A new parametrizable model of molecular electronic structure

A new electronic structure model is developed in which the ground state energy of a molecular system is given by a Hartree-Fock-like expression with parametrized one- and two-electron integrals over an extended (minimal + polarization) set of orthogonalized atom-centered basis functions, the variational equations being solved formally within the minimal basis but the effect of polarization functions being included in the spirit of second-order perturbation theory. It is designed to yield good dipole polarizabilities and improved intermolecular potentials with dispersion terms. The molecular integrals include up to three-center one-electron and two-center two-electron terms, all in simple analytical forms. A method to extract the effective one-electron Hamiltonian of nonlocal-exchange Kohn-Sham theory from the coupled-cluster one-electron density matrix is designed and used to get its matrix representation in a molecule-intrinsic minimal basis as an input to the parametrization procedure--making a direct link to the correlated wavefunction theory. The model has been trained for 15 elements (H, Li-F, Na-Cl, 720 parameters) on a set of 5581 molecules (including ions, transition states, and weakly bound complexes) whose first- and second-order properties were computed by the coupled-cluster theory as a reference, and a good agreement is seen. The model looks promising for the study of large molecular systems, it is believed to be an important step forward from the traditional semiempirical models towards higher accuracy at nearly as low a computational cost.     

Basis-set quality and basis-set bias in molecular property calculations

Quality measures for Gaussian basis sets are proposed that are based on principal angles between the basis set and reference molecular orbitals. The principal angles are obtained from the cosine-sine (CS) decomposition of orthogonal matrices and yield detailed information about basis-set convergence with respect to different regions of space. Principal angles for occupied orbitals show excellent correlation with basis-set errors in ground-state energies. Furthermore, ground-state bias in finite basis sets can be estimated from the relation between principal angles for occupied and Rydberg orbitals. Ground-state bias is observed in basis sets including extensive diffuse augmentation and affects the quality of computed molecular response properties. Principal angles and ground-state bias are investigated for the H-Ne atoms and a series of diatomics using numerical Hartree-Fock calculations as a reference. Convergence of ground-state energies and static polarizabilities is studied for the hierarchies of correlation-consistent and Karlsruhe segmented def2 basis sets including different levels of diffuse augmentation.     

Development and parametrization of sindo1 for second-row elements

The semiempirical MO method SINDO 1 is extended to second-row atoms from sodium to chlorine. The basis set has a provision to include d orbitals. To retain rotational invariance in a d orbital set, a number of hybrid integrals has to be included that invalidate the zero differential overlap (ZDO ) assumption even in a symmetrically orthogonalized basis set. The inclusion of d orbitals rendered the set-up of integral calculation of the original INDO method impractical. Instead of one subroutine for each integral, all explicitly calculated integrals (overlap, core, electronic repulsion) are now contained in a single subroutine under unifying aspects. The parametrization scheme includes pseudopotentials and adjusts the total energy under inclusion of zero point energies to experimental heats of formation of ground states. The vibrational frequencies for the calculation of zero point energies are obtained from calculated force constants and G matrix elements by a scaling procedure. The results for geometries, energies, and dipole moments are compared with MNDO data.     

Determination of one-centre core integrals from the average energies of atomic configurations

One-center core integrals for valence orbitals are determined from the experimental average energies of neutral atomic configurations from Li through Zn. These values are compared with those estimated from CNDO /1, “INDO /1”, CNDO /2, “INDO /2” and with theoretical values calculated from a pseudo-potential method. The agreement is good between values obtained from neutral atoms and from the psuedo-potential calculation except for the 3d orbitals of the transition elements where the theoretically calculated integrals over single ξ functions are not realistic. These two methods reproduce both term and average configuration energies for the first two rows of atoms; the semiempirical method reliably reproduces them for the third row. The CNDO /1 and INDO /1 methods underestimate atomic energies, while the CNDO /2 and INDO /2 procedures fail rather poorly. The propriety of using core integrals estimated semiempirically in molecular orbital calculations is discussed.     

Approximate valence-shell electron unrestricted Hartree-Fock calculations with orthogonalized atomic orbitals: Proton hyperfine splittings in benzyl and related radicals

A modified INDO procedure has been used to calculate the proton hyperfine splittings in benzyl and the isoelectronic anilino, phenoxy and 2-azabenzyl as well as 2- and 3-thenyl radicals. The present procedure differentiates between s-, p- and d-orbitals on an atom in estimating various integrals involving them, satisfies the rotational invariance requirements and employs an orthogonalized basis set of atomic orbitals for obtaining core-Hamiltonian matrix elements. The calculations based on using the exponents which depend only on the type of orbital and the nature of atom fail to provide correct relative order of ortho and para proton splittings in benzyl as well as anilino, phenoxy and 2-azabenzyl radicals. On the other hand, use of the exponents which are modified according to the charge densities in various orbitals leads to a high absolute value for para proton splitting compared to that for ortho proton splitting which in case of all these radicals is in agreement with experiment. A spin density calculation on benzyl, anilino and phenoxy radicals considering the variation of one-center one-electron and one-center two-electron integrals for different protons with their charges is found to yield further improvement in the relative order of ortho and para proton splittings in all these radicals. In 2- and 3-thenyl radicals the role of 3d-orbitals on sulfur has also been examined. To our knowledge, no unrestricted INDO calculations including 3d-orbitals on sulfur have been reported in the literature so far.     

Direct INDO/SCI method for excited state calculations

Intermediate neglect of differential overlap (INDO) is the most commonly utilized semiempirical technique for performing excited state calculations on large organic systems such as organic semiconductors and fluorescent dyes. The calculations are typically done at the singles-configuration interaction (SCI) level. Direct methods provide a more efficient means of performing configuration interaction (CI) calculations, and the computational trade offs associated with various approaches to direct-CI theory have been well characterized for ab initio Hamiltonians and high-order CI. However, the INDO and SCI approximations lead to a new set of trade offs. In particular, application of the electron-electron interactions in the atomic basis leads to savings in computational time that scale as the number of atomic orbitals, which for a large organic system can be two to three orders of magnitude. These savings are largest when only a few low-lying excited states are generated and when a full SCI basis, which includes excitations between all filled and empty molecular orbitals, is used. In addition, substantial memory savings are achieved in the direct method by avoiding the evaluation of the two electron integrals in the molecular orbital basis. The method is demonstrated by calculating the absorption spectrum of a poly(paraphenylenevinylene) oligomer containing 16 phenyl rings.     

Analytic second derivatives for the spin-free exact two-component theory

The formulation and implementation of the spin-free (SF) exact two-component (X2c) theory at the one-electron level (SFX2c-1e) is extended in the present work to the analytic evaluation of second derivatives of the energy. In the X2c-1e scheme, the four-component one-electron Dirac Hamiltonian is block diagonalized in its matrix representation and the resulting "electrons-only" two-component Hamiltonian is then used together with untransformed two-electron interactions. The derivatives of the two-component Hamiltonian can thus be obtained by means of simple manipulations of the parent four-component Hamiltonian integrals and derivative integrals. The SF version of X2c-1e can furthermore exploit available nonrelativistic quantum-chemical codes in a straightforward manner. As a first application of analytic SFX2c-1e second derivatives, we report a systematic study of the equilibrium geometry and vibrational frequencies for the bent ground state of the copper hydroxide (CuOH) molecule. Scalar-relativistic, electron-correlation, and basis-set effects on these properties are carefully assessed.     

Effect of secondary basis-set superposition error upon calculated vibrational intensities

The calculated dipole moment and polarizability of a molecule are affected by the position of the ghost orbitais of its partner subunit within a molecular complex. The IR and Raman intensities, evaluated in terms of the derivatives of these properties with respect to an intermolecular motion, are hence subject to a secondary basis-set superposition error (BSSE), here calculated for (HF)₂ with a variety of basis sets. Whereas the IR intensity is only slightly affected, the BSSE introduces enormous errors into the Raman intensities. These errors can be reduced if two sets of polarization functions are included in the basis set.     

Cluster expansion of the wave function. Electron correlations in singlet and triplet excited states,ionized states,and electron attached states by SAC and SAC–CI theories

The symmetry-adapted-cluster (SAC ) and SAC –CI theories reported previously have been applied to the study of electron correlations in ground state, singlet and triplet excited states, ionized state, and electron attached state. Formulas for calculations of one-electron properties and transition properties from the SAC and SAC –CI wave functions are given. Calculations were carried out for the ground and Rydberg excited states of water and its positive and negative ions, with the use of the simpler computational scheme than the previous one. The results compare well with experiments.     

Orbital relaxation in the Rydberg series of the lithium atom. An excited state SCF calculation

Self-consistent-field (SCF ) calculations for a series of Rydberg states (1s²ns)²S of the Li atom are performed using the generalized Brillouin theorem (GBT) method. The calculated energy is a proper upper bound to the excited state energy. The SCF term values of the Rydberg states are almost the same as those of the frozen-core approximation ones. The orbital behavior shows that the core is slightly expanded by the penetration of the Rydberg orbitals, and the higher Rydberg orbitals can be very well represented by the modified hydrogen-like orbitals.     

Rydberg character of the higher excited states of free-base porphin

 The Rydberg character of the excited states of free-base porphin (FBP) has been investigated by the ab initio configuration interaction singles (CIS) method and the state-averaged complete-active-space self-consistent-field method. Double-zeta basis sets augmented with s, p, and d Rydberg functions and d polarization functions have been employed. Two types of molecular orbitals sets, the restricted Hartree–Fock molecular orbitals obtained for the ground state (¹A _g ) and for the cation state (²A _u ), have been used in the CIS calculations. All the calculations show that Rydberg-type excitations play important roles especially in the N bands. In this article we propose applying the model of a perturbed Rydberg series to interpret the excited states of FBP. By using this model, we have succeeded in analyzing the characteristics of the excited states as well as the experimental oscillator strengths, which have considerable magnitude even in the higher excited states. Received: 27 November 2000 / Accepted: 11 April 2001 / Published online: 27 June 2001     

Ab initio ground- and excited-state intermolecular potential energy surfaces for the NO-Ne and NO-Ar van der Waals complexes

The ground- [NO(X(2)Π)] and excited-state [NO(A(2)Σ(+))] intermolecular potential energy surfaces (IPESs) of the NO-Ne and NO-Ar van der Waals complexes are evaluated using the RCCSD(T) spin-restricted coupled cluster method and d-aug-cc-pVQZ basis set extended with a set of 3s3p2d1f1g midbond functions. These bases are selected from the results of a systematic basis-set convergence study carried out for the NO(A(2)Σ(+))-Ar state. We fit the interaction energies to analytic functions and compare the results to those previously available. The NO-Ar (NO-Ne) IPESs are characterized by absolute minima of -120 and -75 cm(-1) (-58 and -5 cm(-1)) at the ground and first excited state, respectively, located close to the T-shaped geometries for the ground states and at linear dispositions in the case of the excited states. The potentials are further used in the evaluation of the rovibrational spectra of the complexes, and the results are compared to those available in the literature.     

Second-order Møller–Plesset perturbation theory with terms linear in the interelectronic coordinates and exact evaluation of three-electron integrals

 The second-order correlation energy of M?ller–Plesset perturbation theory is computed for the neon atom using a wave function that depends explicitly on the interelectronic coordinates (MP2-R12). The resolution-of-identity (RI) approximation, which is invoked in the standard formulation of MP2-R12 theory, is largely avoided by rigorously computing the necessary three-electron integrals. The basis-set limit for the second-order correlation energy is reached to within 0.1 mE _h. A comparison with the conventional RI-based MP2-R12 method shows that only three-electron integrals over s and p orbitals need to be computed exactly, indicating that the RI approximation can be safely used for integrals involving orbitals of higher angular momentum. Received: 9 May 2001 / Accepted: 31 October 2001 / Published online: 9 January 2002     

Coupled-cluster methods with perturbative inclusion of explicitly correlated terms: a preliminary investigation

We propose to account for the large basis-set error of a conventional coupled-cluster energy and wave function by a simple perturbative correction. The perturbation expansion is constructed by L?wdin partitioning of the similarity-transformed Hamiltonian in a space that includes explicitly correlated basis functions. To test this idea, we investigate the second-order explicitly correlated correction to the coupled-cluster singles and doubles (CCSD) energy, denoted here as the CCSD(2)(R12) method. The proposed perturbation expansion presents a systematic and easy-to-interpret picture of the "interference" between the basis-set and correlation hierarchies in the many-body electronic-structure theory. The leading-order term in the energy correction is the amplitude-independent R12 correction from the standard second-order M?ller-Plesset R12 method. The cluster amplitudes appear in the higher-order terms and their effect is to decrease the basis-set correction, in accordance with the usual experience. In addition to the use of the standard R12 technology which simplifies all matrix elements to at most two-electron integrals, we propose several optional approximations to select only the most important terms in the energy correction. For a limited test set, the valence CCSD energies computed with the approximate method, termed , are on average precise to (1.9, 1.4, 0.5 and 0.1%) when computed with Dunning's aug-cc-pVXZ basis sets [X = (D, T, Q, 5)] accompanied by a single Slater-type correlation factor. This precision is a roughly an order of magnitude improvement over the standard CCSD method, whose respective average basis-set errors are (28.2, 10.6, 4.4 and 2.1%). Performance of the method is almost identical to that of the more complex iterative counterpart, CCSD(R12). The proposed approach to explicitly correlated coupled-cluster methods is technically appealing since no modification of the coupled-cluster equations is necessary and the standard M?ller-Plesset R12 machinery can be reused.     

Potential energy surfaces and dynamics of Ni2+ ion aqueous solution: molecular dynamics simulation of the electronic absorption spectrum

We develop a model effective Hamiltonian for describing the electronic structures of first-row transition metals in aqueous solutions using a quasidegenerate perturbation theory. All the states consisting of 3d(n) electronic configurations are determined by diagonalizing a small effective Hamiltonian matrix, where various intermolecular interaction terms such as the electrostatic, polarization, exchange, charge transfer, and three-body interactions are effectively incorporated. This model Hamiltonian is applied to constructing the ground and triplet excited states potential energy functions of Ni(2+) in aqueous solution, based on the ab initio multiconfiguration quasidegenerate perturbation theory calculations. We perform molecular dynamics simulation calculations for the ground state of Ni(2+) aqueous solution to calculate the electronic absorption spectral shape as well as the ground state properties. Agreement between the simulation and experimental spectra is satisfactory, indicating that the present model can well describe the Ni(2+) excited state potential surfaces in aqueous solution.     

Oscillator strengths and photoionisation cross sections for Rydberg transitions in acetaldehyde

Oscillator strengths for electronic transitions involving Rydberg states of acetaldehyde, as well as cross sections for all the dipole allowed photoionisation channels, all ending in the ground state of the molecular cation, are reported. The molecular quantum defect orbital method, which has proved to be reliable in previous applications to molecular Rydberg states, has been used. Despite its relevance for atmospheric chemistry and astrophysics, only a few data seem to be available in the literature. The continuity of the calculated differential oscillator strength across the ionisation threshold has been adopted as a quality criterion. To our knowledge, predictions of oscillator strengths for transitions to high-lying Rydberg states, as well as of photoionisation profiles on acetaldehyde are made here for the first time and we are not aware of any reported experimental data. We, thus, hope the present results may be useful in the interpretation of the spectrum of acetaldehyde and might be of help in future experimental measurements.     

Exchange coupling and magnetic anisotropy of exchanged-biased quantum tunnelling single-molecule magnet Ni3Mn2 complexes using theoretical methods based on Density Functional Theory

The magnetic properties of a new family of single-molecule magnet Ni(3)Mn(2) complexes were studied using theoretical methods based on Density Functional Theory (DFT). The first part of this study is devoted to analysing the exchange coupling constants, focusing on the intramolecular as well as the intermolecular interactions. The calculated intramolecular J values were in excellent agreement with the experimental data, which show that all the couplings are ferromagnetic, leading to an S = 7 ground state. The intermolecular interactions were investigated because the two complexes studied do not show tunnelling at zero magnetic field. Usually, this exchange-biased quantum tunnelling is attributed to the presence of intermolecular interactions calculated with the help of theoretical methods. The results indicate the presence of weak intermolecular antiferromagnetic couplings that cannot explain the ferromagnetic value found experimentally for one of the systems. In the second part, the goal is to analyse magnetic anisotropy through the calculation of the zero-field splitting parameters (D and E), using DFT methods including the spin-orbit effect.     

Nuclear attraction and electron interaction integrals of exponentially decaying functions and the Poisson equation

Summary The technique proposed by O-Ohata and Ruedenberg (J Math Phys 7:547 (1966)) and by Silver and Ruedenberg (J Chem Phys 49:4306 (1968)) of computing nuclear attraction and electron interaction integrals by solving an inhomogeneous Laplace equation can also be applied ifB functions (Filter E, Steinborn EO (1978) Phys Rev A 18:1) are used as basis functions in atomic and molecular calculations. It is shown that because of the remarkable mathematical properties ofB functions the derivation of compact explicit expressions for the multicenter integrals mentioned above is particularly simple. These results are also of interest in the context of other exponentially decaying functions, since all the other commonly occurring exponentially decaying functions as, for instance, Slater functions or bound state hydrogen eigenfunctions can be expressed as simple linear combinations ofB functions. Consequently, their multicenter integrals can also be expressed in terms of multicenter integrals ofB functions.Dedicated to Prof. Klaus Ruedenberg on the occasion of his 70th birthday     

The role of excited Rydberg States in electron transfer dissociation

Ab initio electronic structure methods are used to estimate the cross sections for electron transfer from donor anions having electron binding energies ranging from 0.001 to 0.6 eV to each of three sites in a model disulfide-linked molecular cation. The three sites are (1) the S-S sigma(*) orbital to which electron attachment is rendered exothermic by Coulomb stabilization from the nearby positive site, (2) the ground Rydberg orbital of the -NH(3)(+) site, and (3) excited Rydberg orbitals of the same -NH(3)(+) site. It is found that attachment to the ground Rydberg orbital has a somewhat higher cross section than attachment to either the sigma orbital or the excited Rydberg orbital. However, it is through attachment either to the sigma(*) orbital or to certain excited Rydberg orbitals that cleavage of the S-S bond is most likely to occur. Attachment to the sigma(*) orbital causes prompt cleavage because the sigma energy surface is repulsive (except at very long range). Attachment to the ground or excited Rydberg state causes the S-S bond to rupture only once a through-bond electron transfer from the Rydberg orbital to the S-S sigma(*) orbital takes place. For the ground Rydberg state, this transfer requires surmounting an approximately 0.4 eV barrier that renders the S-S bond cleavage rate slow. However, for the excited Rydberg state, the intramolecular electron transfer has a much smaller barrier and is prompt.     

Finite-temperature full configuration interaction

The exact basis-set values of various thermodynamic potentials of a molecule are evaluated by the finite-temperature full configuration-interaction (FCI) method using ab initio molecular integrals over Gaussian-type orbitals. The thermodynamic potentials considered are the grand partition function, grand potential, internal energy, entropy, and chemical potential in the grand canonical ensemble as well as the partition function, Helmholtz energy, internal energy, and entropy in canonical ensemble. Approximations to FCI that are accurate at low and high temperatures are proposed, implemented, and tested. The results of finite-temperature FCI and its approximations are compared with one another as well as with the results of finite-temperature zeroth-order many-body perturbation theory, in which the Fermi–Dirac statistics is exact. Analytical asymptotic properties in the low- or high-temperature limits of some of these thermodynamic potentials are also given.