Calculation of electric dipole hypershieldings at the nuclei in the Hellmann-Feynman approximation

The third-rank electric hypershieldings at the nuclei of four small molecules have been evaluated at the Hartree-Fock level of theory in the Hellmann-Feynman approximation. The nuclear electric hypershieldings are closely related to molecular vibrational absorption intensities and a generalization of the atomic polar tensors (expanded in powers of the electric field strength) is proposed to rationalize these intensities. It is shown that the sum rules for rototranslational invariance and the constraints imposed by the virial theorem provide useful criteria for basis-set completeness and for near Hartree-Fock quality of nuclear shieldings and hypershieldings evaluated in the Hellmann-Feynman approximation. Twelve basis sets of different size and quality have been employed for the water molecule in an extended numerical test on the practicality of the proposed scheme. The best results are obtained with the R12 and R12+ basis sets, designed for the calculation of electronic energies by the explicitly correlated R12 method. The R12 basis set is subsequently used to investigate three other molecules, CO, N2, and NH3, verifying that the R12 basis consistently performs very well.     

Alternative wavefunction ansatz for including explicit electron-proton correlation in the nuclear-electronic orbital approach

The nuclear-electronic orbital (NEO) approach treats specified nuclei quantum mechanically on the same level as the electrons with molecular orbital techniques. The explicitly correlated Hartree-Fock (NEO-XCHF) approach was developed to incorporate electron-nucleus dynamical correlation directly into the variational optimization of the nuclear-electronic wavefunction. In the original version of this approach, the Hartree-Fock wavefunction is multiplied by (1+G?), where G? is a geminal operator expressed as a sum of Gaussian type geminal functions that depend on the electron-proton distance. Herein, a new wavefunction ansatz is proposed to avoid the computation of five- and six-particle integrals and to simplify the computation of the lower dimensional integrals involving the geminal functions. In the new ansatz, denoted NEO-XCHF2, the Hartree-Fock wavefunction is multiplied by √(1+G?) rather than (1+G?). Although the NEO-XCHF2 ansatz eliminates the integrals that are quadratic in the geminal functions, it introduces terms in the kinetic energy integrals with no known analytical solution. A truncated expansion scheme is devised to approximate these problematic terms. An alternative hybrid approach, in which the kinetic energy terms are calculated with the original NEO-XCHF ansatz and the potential energy terms are calculated with the NEO-XCHF2 ansatz, is also implemented. Applications to a series of model systems with up to four electrons provide validation for the NEO-XCHF2 approach and the treatments of the kinetic energy terms.     

A simple and efficient CCSD(T)-F12 approximation

A new explicitly correlated CCSD(T)-F12 approximation is presented and tested for 23 molecules and 15 chemical reactions. The F12 correction strongly improves the basis set convergence of correlation and reaction energies. Errors of the Hartree-Fock contributions are effectively removed by including MP2 single excitations into the auxiliary basis set. Using aug-cc-pVTZ basis sets the CCSD(T)-F12 calculations are more accurate and two orders of magnitude faster than standard CCSD(T)/aug-cc-pV5Z calculations.     

Excited states of boron isoelectronic series from explicitly correlated wave functions

The ground state and some low-lying excited states arising from the 1s2 2s2p2 configuration of the boron isoelectronic series are studied starting from explicitly correlated multideterminant wave functions. One- and two-body densities in position space have been calculated and different expectation values such as , , , , , and , where r, r12, and R stand for the electron-nucleus, interelectronic, and two electron center of mass coordinates, respectively, have been obtained. The energetic ordering of the excited states and the fulfillment of the Hund's rules is analyzed systematically along the isoelectronic series in terms of the electron-electron and electron-nucleus potential energies. The effects of electronic correlations have been systematically studied by comparing the correlated results with the corresponding noncorrelated ones. All the calculations have been done by using the variational Monte Carlo method.     

Explicitly correlated multireference configuration interaction: MRCI-F12

An internally contracted multireference configuration interaction is developed which employs wave functions that explicitly depend on the electron-electron distance (MRCI-F12). This MRCI-F12 method has the same applicability as the MRCI method, while having much improved basis-set convergence with little extra computational cost. The F12b approximation is used to arrive at a computationally efficient implementation. The MRCI-F12 method is applied to the singlet-triplet separation of methylene, the dissociation energy of ozone, properties of diatomic molecules, and the reaction barrier and exothermicity of the F + H(2) reaction. These examples demonstrate that already with basis sets of moderate size the method provides near complete basis set MRCI accuracy, and hence quantitative agreement with the experimental data. As a side product, we have also implemented the explicitly correlated multireference averaged coupled pair functional method (MRACPF-F12).     

Bounds to electron-pair relative and center-of-mass radii in many-electron atoms

When the electron-electron interaction is explicitly considered in many-electron atoms, the average electron radius (r) splits into the inner (r<) and outer (r>) radii. It is shown that the sum and difference of these radii constitute upper and lower bounds, respectively, to the electron-pair relative distance r(12)=(/r1-r2/). An analogous result is also derived for the electron-pair center-of-mass radius (R)=(/r1+r2//2). For the 102 atoms He through Lr in their ground states, the tightness of these bounds is numerically examined at the Hartree-Fock limit level. Good linear correlations are observed between (r12) and (r>), and between (R) and (r>)/2.     

A semiclasical justification for the use of non-spreading wavepackets in dynamics calculations

A justification is given for the use of non-spreading or frozen gaussian packets in dynamics calculations. In this work an initial wavefunction or quantum density operator is expanded in a complete set of grussian wavepackets. It is demonstrated that the time evolution of this wavepacket expansion for the quantum wavefunction or density is correctly given within the approximations employed by the classical propagation of the avarage position and momentum of each gaussian packet, holding the shape of these individual gaussians fixed. The semiclassical approximation is employed for the quantum propagator and the stationary phase approximation for certain integrals is utilized in this derivation. This analysis demonstrates that the divergence of the classical trajectories associated with the individual gaussian packets accounts for the changes in shape of the quantum wavefunction or density, as has been suggested on intuitive grounds by Heller. The method should be exact for quadratic potentials and this is verified by explicitly applying it for the harmonic oscillator example.     

Nuclear electric quadrupole moment of gold

The nuclear quadrupole moment for (197)Au has been determined on the base of the state-of-art relativistic molecular calculations. The experimental shifts in the nuclear coupling constants in the series of molecules AuF, XeAuF, KrAuF, ArAuF, (OC)AuF, and AuH have been combined with highly accurate determinations of the electric field gradient (EFG) at the gold nucleus, obtained by molecular relativistic Dirac-Coulomb-Gaunt Hartree-Fock calculations. The electronic correlation contribution to the EFG is included with the CCSD(T) and CCSD-T approaches, also in the four-component framework, using a finite-difference method. In order to estimate the accuracy of their approach the authors have thoroughly investigated the convergence of the results with respect to the basis set employed and the size of the correlated orbital space. The effect of the full Breit electron-electron interaction on the nuclear quadrupole moment of gold has also been considered explicitly for the AuF molecule. They obtain for (197)Au a nuclear quadrupole moment of 510+/-15 mb, which deviates by about 7% from the currently accepted muonic value.     

The binding and correlation effects in carbon dioxide as investigated by gas X-ray diffraction

The X-ray scattering intensities of gaseous carbon dioxide have been measured by the enerey-dispersive method. Comparison of the measured intensities with theoretical calculations by the Hartree-Fock independent-atom model revealed the binding effect in the small-s region, which is largely consistent with theoretical predictions based on the molecular Hartree-Fock wavefunction.     

The accuracy of ab initio molecular geometries for systems containing second-row atoms

The performance of the standard hierarchy of ab initio models--that is, Hartree-Fock theory, second-order Moller-Plesset theory, coupled-cluster singles-and-doubles theory, and coupled-cluster singles-doubles-approximate-triples theory--in combination with correlation-consistent basis sets is investigated for equilibrium geometries of molecules containing second-row elements. From an analysis on a collection of 31 molecules (yielding statistical samples of 41 bond distances and 13 bond angles), the statistical errors (mean deviation, mean absolute deviation, standard deviation, and maximum absolute deviation) are established at each level of theory. The importance of core correlation is examined by comparing calculations in the frozen-core approximation with calculations where all electrons are correlated.     

Charge asymmetry in HD+

Expanding the wave functions of the ground and excited states of HD(+) (or pde) in terms of spherically symmetric explicitly correlated Gaussian functions with preexponential multipliers consisting of powers of the internuclear distance, and using the variational method, we performed very accurate nonadiabatic calculations of all bound states of this system corresponding to the zero total angular momentum quantum number (vibrational states; v=0-22). The total and the transition energies obtained agree with the best available calculations. For each state we computed the expectation values of the d-p, d-e, and p-e interparticle distances. This is the first time these quantities were computed for HD(+) using rigorous nonadiabatic wave functions. While up to the v=20 state some asymmetry is showing in the d-e and p-e distances, for v=21 and v=22 we observe a complete breakdown of the Born-Oppenheimer approximation and localization of the electron almost entirely at the deuteron.     

Communication: Second-order multireference perturbation theory with explicit correlation: CASPT2-F12

An explicitly correlated complete active space second-order perturbation (CASPT2-F12) method is presented which strongly accelerates the convergence of CASPT2 energies and properties with respect to the basis set size. A Slater-type geminal function is employed as a correlation factor to represent the electron-electron cusp of the wave function. The explicitly correlated terms in the wave function are internally contracted. The required density matrix elements and coupling coefficients are the same as in conventional CASPT2, and the additional computational effort for the F12 correction is small. The CASPT2-F12 method is applied to the singlet-triplet splitting of methylene, the dissociation energy of ozone, and low-lying excited states of pyrrole.     

Correlated electron dynamics with time-dependent quantum Monte Carlo: three-dimensional helium

Here the recently proposed time-dependent quantum Monte Carlo method is applied to three dimensional para- and ortho-helium atoms subjected to an external electromagnetic field with amplitude sufficient to cause significant ionization. By solving concurrently sets of up to 20,000 coupled 3D time-dependent Schro?dinger equations for the guide waves and corresponding sets of first order equations of motion for the Monte Carlo walkers we obtain ground state energies in close agreement with the exact values. The combined use of spherical coordinates and B-splines along the radial coordinate proves to be especially accurate and efficient for such calculations. Our results for the dipole response and the ionization of an atom with un-correlated electrons are in good agreement with the predictions of the conventional time-dependent Hartree-Fock method while the calculations with correlated electrons show enhanced ionization that is due to the electron-electron repulsion.     

Explicitly correlated RMP2 for high-spin open-shell reference states

We present an explicitly correlated version of the high-spin open-shell RMP2 method. The theory is derived in a unitarily invariant form, which is suitable for the insertion of local approximations. It is demonstrated that the rapid basis set convergence of closed-shell MP2-F12 is also achieved in RMP2-F12, and similar Ansatze and approximations can be employed. All integrals are computed using efficient density fitting approximations, and many-electron integrals are avoided using resolution of the identity approximations. The performance of the method is demonstrated by benchmark calculations on a large set of ionization potentials, electron affinities and atomization energies. Using triple-zeta basis sets RMP2-F12 yields results that are closer to the basis set limit than standard RMP2 with augmented quintuple-zeta basis sets for all properties. Different variants of perturbative corrections for the open-shell Hartree-Fock treatment are described and tested.     

Unrestricted perfect pairing: the simplest wave-function-based model chemistry beyond mean field

The perfect pairing (PP) approximation from generalized valence bond theory is formulated in an unrestricted fashion for both closed- and open-shell systems using a coupled cluster ansatz. In the model chemistry proposed here, active electron pairs are correlated, but the unpaired or radical electrons remain uncorrelated, leading to a linear number of decoupled cluster amplitudes which can be solved for analytically. The alpha and beta spatial orbitals are variationally optimized independently. This minimal treatment of electron-electron correlation noticeably improves upon symmetry-breaking problems and other pathologies in Hartree-Fock (HF) theory and may be computed using the resolution of the identity approximation at only a factor of several times more effort than HF itself. PP also generally predicts improved molecular structures over HF. This compact, correlated wave function potentially provides a useful starting point for dynamical correlation corrections.