A new functional for variational calculation of atomic and molecular second-order correlation energies

Second-order correlation energies for atoms and molecules are calculated with a novel variational functional that is closely related to the one used before but neglects the most time-consuming terms. Consequently much larger basis sets could be used. Results for He, Be, H₂ and LiH obtained with an explicitly correlated gaussian geminal basis are better than the best published results by 0.32, 0.06, 3.3, and 6.2% and are estimated to be accurate to within a fraction of 1%.     

A variational density matrix approach with nonlocal effective potential

We show that using the Colle–Salvetti correlation-energy functional (Colle and Salvetti in Theoret Chim Acta 37:329, 1975) in the Hartree–Fock-type procedure suggested by Kohn and Sham (Phys Rev 140:A1133PR, 1965), one can calculate quite accurately electronic properties of systems in which the “dynamical” correlation energy is dominant. We compare our results with those obtained by Grabo and Gross (Chem Phys Lett 240:141, 1995) using the optimized effective potential method, and we discuss characteristics and advantages of our procedure.     

Reduced first order density matrix for the Be ground state

A reduced first order density matrix for the Be ground state is computed from an extensive configuration interaction (CI ) wave function. A sequence of increasingly accurate CI wave functions Φ_q converging towards the exact Ψ is used to assess the quality of the results which include approximate bounds for the overlaps 〈Φ_q|Ψ〉, electron–nuclear coalescence cusp data, Weinhold's overlap between density matrices, virial ratios, occupation number spectra, and some expectation values. The nuclear magnetic shielding constant and the molar diamagnetic susceptibility are determined with 2.0 and 1.5% of uncertainty, respectively.     

Numerical integration of atomic electron density with double exponential formula for density functional calculation

In the preceding study, we reported an application of the double exponential formula to the radial quadrature grid for numerical integration of the radial electron distribution function. Three-type new radial grids with the double exponential transformation were introduced. The performance of radial grids was compared between the double exponential grids and the grids proposed in earlier studies by applying to the electron-counting integrals of noble gas atoms and diatomic molecules including alkali metals, halogens, and transition metals. It was confirmed that the change in accuracy of the quadrature approximation depending on atomic or molecular species is not significant for the double exponential integration schemes rather than the other integration schemes. In the present study, we further investigate the accuracy of the double exponential formula for the electron-counting integrals of all the atoms from H to Kr in the periodic table to elucidate the stable performance of the double exponential radial grids. The electron densities of the atoms are calculated with the Gauss-type orbital basis functions at the B3LYP level. The quadrature accuracy and convergence behavior of numerical integration are compared among the double exponential formula and the formulas proposed by Treutler et al. and by Mura et al. The results reveal that the double exponential radial grids remarkably improve the convergence rate toward high accuracy compared with the previous radial grids, particularly for heavy elements in the 4th period, without fine tuning of the radial grids for each atom.     

A spherically averaged representation of the atomic one-particle reduced density matrix

Summary A new way of representing the one-particle reduced density matrix (ODM) of closed-shell atoms in a spherically averaged manner is presented, and connections of this representation to the radial density distributionD(R) and the isotropic reciprocal form factorB(s) are shown. In this representation, certain characteristics of the angular nodal structure of the natural orbitals (NOs) are preserved. Examples of hydrogenic orbitals and near-Hartree-Fock wave functions for some closed-shell atoms are given.     

Perturbation theory corrections to the two-particle reduced density matrix variational method

In the variational 2-particle-reduced-density-matrix (2-RDM) method, the ground-state energy is minimized with respect to the 2-particle reduced density matrix, constrained by N-representability conditions. Consider the N-electron Hamiltonian H(lambda) as a function of the parameter lambda where we recover the Fock Hamiltonian at lambda=0 and we recover the fully correlated Hamiltonian at lambda=1. We explore using the accuracy of perturbation theory at small lambda to correct the 2-RDM variational energies at lambda=1 where the Hamiltonian represents correlated atoms and molecules. A key assumption in the correction is that the 2-RDM method will capture a fairly constant percentage of the correlation energy for lambda in (0,1] because the nonperturbative 2-RDM approach depends more significantly upon the nature rather than the strength of the two-body Hamiltonian interaction. For a variety of molecules we observe that this correction improves the 2-RDM energies in the equilibrium bonding region, while the 2-RDM energies at stretched or nearly dissociated geometries, already highly accurate, are not significantly changed. At equilibrium geometries the corrected 2-RDM energies are similar in accuracy to those from coupled-cluster singles and doubles (CCSD), but at nonequilibrium geometries the 2-RDM energies are often dramatically more accurate as shown in the bond stretching and dissociation data for water and nitrogen.     

A variational calculation of field-dependent thermal creep

A variational method based upon the linearized Boltzmann equation is employed to evaluate field-dependent thermal creep. The result compares reasonably well with recent experimental observations for CO.     

A note on atomic density

In atomic systems, electron density has a simple finite expansion in spherical harmonics times radial factors. The difficulties in the calculation of some radial factors are illustrated in the low‐lying states of the carbon atom. Single‐particle methods such as Hartree–Fock and approximate density functional theory cannot ensure the correct expansion of the density in spherical harmonics. Wave‐function methods are appropriate but, as some expansion terms are entirely due to correlation, these methods only will give correct results for high‐quality variational functions. Using full‐configuration integration (CI), all the terms predicted by the theory appear and are not negligible but the convergence of the term due to correlation toward its correct value is uncertain even for very large CI spaces. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Molecular fractionation with conjugated caps density matrix with pairwise interaction correction for protein energy calculation

Pairwise interaction correction (PIC) is introduced to account for electron density polarization due to short-range interactions such as hydrogen bonding and close contact between molecular fragments in the molecular fractionation with conjugated caps density matrix (MFCC-DM) approach for energy calculation of protein and other polymers [Chen et al., J. Chem. Phys. 122, 184105 (2005)]. With this PIC, the accuracy of the calculated protein energy and other electronic properties are improved, and the MFCC approach can be applied to study real proteins with short-range structural complexity. In the present MFCC-DM-PIC approach, the short-range interresidual interactions are represented by a pair of small molecules (interacting units) which are made from the two residues that fall within a certain distance criterion. The density matrices of fragments, concaps, interacting units and pairs are calculated by conventional Hartree-Fock or density functional theory methods and are combined to construct the full density matrix which is finally employed to calculate the total energy, electron density, electrostatic potential, dipole moment, etc., of the protein. Numerical tests on seven conformationally varied peptides are presented to demonstrate the accuracy of the MFCC-DM-PIC method.     

A new method for the calculation of atomic and local hardness

The relationships between atomic hardness, atomic electronegativity, and electronic energy are considered and emphasized. A new method for calculating atomic hardness is described. The concept of local hardness is quantified through the calculation of a new variable named alfahardness. Atomic hardness and alfahardness are used for the calculation of both the mean molecular and local properties. The results obtained are discussed and a comparison made with the analogous quantities presented by Pearson. An algorithm has been realized and transformed into a computer routine for use within a CAOS program.     

A variational principle for transition and density matrices and approximations to the equations-of-motion

A general variational principle for transition and density matrices is proposed. The principle is closely related to Rowe's variational treatment of the equations-of-motion method. It permits the simultaneous construction of coupled approximations for two eigenstates, and it is a straightforward extension of the usual variational method.     

Semiclassical variational calculation of liquid-drop model coefficients for metal clusters

We report on semiclassical density variational calculations for spherical alkali metal clusters in the jellium model. We derive liquid-drop model expansions for total energy, ionisation potential and electron affinity and test the coefficients numerically for clusters with up toN=10⁵ atoms. From the limitN→∞, we obtain excellent agreement with surface tensions and work functions evaluated for an infinite plane metal surface.     

Thermodynamics of atomic clusters using variational quantum hydrodynamics

Small clusters of rare-gas atoms are ideal test cases for studying how quantum delocalization affects both the thermodynamics and the structure of molecular scale systems. In this paper, we use a variational quantum hydrodynamic approach to examine the structure and dynamics of (Ne)n clusters, with n up to 100 atoms, at both T = 0 K and for temperatures spanning the solid-to-liquid transition in bulk Ne. Finite temperature contributions are introduced to the grand potential in the form of an "entropy" potential. One surprising result is the prediction of a negative heat capacity for very small clusters that we attribute to the nonadditive nature of the total free-energy for very small systems.     

A solid solution theory for matrix modification in electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry

The kinetics of evaporation of the volatile analytes Pb and Cd in the presence of Ce(IV) introduced as the chemical modifier (NH₄)₂Ce(NO₃)₆ have been studied. The experimental results obtained are found to be in acceptable agreement with the regular solution model applied as a theoretical approach. Comparison with the results from previous investigation on the Pb/W analyte-modifier couple is made. An attempt is also made to explain some effects connected with the application of modifiers as described in the literature within the framework of the present model.     

Computation of dipole, quadrupole, and octupole surfaces from the variational two-electron reduced density matrix method

Recent advances in the direct determination of the two-electron reduced density matrix (2-RDM) by imposing known N-representability conditions have mostly focused on the accuracy of molecular potential energy surfaces where multireference effects are significant. While the norm of the 2-RDM's deviation from full configuration interaction has been computed, few properties have been carefully investigated as a function of molecular geometry. Here the dipole, quadrupole, and octupole moments are computed for a range of molecular geometries. The addition of Erdahl's T2 condition [Int. J. Quantum Chem. 13, 697 (1978)] to the D, Q, and G conditions produces dipole and multipole moments that agree with full configuration interaction in a double-zeta basis set at all internuclear distances.     

Development of a new variational approach for thermal density matrices

A McLachlan-type variational principle is derived for thermal density matrices. In this approach, the trace of the mean square of the differences between the derivatives of the exact and model density matrices is minimized with respect to the parameters in the model Hamiltonian. Applications to model anharmonic systems in the independent particle model show that the method can provide thermodynamic state functions accurately (within 5% of the converged basis set results) and at the same level of accuracy as the results using Feynman-Gibbs-Bogoliubov variational principle at this level of approximation.     

Improved local density functional approach for atomic systems

Through a new local density approximation to the kinetic energy density functional introduced by us recently, a simple Thomas–Fermi-like scheme for the direct calculation of electron density in atoms is proposed. The calculated density is nonsingular at the nucleus and the energy values are in very good agreement with the corresponding Hartree–Fock results for atoms. © 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.