correlation hole distribution function has been computed with respect to various reference centers in the HCN molecule, using standard SCF +CI type wave functions. The extent to which statistical correlation between unlike-spin electrons is introduced into an SCF wave function through the inclusion of configuration interaction has been assessed by an examination of the range and depth of such holes, and compared with the behavior of analogous Fermi distribution functions. Our results show that the range of Fermi correlation is consistently longer than that of the corresponding Coulomb correlation.     

Statistical electron correlation — coefficients and — holes in molecules

Summary Electron correlation in the H₂, LiH and BH molecules has been analyzed in terms of the statistical correlation coefficients introduced by Kutzelnigg, Del Re, and Berthier. Angular, radial (in-out), longitudinal (left-right) and transverse correlation coefficients have been evaluated from both self-consistent-field (SCF) and configuration interaction (CI) wave functions. It has been found that these coefficients reflect fairly well the correlation behavior in the molecular system. The lack of spherical symmetry in molecular densities adds new features to these correlation coefficients and this information can be useful for the study of electronic structure in molecules. The correlation hole function, Fermi and Coulomb holes in these systems have also been calculated and discussed.Dedicated to Professor Werner Kutzelnigg on the occasion of his sixtieth birthday     

Normalization and Fermi–Coulomb and Coulomb hole sum rules for approximate wave functions

For approximate wave functions, we prove the theorem that there is a one‐to‐one correspondence between the constraints of normalization and of the Fermi–Coulomb and Coulomb hole charge sum rules at each electron position. This correspondence is surprising in light of the fact that normalization depends on the probability of finding an electron at some position. In contrast, the Fermi–Coulomb hole sum rule depends on the probability of two electrons staying apart because of correlations due to the Pauli exclusion principle and Coulomb repulsion, while the Coulomb hole sum rule depends on Coulomb repulsion. We demonstrate the theorem for the ground state of the He atom by the use of two different approximate wave functions that are functionals rather than functions. The first of these wave function functionals is constructed to satisfy the constraint of normalization, and the second that of the Coulomb hole sum rule for each electron position. Each is then shown to satisfy the other corresponding sum rule. The significance of the theorem for the construction of approximate “exchange‐correlation” and “correlation” energy functionals of density functional theory is also discussed. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Quantum Chem, 2007     

Fermi and Coulomb holes of molecules in excited states

Correlation holes of electrons with the same (Fermi hole) and different (Coulomb hole) spins in the ground (X¹Σ⁺), first (A¹Σ⁺) and second (B¹II) excited states of LiH were constructed from full configuration interaction (CI ) wave functions. It was found that the shapes of both the Fermi and Coulomb holes in these states are dependent on the location of the reference electron. When the reference electron is chosen to be close to the Li nucleus, the Fermi correlation results in a large negative hole for all three states. However, the A¹Σ⁺ excited state is further characterized by displaying a second hole around the H nucleus, and in the B¹II state, the hole is elongated along the molecular axis. Coulomb correlation shows up strongly in the A¹Σ⁺ state and, in addition, there is clearly correlation of electrons at the two nuclei. These features of the correlation holes were compared with those from a two-Slater-determinant model wave function. The Hartree, Fermi, and Coulomb screening potentials in these states were also studied in the light of possible modeling of the correlation functionals for the excited states. © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Angular aspects of exchange correlation and the fermi hole

The complete (nonreduced) αα probability density functions evaluated from the Hartree–Fock and simple Hartree product wavefunctions have been used to elucidate the angular features of spin correlation and the Fermi hole in the 2³S state of helium and the ground state of beryllium. This approach shows that the local Fermi holes in these two cases are very similar and that the Fermi hole is essentially spherically symmetric when the reference electron is close to the nucleus. As the reference electron is removed to larger radial distances, appreciable polarization of the Fermi hole is observed. The polarization is greater in the direction of the nucleus than away from the nucleus, contrary to the situation in the Coulomb hole of the helium ground state where the polarization is greater away from the nucleus than toward the nucleus. Several other differences between the He 2³S Fermi hole and the He 1¹S Coulomb hole are noted.     

Role of electron correlation in the quantum-mechanical calculations of the coulomb interaction energy in the DNA base pairs

The intermolecular electronic correlation contributions to the Coulomb component of the nucleic acid base interaction energy are estimated. The Coulomb energy is evaluated with the use of atomic monopoles, which are determined from the π-electronic densities calculated by the SCF method and by employing partially or completely optimized APSG wave functions. When the correlation is thus taken into account, a systematic decrease in atomic charges occurs; this effect is considerable only if an optimized orbital set is used. As a result, the Coulomb interaction energy due to the π-electronic atoms decreases from ?1.13 to ?0.85 kcal/mol for the AT pair and from ?7.15 to ?4.61 kcal/mol for the GC pair.     

Small-angle electron scattering by formaldehyde and ketene: Effects of electron correlation and chemical binding

The total (elastic plus inelastic) intensities of 51 keV electrons scattered by H₂CO and H₂CCO have been measured over a range of K = (4π/λ) sin(θ/2) = 1–9.5 Å^?1 and compared with the theoretical intensities calculated with SCF and CI wave functions. Significant discrepancies are found between the experimental intensities and the theoretical ones based on the SCF wave functions. Most of the chemical binding and electron correlation effects observed in the total scattered intensities are reproduced by the theoretical intensities based on the CI wave functions calculated with the basis set including polarization functions on all atoms. © 1992 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Fundamental importance of the Coulomb hole sum rule to the understanding of the Colle-Salvetti wave function functional

In this paper we consider the general form of the correlated-determinantal wave function functional of Colle and Salvetti (CS) for the He atom. The specific form employed by CS is the basis for the widely used CS correlation energy formula and the Lee-Yang-Parr correlation energy density functional of Kohn-Sham density functional theory. We show the following: (i) The key assumption of CS for the determination of this wave function functional, viz., that the resulting single-particle density matrix and the Hartree-Fock theory Dirac density matrix are the same, is equivalent to the satisfaction of the Coulomb hole sum rule for each electron position. The specific wave function functional derived by CS does not satisfy this sum rule for any electron position. (ii) Application of the theorem on the one-to-one correspondence between the Coulomb hole sum rule for each electron position and the constraint of normalization for approximate wave functions then proves that the wave function derived by CS violates charge conservation. (iii) Finally, employing the general form of the CS wave function functional, the exact satisfaction of the Coulomb hole sum rule at each electron position then leads to a wave function that is normalized. The structure of the resulting approximate Coulomb holes is reasonably accurate, reproducing both the short- and the long-range behavior of the hole for this atom. Thus, the satisfaction of the Coulomb hole sum rule by an approximate wave function is a necessary condition for constructing wave functions in which electron-electron repulsion is represented reasonably accurately.     

Radial limit of lithium revisited

Configuration interaction (CI) calculations are carried out for the ground state of lithium using a thoroughly optimized basis set of s-type Slater functions. They establish that the radial limit of the nonrelativistic energy of the ground ²S state of lithium is no higher than −7.448666443E_h. Thus, radial correlation accounts for 35.2% of the total correlation energy. The radial CI wave function predicts a significantly more accurate Fermi contact parameter than the Hartree-Fock wave function. However, the imbalanced treatment of electron correlation in the radial CI wave function leads to an excessively diffuse electron density that is worse than that of the Hartree-Fock wave function. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

The Coulomb Hole of the Ne Atom

We analyze the Coulomb hole of Ne from highly-accurate CISD wave functions obtained from optimized even-tempered basis sets. Using a two-fold extrapolation procedure we obtain highly accurate results that recover 97 % of the correlation energy. We confirm the existence of a shoulder in the short-range region of the Coulomb hole of the Ne atom, which is due to an internal reorganization of the K-shell caused by electron correlation of the core electrons. The feature is very sensitive to the quality of the basis set in the core region and it is not exclusive to Ne, being also present in most of second-row atoms, thus confirming that it is due to K-shell correlation effects.     

Molecule intrinsic minimal basis sets. I. Exact resolution of ab initio optimized molecular orbitals in terms of deformed atomic minimal-basis orbitals

A method is presented for expressing the occupied self-consistent-field (SCF) orbitals of a molecule exactly in terms of chemically deformed atomic minimal-basis-set orbitals that deviate as little as possible from free-atom SCF minimal-basis orbitals. The molecular orbitals referred to are the exact SCF orbitals, the free-atom orbitals referred to are the exact atomic SCF orbitals, and the formulation of the deformed "quasiatomic minimal-basis-sets" is independent of the calculational atomic orbital basis used. The resulting resolution of molecular orbitals in terms of quasiatomic minimal basis set orbitals is therefore intrinsic to the exact molecular wave functions. The deformations are analyzed in terms of interatomic contributions. The Mulliken population analysis is formulated in terms of the quasiatomic minimal-basis orbitals. In the virtual SCF orbital space the method leads to a quantitative ab initio formulation of the qualitative model of virtual valence orbitals, which are useful for calculating electron correlation and the interpretation of reactions. The method is applicable to Kohn-Sham density functional theory orbitals and is easily generalized to valence MCSCF orbitals.     

On the SCF calculation of excited states: Singlet states in the two-electron problem

The problem of determining SCF wave functions for excited electronic states is examined for singlet states of two-electron systems using a Lowdin natural orbital transformation of the full CI wave function. This analysis facilitates the comparison of various SCF methods with one another. The distribution of the full CI states among the natural orbital MCSCF states is obtained for the S states of helium using a modest Gaussian basis set. For SCF methods that are not equivalent to the full CI wave functions, it is shown that the Hartree-Fock plus all single excitation wave functions are equivalent to that of Hartree-Fock plus one single excitation. It is further shown that these wave functions are equivalent to the perfect pair or TCSCF wave functions in which the CI expansion coefficients are restricted to have opposite signs. The case of the natural orbital MCSCF wave function for two orbitals is examined in greater detail. It is shown that the first excited state must always be found on the lower natural orbital MCSCF CI root, thus precluding the use of the Hylleras-Undeim-MacDonald (HUM) theorem in locating this state. It is finally demonstrated that the solution obtained by applying the HUM theorem (minimizing the upper MCSCF CI root with respect to orbital mixing parameters) is an artifact of the MCSCF method and does not correspond to any of the full CI states.     

Dependence of valency on geometry for configuration interaction wave functions

Earlier definitions of valencies of atoms, molecules, and molecular orbitals are extended to configuration interaction (CI ) wave functions. Using these definitions, valencies both at equilibrium and nonequilibrium geometries of molecules are calculated at the CI level and compared with non-CI results. CI valency correlation diagrams are obtained. Valency variation with bond length using correlated wave functions is found to behave properly unlike in the case of SCF wave functions.     

The analysis of electron pair distribution functions in molecules

Electron pair distribution functions are analyzed for a variety of SCF+CI wavefunctions, for a range of simple molecules. The statistical correlation between electrons of like spin introduced by the antisymmetry requirement on the many-electron wavefunction is contrasted with the manner in which unlike-spin electron correlation is introduced through the inclusion of configuration interaction.     

Méthode des Biorbitales: Application Préliminaire au Calcul de l'Energie de l'Etat Fondamental de l'Atome de Beryllium

The ground-state electronic energy of Be is calculated using the method of biorbitals (SCF –BI ). In this method the wave function is represented by an antisymmetrized product of identical pair functions. The basic set used to develop the biorbitals consists of the Watson s and p orbitals. The pair function is presumed to describe a singlet pair state. The energy associated with this function is minimized using a steepest descent procedure. A value of 0.0414 a.u. was found for the correlation energy, which is 44% of the total correlation energy. The SCF –BI method is compared with the CI method. The relationships are established between the expansion coefficients of both methods. The occupation numbers of orbitals are calculated.     

Electronic correlation studies. III. Self-correlated field method. Application to 2S ground state and 2P excited state of three-electron atomic systems

The self-correlated field method is based on the insertion in the group product wave function of pair functions built upon a set of correlated “local” functions and of “nonlocal” functions. This work is an application to three-electron systems. The effects of the outer electron on the inner pair are studied. The total electronic energy and some intermediary results such as pair energies, Coulomb and exchange “correlated” integrals, are given. The results are always better than those given by conventional SCF computations and reach the same level of accuracy as those given by more laborious methods used in correlation studies.     

Perturbative virtual SCF CI treatment for energy levels of coupled oscillator systems

A perturbative SCF CI treatment to obtain energy levels of coupled oscillator systems is proposed. The method uses the virtual SCF basis set, and the SCF equations are solved by means of a perturbative treatment that provides the diagonal matrix elements involved in the CI calculation. The off-diagonal matrix elements are calculated using a commutation relationship derived from exact quantum theorems. Numerical results for several systems are obtained and compared with those from others SCF, SCF CI , and variational treatments.     

The divide-expand-consolidate family of coupled cluster methods: numerical illustrations using second order Møller-Plesset perturbation theory

Previously, we have introduced the linear scaling coupled cluster (CC) divide-expand-consolidate (DEC) method, using an occupied space partitioning of the standard correlation energy. In this article, we show that the correlation energy may alternatively be expressed using a virtual space partitioning, and that the Lagrangian correlation energy may be partitioned using elements from both the occupied and virtual partitioning schemes. The partitionings of the correlation energy leads to atomic site and pair interaction energies which are term-wise invariant with respect to an orthogonal transformation among the occupied or the virtual orbitals. Evaluating the atomic site and pair interaction energies using local orbitals leads to a linear scaling algorithm and a distinction between Coulomb hole and dispersion energy contributions to the correlation energy. Further, a detailed error analysis is performed illustrating the error control imposed on all components of the energy by the chosen energy threshold. This error control is ultimately used to show how to reduce the computational cost for evaluating dispersion energy contributions in DEC.