Embedding wave function theory in density functional theory

We present a framework for embedding a highly accurate coupled-cluster calculation within a larger density functional calculation. We use a perturbative buffer to help insulate the coupled-cluster region from the rest of the system. Regions are defined, not in real space, but in Hilbert space, though connection between the two can be made by spatial localization of single-particle orbitals. Relations between our embedding approach and some similar techniques are discussed. We present results for small sample systems for which we can extract essentially exact results, demonstrating that our approach seems to work quite well and is generally more reliable than some of the related approaches due to the introduction of additional interaction terms.     

Adiabatic corrections to density functional theory energies and wave functions

The adiabatic finite-nuclear-mass-correction (FNMC) to the electronic energies and wave functions of atoms and molecules is formulated for density-functional theory and implemented in the deMon code. The approach is tested for a series of local and gradient corrected density functionals, using MP2 results and diagonal-Born-Oppenheimer corrections from the literature for comparison. In the evaluation of absolute energy corrections of nonorganic molecules the LDA PZ81 functional works surprisingly better than the others. For organic molecules the GGA BLYP functional has the best performance. FNMC with GGA functionals, mainly BLYP, show a good performance in the evaluation of relative corrections, except for nonorganic molecules containing H atoms. The PW86 functional stands out with the best evaluation of the barrier of linearity of H2O and the isotopic dipole moment of HDO. In general, DFT functionals display an accuracy superior than the common belief and because the corrections are based on a change of the electronic kinetic energy they are here ranked in a new appropriate way. The approach is applied to obtain the adiabatic correction for full atomization of alcanes C(n)H(2n+2), n = 4-10. The barrier of 1 mHartree is approached for adiabatic corrections, justifying its insertion into DFT.     

Applications of density functional theory methods in millimeter‐wave spectroscopy

Density functional theory (DFT), using the most common functionals, and ab initio quantum chemistry methods are used to calculate the rotational constants and dipole moments of the astrophysically important molecules HCN, CH₃CN, CH₃CNH⁺, HCCCN, and HCCNC. As far as millimeter‐wave spectroscopy is of interest the DFT methods performed well with most functionals, giving results within ±1% of experiments for rotational constants and ±3% for dipole moments. Analyzing the results obtained with all theoretical models, it may be concluded that the Becke's three‐parameter exchange functional and the gradient‐corrected functional of Lee, Yang, and Paar (B3LYP) and Becke's three‐parameter functional with Perdew–Wang correlational functional [B3PW91/6‐31G(d, p)] give the best performances. A detailed analysis of the electron correlation effects shows that HCCCN is more stable than is HCCNC, by 1.16 eV, with important contribution arising from triple excitations. This result is also compared with those obtained with DFT methods. Despite occasional difficulties, DFT with the currently available functionals are of great utility in quickly assessing spectroscopic parameters of astrophysical interest. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Quantum Chem, 2003     

Condensed phase ionic polarizabilities from plane wave density functional theory calculations

A method is presented to allow the calculation of the dipole polarizabilities of ions and molecules in a condensed-phase coordination environment. These values will be useful for understanding the optical properties of materials and for developing simulation potentials which incorporate polarization effects. The reported values are derived from plane wave density functional theory calculations, though the method itself will apply to first-principles calculations on periodic systems more generally. After reporting results of test calculations on atoms to validate the procedure, values for the polarizabilities of the oxide ion and various cations in a range of materials are reported and compared with experimental information as well as previous theoretical results.     

The "JK-only" approximation in density matrix functional and wave function theory

Various energy functionals applying the "JK-only" approximation which leads to two-index two-electron integrals instead of four-index two-electron integrals in the electron-electron interaction term of the electronic energy are presented. Numerical results of multiconfiguration self-consistent field calculations for the best possible "JK-only" wave function are compared to those obtained from the pair excitation multiconfiguration self-consistent (PEMCSCF) method and two versions of density matrix functional theory. One of these is derived making explicit use of some necessary conditions for N representability of the second-order density matrix. It is shown that this method models the energy functional based on the best possible "JK-only" wave function with good accuracy. The calculations also indicate that only a minor fraction of the total correlation energy is incorporated by "JK-only" approaches for larger molecules.     

Multigrid methods in density functional theory

A multigrid method for real-space solution of the Kohr-Sham equations is presented. By using this multiscale approach, the problem of critical slowing down typical of iterative real-space solvers is overcome. The method scales linearly in computer time with the number of electrons if the orbitals are localized. Here, we describe details of our multigrid method, present preliminary many-electron numerical results illustrating the efficiency of the solver, and discuss its strengths and limitations. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Molecular fragments in density functional theory

The second-order density functional approach to the partitioning of the molecular density of Cedillo, Chattaraj, and Parr (Int. J. Quantum Chem. 2000, 77, 403-407) is used, together with a local assumption for the function that projects the total density into its components, to show that the distribution function adopts a stockholders form, in terms of the local softness of the isolated fragments, and that the molecular Fukui function is distributed in the molecular fragments in the same proportion as the electronic density.     

Limits of the creation of electronic wave packets using time-dependent density functional theory

Explicitly time-dependent density functional theory (TDDFT) has often been suggested as the method of choice for controlling the correlated dynamics of many electron systems. However, it is not yet clear which control tasks can be achieved reliably and how this depends on the functionals used. In this article, we show that the control task of creating a simple wave packet, having a population of 50% in the excited state, can indeed be achieved if a certain condition is fulfilled. This result is in contrast to the observation that a full population inversion is extremely difficult to achieve. In addition, we identify a rule to predict when TDDFT produces the correct wave packet. To illustrate our findings, we study the molecules Li(2)C(2), Li(7)OH, and B(2)N(2)CO using two different functionals as well as time-dependent Hartree-Fock (TDHF). To assess the performance of TDDFT and TDHF, we compare with time-dependent configuration interaction calculations.     

Pseudospectral time-dependent density functional theory

Time-dependent density functional theory (TDDFT) is implemented within the Tamm-Dancoff approximation (TDA) using a pseudospectral approach to evaluate two-electron repulsion integrals. The pseudospectral approximation uses a split representation with both spectral basis functions and a physical space grid to achieve a reduction in the scaling behavior of electronic structure methods. We demonstrate here that exceptionally sparse grids may be used in the excitation energy calculation, following earlier work employing the pseudospectral approximation for determining correlation energies in wavefunction-based methods with similar conclusions. The pseudospectral TDA-TDDFT method is shown to be up to ten times faster than a conventional algorithm for hybrid functionals without sacrificing chemical accuracy.     

Orbital-corrected orbital-free density functional theory

A new implementation of density functional theory (DFT), namely orbital-corrected orbital-free (OO) DFT, has been developed. With at most two non-self-consistent iterations, OO-DFT accomplishes the accuracy comparable to fully self-consistent Kohn-Sham DFT as demonstrated by its application on the cubic-diamond Si and the face-centered-cubic Ag systems. Our work provides a new impetus to further improve orbital-free DFT method and presents a robust means to significantly lower the cost associated with general applications of linear-scaling Kohn-Sham DFT methods on large systems of thousands of atoms within different chemical bonding environment.     

Perspective on density functional theory

Density functional theory (DFT) is an incredible success story. The low computational cost, combined with useful (but not yet chemical) accuracy, has made DFT a standard technique in most branches of chemistry and materials science. Electronic structure problems in a dazzling variety of fields are currently being tackled. However, DFT has many limitations in its present form: too many approximations, failures for strongly correlated systems, too slow for liquids, etc. This perspective reviews some recent progress and ongoing challenges.     

Differentiability of Lieb functional in electronic density functional theory

A solid understanding of the Lieb functional F_L is important because of its centrality in the foundations of electronic density functional theory. A basic question is whether directional derivatives of F_L at an ensemble‐V‐representable density are given by (minus) the potential. A widely accepted purported proof that F_L is Gâteaux differentiable at EV‐representable densities would say, “yes.” But that proof is fallacious, as shown here. F_L is not Gâteaux differentiable in the normal sense, nor is it continuous. By means of a constructive approach, however, we are able to show that the derivative of F_L at an EV‐representable density ρ₀ in the direction of ρ₁ is given by the potential if ρ₀ and ρ₁ are everywhere strictly greater than zero, and they and the ground state wave function have square integrable derivatives through second order. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Quantum Chem, 2007     

Improving the energies of approximate wave functions using the concepts of density functional theory

A simple method, derived from DFT, for improving the energy of a trial density is modified for the case of atoms. It is assumed that errors in the interelectronic repulsion are the only significant ones. The errors in the energies of single‐ζ Slater orbitals for the atoms from He to Ne are reduced an average factor of 21. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Int J Quantum Chem, 2001     

Effective potential in density matrix functional theory

In the previous paper it was shown that in the ground state the diagonal of the spin independent second-order density matrix n can be determined by solving a single auxiliary equation of a two-particle problem. Thus the problem of an arbitrary system with even electrons can be reduced to a two-particle problem. The effective potential of the two-particle equation contains a term v(p) of completely kinetic origin. Virial theorem and hierarchy of equations are derived for v(p) and simple approximations are proposed. A relationship between the effective potential u(p) of the shape function equation and the potential v(p) is established.     

Phase dilemma in density matrix functional theory

For closed-shell systems, a particular parametrization of coefficients in a configuration interaction (CI) expansion provides a convenient formulation for the search over electronic wave functions constrained by a set of natural orbitals (NOs) and the corresponding occupation numbers that are invoked in every variational construction of the density matrix functional (DMF) V(ee)(Gamma) for the electron--electron repulsion energy. It produces an explicit expression for V(ee) in terms of the Coulomb and exchange integrals over NOs, and an idempotent matrix omega, diagonal elements of which equal the occupation numbers. At the same time, it reveals a very serious bottleneck affecting any rigorous approach to the DMF theory, namely the phase dilemma that stems from the necessity to carry out minimization over a large number of possible combinations of CI coefficient signs. While underscoring its lack of variational nature, a simple approximation for the phase factor products provides a strict derivation for the recently proposed Kollmar-Hess functional.     

Long-range excitations in time-dependent density functional theory

Adiabatic time-dependent density functional theory fails for excitations of a heteroatomic molecule composed of two open-shell fragments at large separation. Strong frequency dependence of the exchange-correlation kernel is necessary for both local and charge-transfer excitations. The root of this is the static correlation created by the step in the exact Kohn-Sham ground-state potential between the two fragments. An approximate nonempirical kernel is derived for excited molecular dissociation curves at large separation. Our result is also relevant when the usual local and semilocal approximations are used for the ground-state potential, as static correlation there arises from the coalescence of the highest occupied and lowest unoccupied orbital energies as the molecule dissociates.