Spin-orbit coupled potential energy surfaces and properties using effective relativistic coupling by asymptotic representation

A new method has been reported recently [H. Ndome, R. Welsch, and W. Eisfeld, J. Chem. Phys. 136, 034103 (2012)] that allows the efficient generation of fully coupled potential energy surfaces (PESs) including derivative and spin-orbit (SO) coupling. The method is based on the diabatic asymptotic representation of the molecular fine structure states and an effective relativistic coupling operator and therefore is called effective relativistic coupling by asymptotic representation (ERCAR). The resulting diabatic spin-orbit coupling matrix is constant and the geometry dependence of the coupling between the eigenstates is accounted for by the diabatization. This approach allows to generate an analytical model for the fully coupled PESs without performing any ab initio SO calculations (except perhaps for the atoms) and thus is very efficient. In the present work, we study the performance of this new method for the example of hydrogen iodide as a well-established test case. Details of the diabatization and the accuracy of the results are investigated in comparison to reference ab initio calculations. The energies of the adiabatic fine structure states are reproduced in excellent agreement with reference ab initio data. It is shown that the accuracy of the ERCAR approach mainly depends on the quality of the underlying ab initio data. This is also the case for dissociation and vibrational level energies, which are influenced by the SO coupling. A method is presented how one-electron operators and the corresponding properties can be evaluated in the framework of the ERCAR approach. This allows the computation of dipole and transition moments of the fine structure states in good agreement with ab initio data. The new method is shown to be very promising for the construction of fully coupled PESs for more complex polyatomic systems to be used in quantum dynamics studies.     

Analyzing molecular properties calculated with two-component relativistic methods using spin-free natural bond orbitals: NMR spin-spin coupling constants

An analysis method for static linear response properties employing two-component (spin-orbit) relativistic density functional theory along with scalar relativistic "natural localized molecular orbitals" (NLMOs) and "natural bond orbitals" (NBOs) has been developed. The spin-orbit NLMO/NBO analysis has been applied to study the indirect spin-spin coupling (J-coupling) constants in Tl-I, PbH(4), and a dinuclear Pt-Tl bonded complex with a very large Pt-Tl coupling constant (expt.: 146.8 kHz). For Tl-I it is shown that the analysis scheme based on scalar relativistic NLMOs is applicable even if spin-orbit coupling is responsible for most of the coupling's magnitude. For PbH(4) it is shown that electron delocalization plays a much larger role for the Pb-H coupling than it is the case for the C-H coupling in methane. For the Pt-Tl complex the analysis clearly demonstrates the strong influence of the ligands on the Pt-Tl coupling constant and quantifies the effect of the delocalization of the Pt-Tl bond on the Pt-Tl coupling constant.     

PtF6(2-) dianion and its detachment spectrum: a fully relativistic study

In this work we calculate the photoelectron spectrum of the PtF(6)2- dianion by application of the third-order Dirac-Hartree-Fock one-particle propagator technique. Relativistic effects and electron correlation are hereby treated on a consistent theoretical basis which is mandatory for systems containing heavy elements. A PtF6(2-) gas phase photoelectron spectrum is not yet available and our calculations therefore have predictive character. As it is characteristic for dianionic systems a strong dependence on basis set size and molecular geometry is observed. In contrast to the already calculated PtCl(6)2- photoelectron spectrum no valence orbital inversion due to strong interplay of spin-orbit coupling and electron correlation is observed. Furthermore an unusually strong spin-orbit splitting was found for the sigma-type subvalence 1t1u molecular spinor despite its very small platinum p population. The double ionization threshold is strongly lowered by relativistic effects now enabling an interatomic Coulombic decay process after ionization from the sigma-bonding orbitals. The results stress the importance of spin-orbit coupling for the understanding of the spectral structure which cannot be reproduced by a scalar-relativistic treatment only.     

Spin-orbit relativistic long-range corrected time-dependent density functional theory for investigating spin-forbidden transitions in photochemical reactions

A long-range corrected (LC) time-dependent density functional theory (TDDFT) incorporating relativistic effects with spin-orbit couplings is presented. The relativistic effects are based on the two-component zeroth-order regular approximation Hamiltonian. Before calculating the electronic excitations, we calculated the ionization potentials (IPs) of alkaline metal, alkaline-earth metal, group 12 transition metal, and rare gas atoms as the minus orbital (spinor) energies on the basis of Koopmans' theorem. We found that both long-range exchange and spin-orbit coupling effects are required to obtain Koopmans' IPs, i.e., the orbital (spinor) energies, quantitatively in DFT calculations even for first-row transition metals and systems containing large short-range exchange effects. We then calculated the valence excitations of group 12 transition metal atoms and the Rydberg excitations of rare gas atoms using spin-orbit relativistic LC-TDDFT. We found that the long-range exchange and spin-orbit coupling effects significantly contribute to the electronic spectra of even light atoms if the atoms have low-lying excitations between orbital spinors of quite different electron distributions.     

Density functional theory study of indirect nuclear spin-spin coupling constants with spin-orbit corrections

This work outlines the calculation of indirect nuclear spin-spin coupling constants with spin-orbit corrections using density functional response theory. The nonrelativistic indirect nuclear spin-spin couplings are evaluated using the linear response method, whereas the relativistic spin-orbit corrections are computed using quadratic response theory. The formalism is applied to the homologous systems H2X (X=O,S,Se,Te) and XH4 (X=C,Si,Ge,Sn,Pb) to calculate the indirect nuclear spin-spin coupling constants between the protons. The results confirm that spin-orbit corrections are important for compounds of the H2X series, for which the electronic structure allows for an efficient coupling between the nuclei mediated by the spin-orbit interaction, whereas in the case of the XH4 series the opposite situation is encountered and the spin-orbit corrections are negligible for all compounds of this series. In addition we analyze the performance of the density functional theory in the calculations of nonrelativistic indirect nuclear spin-spin coupling constants.     

Density-functional calculations of relativistic spin-orbit effects on nuclear magnetic shielding in paramagnetic molecules

Terms arising from the relativistic spin-orbit effect on both hyperfine and Zeeman interactions are introduced to density-functional theory calculation of nuclear magnetic shielding in paramagnetic molecules. The theory is a generalization of the former nonrelativistic formulation for doublet systems and is consistent to O(alpha4), the fourth power of the fine structure constant, for the spin-orbit terms. The new temperature-dependent terms arise from the deviation of the electronic g tensor from the free-electron g value as well as spin-orbit corrections to hyperfine coupling tensor A, the latter introduced in the present work. In particular, the new contributions include a redefined isotropic pseudocontact contribution that consists of effects due to both the g tensor and spin-orbit corrections to hyperfine coupling. The implementation of the spin-orbit terms makes use of all-electron atomic mean-field operators and/or spin-orbit pseudopotentials. Sample results are given for group-9 metallocenes and a nitroxide radical. The new O(alpha4) corrections are found significant for the metallocene systems while they obtain small values for the nitroxide radical. For the isotropic shifts, none of the three beyond-leading-order hyperfine contributions are negligible.     

A fully relativistic method for calculation of nuclear magnetic shielding tensors with a restricted magnetically balanced basis in the framework of the matrix Dirac-Kohn-Sham equation

A new relativistic four-component density functional approach for calculations of NMR shielding tensors has been developed and implemented. It is founded on the matrix formulation of the Dirac-Kohn-Sham (DKS) method. Initially, unperturbed equations are solved with the use of a restricted kinetically balanced basis set for the small component. The second-order coupled perturbed DKS method is then based on the use of restricted magnetically balanced basis sets for the small component. Benchmark relativistic calculations have been carried out for the (1)H and heavy-atom nuclear shielding tensors of the HX series (X=F,Cl,Br,I), where spin-orbit effects are known to be very pronounced. The restricted magnetically balanced basis set allows us to avoid additional approximations and/or strong basis set dependence which arises in some related approaches. The method provides an attractive alternative to existing approximate two-component methods with transformed Hamiltonians for relativistic calculations of chemical shifts and spin-spin coupling constants of heavy-atom systems. In particular, no picture-change effects arise in property calculations.     

A theoretical study of the excited states of AmO2n+, n=1,2,3

The ground and excited states of the AmO(2) (+), AmO(2) (2+), and AmO(2) (3+) ions have been studied using the four-component configuration interaction singles doubles, spin-orbit complete active space self-consistent field, and spin-orbit complete active space-order perturbation theory methods. The roles of scalar relativistic effects and spin-orbit coupling are analyzed; results with different methods are carefully compared by a precise analysis of the wave functions. A molecular spinor diagram is used in relation to the four-component calculations while a ligand field model is used for the two-step method. States with the same number of electrons in the four nonbonding orbitals are in very good agreement with the two methods while ligand field and charge transfer states do not have the same excitation energies.     

A simplified relativistic time-dependent density-functional theory formalism for the calculations of excitation energies including spin-orbit coupling effect

In the present work we have proposed an approximate time-dependent density-functional theory (TDDFT) formalism to deal with the influence of spin-orbit coupling effect on the excitation energies for closed-shell systems. In this formalism scalar relativistic TDDFT calculations are first performed to determine the lowest single-group excited states and the spin-orbit coupling operator is applied to these single-group excited states to obtain the excitation energies with spin-orbit coupling effects included. The computational effort of the present method is much smaller than that of the two-component TDDFT formalism and this method can be applied to medium-size systems containing heavy elements. The compositions of the double-group excited states in terms of single-group singlet and triplet excited states are obtained automatically from the calculations. The calculated excitation energies based on the present formalism show that this formalism affords reasonable excitation energies for transitions not involving 5p and 6p orbitals. For transitions involving 5p orbitals, one can still obtain acceptable results for excitations with a small truncation error, while the formalism will fail for transitions involving 6p orbitals, especially 6p1/2 spinors.     

Closed-shell coupled-cluster theory with spin-orbit coupling

A two-component closed-shell coupled-cluster (CC) approach using relativistic effective core potentials with spin-orbit coupling included in the post-Hartree-Fock treatment is proposed and implemented at the CC singles and doubles (CCSD) level as well as at the CCSD level augmented by a perturbative treatment of triple excitations [CCSD(T)]. The latter invokes as an additional approximation the neglect of the occupied-occupied and virtual-virtual blocks of the spin-orbit coupling matrix in order to avoid the iterative N(7) steps in the treatment of triple excitations. The computational effort of the implemented two-component CC methods is about 10-15 times that of its corresponding nonrelativistic counterpart, which needs to be compared to the by a factor of 32 higher cost for fully relativistic schemes and schemes with spin-orbit coupling included already at the Hartree-Fock self-consistent field (HF-SCF) level. This substantial computational saving is due to the use of real molecular orbitals and real two-electron integrals. Results on 5p-, 6p-, and 7p-block element compounds show that the bond lengths and harmonic frequencies obtained with the present two-component CCSD method agree well with those computed with the CCSD approach including spin-orbit coupling at the HF-SCF level even for the 7p-block element compounds. As for the CCSD(T) approach, high accuracy for 5p- and 6p-block element compounds is retained. However, the difference in bond lengths and harmonic frequencies becomes somewhat more pronounced for the 7p-block element compounds.     

Electronic structure of molecules using one-component wave functions and relativistic effective core potentials

A one-component approach to molecular electronic structure is discussed that includes the dominant relativistic effects on valence electrons and yet allows the use of the traditional quantum-chemistry techniques. The approach starts with one-component Cowan–Griffin relativistic orbitals that successfully incorporate the effects of the mass-velocity and Darwin terms present in more complicated wave functions such as the Dirac–Hartree–Fock. The approach then constructs “relativistic” effective core potentials (RECPS ) from these orbitals, and uses these to bring the relativistic effects into the molecular electronic calculations. The use of effective one-electron spin-orbit operators in conjunction with these one-component wave functions to include the effects of spin-orbit coupling is discussed. Applications to molecular systems involving heavy atoms and comparisons with available spectroscopic data on molecular geometries and excitation energies are presented. Finally, a new approach to the construction of RECPS encompassing the Hamiltonian and shapeconsistent approach is presented together with a novel analysis of the long-range behavior of the RECPS .     

Ab initio potential energy surface and spectrum of the B(3Pi) state of the HeI2 complex

The three-dimensional interaction potential for I2(B 3Pi0u+)+He is computed using accurate ab initio methods and a large basis set. Scalar relativistic effects are accounted for by large-core relativistic pseudopotentials for the iodine atoms. Using multireference configuration interaction calculations with subsequent treatment of spin-orbit coupling, it is shown for linear and perpendicular structures of the complex that the interaction potential for I2(B 3Pi0u+)+He is very well approximated by the average of the 3A' and 3A" interaction potentials obtained without spin-orbit coupling. The three-dimensional 3A' and 3A" interaction potentials are computed at the unrestricted open-shell coupled-cluster level of theory using large basis sets. Bound state calculations based on the averaged surface are carried out and binding energies, vibrationally averaged structures, and frequencies are determined. These results are found to be in excellent accord with recent experimental measurements from laser-induced fluorescence and action spectra of HeI2. Furthermore, in combination with a recent X-state potential, the spectral blueshift is obtained and compared with available experimental values.     

Solvent effects on heavy atom nuclear spin-spin coupling constants: a theoretical study of Hg-C and Pt-P couplings.

The computation of indirect nuclear spin-spin coupling constants, based on the relativistic two-component zeroth order regular approximate Hamiltonian, has been recently implemented by us into the Amsterdam Density Functional program. Applications of the code for the calculation of one-bond metal-ligand couplings of coordinatively unsaturated compounds containing (195)Pt and (199)Hg, including spin-orbit coupling or coordination effects by solvent molecules, show that relativistic density functional calculations are able to reproduce the experimental findings with good accuracy for the systems under investigation. Spin-orbit effects are rather small for these cases, while coordination of the heavy atoms by solvent molecules has a great impact on the calculated couplings. Experimental trends for different solvents are reproduced. An orbital-based analysis of the solvent effect is presented. The scalar relativistic increase of the coupling constants is of the same order of magnitude as the nonrelativistically obtained values, making a relativistic treatment essential for obtaining quantitatively correct results. Solvent effects can be of similar importance.     

Analyzing NMR shielding tensors calculated with two-component relativistic methods using spin-free localized molecular orbitals

A recently developed analysis method [J. Chem. Phys. 127, 124106 (2007)] for NMR spin-spin coupling constants employing two-component (spin-orbit) relativistic density functional theory along with scalar relativistic natural localized molecular orbitals (NLMOs) and natural bond orbitals (NBOs) has been extended for analyzing NMR shielding tensors. Contributions from a field-dependent basis set (gauge-including atomic orbitals) have been included in the formalism. The spin-orbit NLMO/NBO nuclear magnetic shielding analysis has been applied to methane, plumbane, hydrogen iodide, tetracholoplatinate(II), and hexachloroplatinate(IV).     

Two-component relativistic methods for the heaviest elements

Different generalized Douglas-Kroll transformed Hamiltonians (DKn, n=1, 2,...,5) proposed recently by Hess et al. are investigated with respect to their performance in calculations of the spin-orbit splittings. The results are compared with those obtained in the exact infinite-order two-component (IOTC) formalism which is fully equivalent to the four-component Dirac approach. This is a comprehensive investigation of the ability of approximate DKn methods to correctly predict the spin-orbit splittings. On comparing the DKn results with the IOTC (Dirac) data one finds that the calculated spin-orbit splittings are systematically improved with the increasing order of the DK approximation. However, even the highest-order approximate two-component DK5 scheme shows certain deficiencies with respect to the treatment of the spin-orbit coupling terms in very heavy systems. The meaning of the removal of the spin-dependent terms in the so-called spin-free (scalar) relativistic methods for many-electron systems is discussed and a computational investigation of the performance of the spin-free DKn and IOTC methods for many-electron Hamiltonians is carried out. It is argued that the spin-free IOTC rather than the Dirac-Coulomb results give the appropriate reference for other spin-free schemes which are based on approximate two-component Hamiltonians. This is illustrated by calculations of spin-free DKn and IOTC total energies, r(-1) expectation values, ionization potentials, and electron affinities of heavy atomic systems.     

AB initio effective core potentials including relativistic effects. A procedure for the inclusion of spin-orbit coupling in molecular wavefunctions

The first ab initio procedure for the treatment of spin-orbit coupling in molecules based on the use of relativistic effective potentials derived from Dirac-Fock atomic wavefunctions is presented. A rigorous definition for the spin-orbit operator is given and its use in molecular calculations discussed.     

A direct relativistic four-component multiconfiguration self-consistent-field method for molecules

A new direct relativistic four-component Kramers-restricted multiconfiguration self-consistent-field (KR-MCSCF) code for molecules has been implemented. The program is based upon Kramers-paired spinors and a full implementation of the binary double groups (D(2h)(*) and subgroups). The underlying quaternion algebra for one-electron operators was extended to treat two-electron integrals and density matrices in an efficient and nonredundant way. The iterative procedure is direct with respect to both configurational and spinor variational parameters; this permits the use of large configuration expansions and many basis functions. The relativistic minimum-maximum principle is implemented in a second-order restricted-step optimization algorithm, which provides sharp and well-controlled convergence. This paper focuses on the necessary modifications of nonrelativistic MCSCF methodology to obtain a fully variational KR-MCSCF implementation. The general implementation also allows for the use of molecular integrals from a two-component relativistic Hamiltonian as, for example, the Douglas-Kroll-Hess variants. Several sample applications concern the determination of spectroscopic properties of heavy-element atoms and molecules, demonstrating the influence of spin-orbit coupling in MCSCF approaches to such systems and showing the potential of the new method.     

Relativistic spin-orbit effects on hyperfine coupling tensors by density-functional theory

A second-order perturbation theory treatment of spin-orbit corrections to hyperfine coupling tensors has been implemented within a density-functional framework. The method uses the all-electron atomic mean-field approximation and/or spin-orbit pseudopotentials in incorporating one- and two-electron spin-orbit interaction within a first-principles framework. Validation of the approach on a set of main-group radicals and transition metal complexes indicates good agreement between all-electron and pseudopotential results for hyperfine coupling constants of the lighter nuclei in the system, except for cases in which scalar relativistic effects become important. The nonrelativistic Fermi contact part of the isotropic hyperfine coupling constants is not always accurately reproduced by the exchange-correlation functionals employed, particularly for the triplet and pi-type doublet radicals in the present work. For this reason, ab initio coupled-cluster singles and doubles with perturbative triples results for the first-order contributions have been combined in the validation calculations with the density-functional results for the second-order spin-orbit contributions. In the cases where spin-orbit corrections are of significant magnitude relative to the nonrelativistic first-order terms, they improve the agreement with experiment. Antisymmetric contributions to the hyperfine tensor arise from the spin-orbit contributions and are discussed for the IO2 radical, whereas rovibrational effects have been evaluated for RhC, NBr, and NI.