Coulomb-hole-Hartree-Fock functional for molecular systems

We have extended to molecules a density functional previously parametrized for atomic computations. The Coulombhole-Hartree-Fock functional, introduced by Clementi in 1963, estimated the dynamic correlation energy by the computation of a Hartree-Fock type single-determinant wavefunction, where the Hartree-Fock potential was augmented with an effective potential term, related to a hard Coulomb hole enclosing each electron. The method was later revised by S. Chakravorty and E. Clementi, Phys. Rev. A, 38 (1989) 2290, so that a Yukawa-type soft Coulomb hole replaced the previous hard hole. Atomic correlation energies, computed for atoms with Z = 2 to 54, as well as for a number of excited states, validated the method. In this work we have parametrized for molecules a function which controls the width of the soft Coulomb hole by fitting the first and second atomic ionization potentials of atoms with 1 Z 18 and the binding energies of a few diatomic molecules. The parametrization was successfully validated by computing the dissociation energy for a number of molecules. A few-determinant version of the Coulomb-Hartree-Fock method (CHF-N) necessary to account for the non-dynamic correlation correction and to ensure proper dissociation products, is briefly discussed with reference to a previous proposal by G.C. Lie and E. Clementi, J. Chem. Phys., 60 (1974) 1275 and 60 (1974) 1288.     

Hartree-Fock与密度泛函混合处理中的电子自相关和自旋平行相关问题

电子气近似中的电子相关能与量子化学中的Hartree-Fock相关能在定义上不相互等同。作者从假想的、含N个电子的"有限电子气"出发, 通过比较这类体系与无限电子气在物理模型上的差异, 合理地把电子气相关能定量地分解为单电子自相关、电子自旋平行相关以及Hartree-Fock相关三个部分。并阐明了各组分的构成随N的变化规律。在此基础上建立的Hartree-Fock与密函混合处理方案, 无须借助任何经验参数, 仅通过简捷的计算即可实现原子和分子的相关能校正。平均误差为4.2%, 优于CI-SD和MP4等Hartree-Fock处理的结果。     

A family of intracules, a conjecture and the electron correlation problem

We present a radical approach to the calculation of electron correlation energies. Unlike conventional methods based on Hartree-Fock or density functional theory, it is based on the two-electron phase-space information in the Omega intracule, a three-dimensional function derived from the Wigner distribution. Our formula for the correlation energy is isomorphic to the Hartree-Fock energy expression but requires a new type of four-index integral. Preliminary results, obtained using a model that is based on the known correlation energies of small atoms, are encouraging.     

Unified interpretation of Hund's first and second rules for 2p and 3p atoms

A unified interpretation of Hund's first and second rules for 2p (C, N, O) and 3p (Si, P, S) atoms is given by Hartree-Fock (HF) and multiconfiguration Hartree-Fock (MCHF) methods. Both methods exactly satisfy the virial theorem, in principle, which enables one to analyze individual components of the total energy E(=T+V(en)+V(ee)), where T, V(en), and V(ee) are the kinetic, the electron-nucleus attraction, and the electron-electron repulsion energies, respectively. The correct interpretation for each of the two rules can only be achieved under the condition of the virial theorem 2T+V=0 by investigating how V(en) and V(ee) interplay to attain the lower total potential energy V(=V(en)+V(ee)). The stabilization of the more stable states for all the 2p and 3p atoms is ascribed to a greater V(en) that is caused by contraction of the valence orbitals accompanied with slight expansion of the core orbitals. The contraction of the valence orbitals for the two rules is a consequence of reducing the Hartree screening of the nucleus at short interelectronic distances. The reduced screening in the first rule is due to a greater amount of Fermi hole contributions in the state with the highest total spin-angular momentum S. The reduced screening in the second rule is due to the fact that two valence electrons are more likely to be on opposite sides of the nucleus in the state with the highest total orbital-angular momentum L. For each of the two rules, the inclusion of correlation does not qualitatively change the HF interpretation, but HF overestimates the energy difference ∣ΔE∣ between two levels being compared. The magnitude of the correlation energy is significantly larger for the lower L states than for the higher L states since two valence electrons in the lower L states are less likely to be on opposite sides of the nucleus. The MCHF evaluation of ∣ΔE∣ is in excellent agreement with experiment. The present HF and MCHF calculations demonstrate the above statements that were originally given by Katriel [Theor. Chem. Acta 23, 309 (1972); 26, 163 (1972)]. We have, for the first time, analyzed the correlation-induced changes in the radial density distribution for the excited LS terms of the 2p and 3p atoms as well as for the ground LS term.     

Hartree-Fock soft Coulomb hole to estimate correlation energies in atoms, molecules and polymers

We have shown that the empirical correction introduced into the Hartree-Fock method to calculate correlation energies for atoms and therefore to remove the error caused by the so-called Coulomb hole can be extended from atoms to molecules and polymers. A reformulation was required of the necessary parameter representation. The reparametrization has been performed staying as close as possible to the original expressions for atoms reported by Chakravorty and Clementi (S.J. Chakravorty and E. Clementi, Phys. Rev. A, 39 (1989) 2290). In addition to their work, where the correlation energy has been calculated with the self-consistent Hartree-Fock wavefunction and the correction integrals, we have performed investigations, including the perturbation operator in the Fock operator, so that the total energy also contains the correlation energy. The applications of this approach to atoms and molecules show that the total electron correlation energies and ionization potentials calculated as differences of total energies can be obtained very satisfactorily. On the basis of the reported calculations it turns out that one obtains better agreement with reference values of more sophisticated calculations when the correction integrals are used to build up the Fock matrix. Furthermore we have found that the magnitude of the correlation energy depends only weakly on the size of the basis sets, which makes this empirical method very attractive for its application to large molecular and polymeric systems.     

Method of local increments for the calculation of adsorption energies of atoms and small molecules on solid surfaces. 2. CO/MgO(001)

The method of local increments is used in connection with an embedded cluster approach and wave function based quantum chemical ab initio methods to describe the adsorption of a single CO molecule on the MgO(001) surface. The first step in this approach is a conventional Hartree-Fock calculation. The occupied orbitals are then localized by means of the Foster-Boys localization procedure, and the full system is decomposed into several "subunits" that consist of the orbitals localized at the CO molecule and at the Mg and O atoms of the MgO cluster. The correlation energy is expanded into a series of local n-body increments that are evaluated separately and independently. In this way, big savings in computer time can be achieved because (a) the treatment of a large system is replaced with a series of much faster calculations for small subsystems and (b) the big basis sets necessary for describing dispersion effects are only needed for the atoms in the respective subsystem while all other atoms can be treated by medium size Hartree-Fock type basis sets. The coupled electron pair approach, CEPA, an approximate coupled cluster method, is used to calculate the correlation energies of the various subsystems. For the vertical adsorption of CO on top a Mg atom of the MgO(001) surface with the C atom toward Mg, the individual one- and two-body increments are calculated as functions of the CO-MgO separation and a full potential energy curve is constructed from them. A very shallow minimum with an adsorption energy of 0.016 eV at a Mg-C distance of 3.04 ? is found at the Hartree-Fock level, while inclusion of correlation (dispersion) effects shortens the Mg-C distance to 2.59 ? and yields a much larger adsorption energy of 0.124 eV. This is in very good agreement with the best experimental value of 0.14 eV. The basis set superposition error, BSSE, was fully corrected for by the counterpoise method and the bonding mechanism was analyzed at the Hartree-Fock level by means of the constrained space orbital variation, CSOV, analysis.     

Towards benchmark second-order correlation energies for large atoms: Zn2+ revisited

To provide very accurate reference results for the second-order M?ller-Plesset (MP2) energy and its various components for Zn(2+), which plays for 3d-electron systems a similar role as Ne for smaller atoms and molecules, we have performed extensive calculation by two completely different implementations of the MP2 method: the finite element method (FEM) and the variation-perturbation (VP) method. The FEM and VP calculations yield partial wave contributions up to l(max)=45 and 12, respectively. Detailed comparison of all FEM and VP energy components for l(max)=12 has disclosed an extraordinary similarity, which justifies using the present results as benchmarks. The present correlation energies are compared with other works. The dependability of an earlier version of FEM, already applied to very large closed-shell atoms, is confirmed. It has been found that for larger atoms the accuracy of the analytical Hartree-Fock results has an impact on the accuracy of the MP2 energies greater than for smaller atoms. Fields of applications of the present results in studies of various electron correlation effects in 3d-electron atoms and molecules are indicated.     

Differential density matrix overlap: an index for assessment of electron correlation in atoms and molecules

Summary A new index, called the differential density matrix overlap (DDMO), is proposed for assessment of the electron correlation effects in atoms and molecules. DDMO can be easily calculated as the negative value of the correlation energy derivative with respect to the relative position of the occupied and virtual orbitals. DDMO is transparent to physical interpretation. It can serve as a tool for analyzing the accuracy of approximate electron correlation methods and the validity of the Hartree-Fock wavefunction as the zeroth-order approximation. The properties of DDMO are discussed using test calculations on 11 atoms and molecules as an example.     

Kinetic energy analysis of atomic multiplets

Summary A kinetic energy analysis of total energy differences in atomic multiplets arising fromf ^m (m=2–12) electronic configurations is performed within the nonrelativistic restricted Hartree-Fock framework. For these 1290 multiplets of 22 lanthanoid (Ce to Er) and actinoid (Th to Fm) atoms, a very good linear correlation between the total energy difference and the kinetic energy difference of the outermostf-electrons is found. The present results, together with our previous ones for the multiplets arising froms ^mpⁿ (m=1,2;n=2–4) ands ^mdⁿ (m=0–2;n=2–8) electronic configurations, demonstrate that the kinetic energy difference of electrons in open subshells is an excellent predictor of total energy differences among atomic multiplet states.     

Static dipole polarizability and binding energy of sodium clusters Nan (n=1-10): A critical assessment of all-electron based post Hartree-Fock and density functional methods

A systematic all electron post Hartree-Fock as well as density functional theory (DFT) based calculations for the polarizability and binding energy of sodium metal clusters have been performed and an in-depth analysis of the discrepancy between the experimental and theoretical results is presented. A systematic investigation for the assessment of different DFT exchange-correlation functionals in predicting the polarizability values has also been reported. All the pure DFT functionals have been found to considerably underestimate the calculated polarizability values as compared to the MP2 results. DFT calculations using the full Hartree-Fock exchange along with one-parameter progressive correlation functional have, however, been shown to yield results in good agreement with the MP2 and experimental results. The possible sources of error present in the experimental measurements as well as in the different theoretical methods have also been analyzed. One of the most important conclusions of the present study is that the effect of electron correlation plays a significant role in determining the polarizability of the clusters and the MP2 method can be considered to be one of the most reliable methods for their prediction. It has also been noted that the polarizability value of the lower member clusters (Na2 and Na4) calculated by highly sophisticated methods such as, CCSD and CCSD(T) are found to be very close to the corresponding MP2 values. The polarizability and the binding energy of the clusters are found to be inversely related to each other and their correlation is rationalized by invoking the minimum polarizability principle. A good linear correlation between the polarizability and volume of the cluster has also been found to exist.     

The consequences of neglecting permutation symmetry in the description of many-electrons systems

The consequences of neglecting the permutation symmetry of the Hamiltonian of many-electrons system are examined. From the comparison of wave functions based on methods, which take (generalized valence bond [GVB]) and do not take (Hartree-Fock) the permutation symmetry into account, it is shown that neglecting the permutation symmetry leads to false concepts, misinterpretations, and unjustifiable approximations when dealing with many-electrons systems, atoms, and molecules. In particular, it is shown that how the double occupancy of atomic and molecular orbitals, the exchange integral, the correlation energy, and the so-called “nondynamic” correlation energy are related to neglecting the permutation symmetry.     

An application of correlation energy density functionals to atoms and molecules

Four density functionals — including that recently introduced by Perdew ((1986) Phys Rev B33: 8822)—are tested for first-row atoms, hydrides and dimers. Calculated contributions of the correlation energy to the ionization potentials and electron affinities of atoms and to the dissociation energies of molecules are compared with empirical values which were reevaluated for this purpose. An improvement over Hartree-Fock is found in all cases if the self-interaction or the gradient correction are included in the density functional, although there is a rather large variation in the accuracy of the predictions.     

Embedding procedure for ab initio correlation calculations in group II metals

In order to apply ab initio wave-function-based correlation methods to metals, it is desirable to split the calculation into a mean-field part and a correlation part. Whereas the mean-field part (here Hartree-Fock) is performed in the extended periodic system, it is necessary to use for the correlation part local wave-function-based correlation methods in finite fragments of the solid. For these finite entities it is necessary to construct an embedding. The authors suggest an embedding scheme which has itself no metallic character but can mimic the metal in the internal region, where the atoms are correlated. With this embedding it is also possible to localize the metallic orbitals in the central part. The long-range nonadditive contributions of metallicity and correlation are treated with the method of increments. In this paper they present different ways to construct such an embedding and discuss the influence of the embedding on the correlation energy of the solid.     

Application of the finite element method to time-dependent quantum mechanics: I. H and He in a laser field

A finite element approach is described to solve the time- dependent Hartree-Fock equation of atoms in the presence of time-dependent electromagnetic fields. Time-dependent energy changes, ionization rates and high order nonlinear optical polarizabilities, 2n+1 (n >, 0) for the atoms H and He have been calculated. The finite element method is shown to be easily adaptable to treat intense short pulses and includes automatically both bound and continuum electronic states.     

One- and two-center physical space partitioning of the energy in the density functional theory

A conceptually new approach is introduced for the decomposition of the molecular energy calculated at the density functional theory level of theory into sum of one- and two-atomic energy components, and is realized in the "fuzzy atoms" framework. (Fuzzy atoms mean that the three-dimensional physical space is divided into atomic regions having no sharp boundaries but exhibiting a continuous transition from one to another.) The new scheme uses the new concept of "bond order density" to calculate the diatomic exchange energy components and gives them unexpectedly close to the values calculated by the exact (Hartree-Fock) exchange for the same Kohn-Sham orbitals.     

Electronic-structure studies of solides. V. Rigorous Hartree-Fock treatment of metallic hydrogen using a plane-wave basis

We have performed Hartree-Fock calculations for simple cubic metallic hydrogen crystals using Bloch functions expanded in plane waves, All integrals were evaluated accurately including exchangeterms. Increasingly larger basis sets were used, and the total Hartree-Fock energy obtained with the maximum number of plane waves (27) was ?0.4770 hartrees/atom. This total energy is believed to be within a few millihartress of the Hartree-Fock limit results. The deficiency of a plane-wave expansion to represent the atomic cusps, however, makes it difficult to obtain the exact Hartree-Fock limit with a plane-wave expansion. When the correlation energy (calculated in the random-phase approximation with Hartree-Fock bands and functions as zeroth order states) is added, and upper limit of ?0.501 hartrees/atom is found for the total energy of this system. The Fermi surface was found to touch the Brillouin zone boundaries around the X points due to an appreciable depression of the band energies in that part of the Brillouin zone. The equilibrium lattice spacing (a = 2.705 bohrs) was slightly smaller than that obtained earlier with an atomic orbital basis.     

Interpretation of Hund's multiplicity rule for the carbon atom

Hund's multiplicity rule is investigated for the carbon atom using quantum Monte Carlo methods. Our calculations give an accurate account of electronic correlation and obey the virial theorem to high accuracy. This allows us to obtain accurate values for each of the energy terms and therefore to give a convincing explanation of the mechanism by which Hund's rule operates in carbon. We find that the energy gain in the triplet with respect to the singlet state is due to the greater electron-nucleus attraction in the higher spin state, in accordance with Hartree-Fock calculations and studies including correlation. The method used here can easily be extended to heavier atoms.     

Quantum Monte Carlo study of ground and first excited state of C,N, O,F, and Ne atoms using Slater-Jastrow-Backflow wave function

All-electron fixed-node diffusion quantum Monte Carlo energies of the two lowest-lying states of C, N, O, F, and Ne atoms are reported. The Slater-Jastrow form is used as the trial wave function. We will use single- and multideterminant wave functions as the Slater part. The single-determinant wave function has been computed by the Hartree-Fock method and the multideterminant wave functions have been computed by the complete active space self-consistent field, configuration interaction with single and double excitation, configuration interaction with single, double, triple, and quadruple excitation and second-order configuration interaction. For the ground- and first excited states, the multideterminant wave functions have computed more than 99% of the correlation energy. Significant improvements have been achieved using the backflow transformations and up to 99.8% of the correlation energy has been recovered. A very good agreement with the experimental data has been obtained for the excitation energies.     

Equilibrium geometries of low-lying isomers of some Li clusters, within Hartree-Fock theory plus bond order or MP2 correlation corrections

In a recent study by Kornath et al. [J. Chem. Phys. 118, 6957 (2003)], the Li(n) clusters with n=2, 4, and 8 have been isolated in argon matrices at 15 K and characterized by Raman spectroscopy. This has prompted us to carry out a theoretical study on such clusters up to n=10, using Hartree-Fock theory, plus low-order M?ller-Plesset perturbation corrections. To check against the above study of Kornath et al., as a by-product we have made the same approximations for n=6 and 8 as we have for n=10. This has led us to emphasize trends with n through the Li(n) clusters for (i) ground-state energy, (ii) HOMO-LUMO energy gap, (iii) dissociation energy, and (iv) Hartree-Fock eigenvalue sum. The role of electron correlation in distinguishing between low-lying isomers is plainly crucial, and will need a combination of experiment and theory to obtain decisive results such as that of Kornath et al. for Li(8). In particular, it is shown that Hartree-Fock theory plus bond order correlations does account for the experimentally observed symmetry T(d) symmetry for Li(8).