State‐specific multireference perturbation theory with improved virtual orbitals: Taming the ground state of F2, Be2, and N2

Adaptation of improved virtual orbitals (IVOs) in state‐specific multireference perturbation theory using Møller–Plesset multipartitioning of the Hamiltonian (IVO‐SSMRPT) is examined in which the IVO‐complete active space configuration interaction (CASCI) is used as an inexpensive alternative to the more involved CAS‐self‐consistent field (CASSCF) orbitals. Unlike the CASSCF approach, IVO‐CASCI does not bear tedious and costly iterations beyond those in the initial SCF calculation. The IVO‐SSMRPT is intruder‐free, and explicitly size‐extensive. In the present preliminary study, the IVO‐SSMRPT method which relies on a small reference space is applied to study potential energy surfaces (PES) of the ground state of challenging, multiconfigurational F₂, Be₂, and N₂ molecules. These systems provide a serious challenge to any ab initio methodology due to the presence of an intricate interplay of nondynamical and dynamical correlations to the entire PES. The quality of the computed PES has been judged by extracting spectroscopic parameters and vibrational levels. The reported results illustrate that the IVO‐SSMRPT method has a potential to yield accuracies as good as the CASSCF‐SSMRPT one with reduced computational labor. Even with small reference spaces, our estimates demonstrate a good agreement with the available experimental values, and some benchmark computations. The blend of accuracy and low computational cost of IVO‐SSMRPT should deserve future attention for the accurate treatment of electronic states of small to large molecular systems for which the wavefunction is characterized by various configurations. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Development and applications of a unitary group adapted state specific multi-reference coupled cluster theory with internally contracted treatment of inactive double excitations

Any multi-reference coupled cluster (MRCC) development based on the Jeziorski-Monkhorst (JM) multi-exponential ansatz for the wave-operator Ω suffers from spin-contamination problem for non-singlet states. We have very recently proposed a spin-free unitary group adapted (UGA) analogue of the JM ansatz, where the cluster operators are defined in terms of spin-free unitary generators and a normal ordered, rather than ordinary, exponential parametrization of Ω is used. A consequence of the latter choice is the emergence of the "direct?term" of the MRCC equations that terminates at exactly the quartic power of the cluster amplitudes. Our UGA-MRCC ansatz has been utilized to generate both the spin-free state specific (SS) and the state universal MRCC formalisms. It is well-known that the SSMRCC theory requires suitable sufficiency conditions to resolve the redundancy of the cluster amplitudes. In this paper, we propose an alternative variant of the UGA-SSMRCC theory, where the sufficiency conditions are used for all cluster operators containing active orbitals and the single excitations with inactive orbitals, while the inactive double excitations are assumed to be independent of the model functions they act upon. The working equations for the inactive double excitations are thus derived in an internally contracted (IC) manner in the sense that the matrix elements entering the MRCC equations involve excitations from an entire combination of the model functions. We call this theory as UGA-ICID-MRCC, where ICID is the acronym for "Internally Contracted treatment of Inactive Double excitations." Since the number of such excitations are the most numerous, choosing them to be independent of the model functions will lead to very significant reduction in the number of cluster amplitudes for large active spaces, and is worth exploring. Moreover, unlike for the excitations involving active orbitals, where there is inadequate coupling between the model and the virtual functions in the SSMRCC equations generated from sufficiency conditions, our internally contracted treatment of inactive double excitations involves much more complete couplings. Numerical implementation of our formalism amply demonstrates the efficacy of the formalism.     

Scale‐adaptive tensor algebra for local many‐body methods of electronic structure theory

While the formalism of multiresolution analysis, based on wavelets and adaptive integral representations of operators, is actively progressing in electronic structure theory (mostly on the independent‐particle level and, recently, second‐order perturbation theory), the concepts of multiresolution and adaptivity can also be utilized within the traditional formulation of correlated (many‐particle) theory based on second quantization and the corresponding (generally nonorthogonal) tensor algebra. In this article, we present a formalism called scale‐adaptive tensor algebra, which introduces an adaptive representation of tensors of many‐body operators via the local adjustment of the basis set quality. Given a series of locally supported fragment bases of a progressively lower quality, we formulate the explicit rules for tensor algebra operations dealing with adaptively resolved tensor operands. The formalism suggested is expected to enhance the applicability of certain local correlated many‐body methods of electronic structure theory, for example, those directly based on atomic orbitals (or any other localized basis functions in general). © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Intramolecular interactions of L‐phenylalanine: Valence ionization spectra and orbital momentum distributions of its fragment molecules

Intramolecular interactions between fragments of L ‐phenylalanine, i.e., phenyl and alaninyl, have been investigated using dual space analysis (DSA) quantum mechanically. Valence space photoelectron spectra (PES), orbital energy topology and correlation diagram, as well as orbital momentum distributions (MDs) of L ‐phenylalanine, benzene and L ‐alanine are studied using density functional theory methods. While fully resolved experimental PES of L ‐phenylalanine is not yet available, our simulated PES reproduces major features of the experimental measurement. For benzene, the simulated orbital MDs for 1e_1g and 1a_2u orbitals also agree well with those measured using electron momentum spectra. Our theoretical models are then applied to reveal intramolecular interactions of the species on an orbital base, using DSA. Valence orbitals of L ‐phenylalanine can be essentially deduced into contributions from its fragments such as phenyl and alaninyl as well as their interactions. The fragment orbitals inherit properties of their parent species in energy and shape (ie., MDs). Phenylalanine orbitals show strong bonding in the energy range of 14‐20 eV, rather than outside of this region. This study presents a competent orbital based fragments‐in‐molecules picture in the valence space, which supports the fragment molecular orbital picture and building block principle in valence space. The optimized structures of the molecules are represented using the recently developed interactive 3D‐PDF technique. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Comput Chem, 2011     

Localization of molecular orbitals on fragments

A non‐iterative algorithm for the localization of molecular orbitals (MOs) from complete active space self consistent field (CASSCF) and for single‐determinantal wave functions on predefined moieties is given. The localized fragment orbitals can be used to analyze chemical reactions between fragments and also the binding of fragments in the product molecule with a fragments‐in‐molecules approach by using a valence bond expansion of the CASSCF wave function. The algorithm is an example of the orthogonal Procrustes problem, which is a matrix optimization problem using the singular value decomposition. It is based on the similarity of the set of MOs for the moieties to the localized MOs of the molecule; the similarity is expressed by overlap matrices between the original fragment MOs and the localized MOs. For CASSCF wave functions, localization is done independently in the space of occupied orbitals and active orbitals, whereas, the space of virtual orbitals is mostly uninteresting. Localization of Hartree–Fock or Kohn–Sham density functional theory orbitals is not straightforward; rather, it needs careful consideration, because in this case some virtual orbitals are needed but the space of virtual orbitals depends on the basis sets used and causes considerable problems due to the diffuse character of most virtual orbitals. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

A spin-adapted size-extensive state-specific multi-reference perturbation theory. I. Formal developments

We present in this paper a comprehensive formulation of a spin-adapted size-extensive state-specific multi-reference second-order perturbation theory (SA-SSMRPT2) as a tool for applications to molecular states of arbitrary complexity and generality. The perturbative theory emerges in the development as a result of a physically appealing quasi-linearization of a rigorously size-extensive state-specific multi-reference coupled cluster (SSMRCC) formalism [U. S. Mahapatra, B. Datta, and D. Mukherjee, J. Chem. Phys. 110, 6171 (1999)]. The formulation is intruder-free as long as the state-energy is energetically well-separated from the virtual functions. SA-SSMRPT2 works with a complete active space (CAS), and treats each of the model space functions on the same footing. This thus has the twin advantages of being capable of handling varying degrees of quasi-degeneracy and of ensuring size-extensivity. This strategy is attractive in terms of the applicability to bigger systems. A very desirable property of the parent SSMRCC theory is the explicit maintenance of size-extensivity under a variety of approximations of the working equations. We show how to generate both the Rayleigh-Schro?dinger (RS) and the Brillouin-Wigner (BW) versions of SA-SSMRPT2. Unlike the traditional naive formulations, both the RS and the BW variants are manifestly size-extensive and both share the avoidance of intruders in the same manner as the parent SSMRCC. We discuss the various features of the RS as well as the BW version using several partitioning strategies of the hamiltonian. Unlike the other CAS based MRPTs, the SA-SSMRPT2 is intrinsically flexible in the sense that it is constructed in a manner that it can relax the coefficients of the reference function, or keep the coefficients frozen if we so desire. We delineate the issues pertaining to the spin-adaptation of the working equations of the SA-SSMRPT2, starting from SSMRCC, which would allow us to incorporate essentially any type open-shell configuration-state functions (CSF) within the CAS. The formalisms presented here will be applied extensively in a companion paper to assess their efficacy.     

Superexchange in magnetic insulators: an interpretation of the metal-metal charge transfer energy in the Anderson theory

The superexchange interactions in four three-center model systems A-L-B, for A and B being paramagnetic centers and L a diamagnetic bridging ligand, are analyzed by valence bond configuration interaction models in combination with fourth-order perturbation theory. We analyze the four distinct cases where a bridging ligand orbital simultaneously interacts with half-filled orbitals localized on A and B (case i), a half-filled orbital localized on A and an empty orbital localized on B (case ii), a full orbital localized on A and a half-filled orbital localized on B (case iii), and finally a full orbital localized on A and an empty orbital localized on B (case iv). In all four cases we compare our new results using localized orbitals with the equivalent results obtained using the Anderson ansatz of delocalized (magnetic) orbitals. The effective metal-to-metal electron transfer energy Ueff in the old formalism with delocalized orbitals is expressed in terms of the metal-to-metal electron transfer energy U and the ligand-to-metal electron transfer energy delta using localized orbitals. We find that the old formalism containing only Ueff is in general not sufficient. For cases i and ii we show that Ueff can be regarded as an effective U strongly reduced with respect to the free ion as a result of hybridization effects, whereas the same reduction of U for the cases iii and iv is not possible. The relevance and applicability of our theoretical results is demonstrated on magnetochemical data from the literature.     

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.     

Theoretical studies on the transport property of oligosilane with p‐n junction

The electron transport properties of a novel p‐n junction nanowire caused by boron‐doping and phosphorus‐doping are investigated using density functional theory combined with the nonequilibrium Green's functions formalism. A satisfying rectification is observed. This is a reasonable result after the analysis of the molecular‐projected self‐consistent Hamitonian (MPSH) states, transmission spectra, the frontier orbitals, and the dipole moments. In contrast, the undoped chain has no rectification character. In addition, a negative differential resistance behavior is also observed at V = 1.8 ～ 2.2 V in the doped nanowire and it could be illustrated from the MPSH states and the transmission spectra. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Quantum Chem, 2011     

New class of Non‐Kekulé radical polymethines: Theoretical study

A new class of open‐shell polymethine monoradicals, possessing nonbonding molecular orbitals (NBMO) and very low excitation energies, was investigated theoretically. The radicals are derivatives of the stable 2‐azaphenalenyl radical. Since in the ground state the NBMO is strictly localized within a molecular fragment, the electron transitions are connected with a substantial charge‐transfer. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Quantum Chem, 2007     

Determining the role of the underlying orbital‐dependence of PBE0‐DH and PBE‐QIDH double‐hybrid density functionals

We study the orbital‐dependence of three (parameter‐free) double‐hybrid density functionals, namely the PBE0‐DH, the PBE‐QIDH models, and the SOS1‐PBE‐QIDH spin‐opposite‐scaled variant of the latter. To do it, we feed all their energy terms with different sets of orbitals obtained previously from self‐consistent density functional theory calculations using several exchange‐correlation functionals (e.g., PBE, PBE0, PBEH&H), or directly with HF‐PBE orbitals, to see their effect on selected datasets for atomization and reaction energies, the latter proned to marked self‐interaction errors. We find that the PBE‐QIDH double‐hybrid model shows a great consistency, as the best results are always obtained for the set of orbitals corresponding to its hybrid scheme, which prompts us to recommend this model without any other fitting or reparameterization. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Configuration interaction study of the ground and excited states of TiO2 ring structures

Theoretical studies of the ground and lowest excited singlet and triplet states of a series of titanium dioxide ring structures, (TiO(2))(2n), n = 3-9, are reported. Calculations are based on many-electron configuration theory, where energies of states and geometrical structures are determined by variational energy minimization. The lowest energy excited states correspond to excitations from oxygen 2p levels to unoccupied 3d orbitals on titanium. For each ring system, two types of excited state solutions are investigated: those that maintain periodic symmetry for individual orbitals and solutions that allow the symmetry to be broken. The latter solutions which correspond to localized states or excitons are found to be significantly lower in energy than the symmetric solutions. We compare the vertical excitation energy of these well-defined geometrical structures with size effects reported in experimental studies.     

Natural bond orbital analysis in the ONETEP code: Applications to large protein systems

First principles electronic structure calculations are typically performed in terms of molecular orbitals (or bands), providing a straightforward theoretical avenue for approximations of increasing sophistication, but do not usually provide any qualitative chemical information about the system. We can derive such information via post‐processing using natural bond orbital (NBO) analysis, which produces a chemical picture of bonding in terms of localized Lewis‐type bond and lone pair orbitals that we can use to understand molecular structure and interactions. We present NBO analysis of large‐scale calculations with the ONETEP linear‐scaling density functional theory package, which we have interfaced with the NBO 5 analysis program. In ONETEP calculations involving thousands of atoms, one is typically interested in particular regions of a nanosystem whilst accounting for long‐range electronic effects from the entire system. We show that by transforming the Non‐orthogonal Generalized Wannier Functions of ONETEP to natural atomic orbitals, NBO analysis can be performed within a localized region in such a way that ensures the results are identical to an analysis on the full system. We demonstrate the capabilities of this approach by performing illustrative studies of large proteins—namely, investigating changes in charge transfer between the heme group of myoglobin and its ligands with increasing system size and between a protein and its explicit solvent, estimating the contribution of electronic delocalization to the stabilization of hydrogen bonds in the binding pocket of a drug‐receptor complex, and observing, in situ, the n → π* hyperconjugative interactions between carbonyl groups that stabilize protein backbones. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Multireference space without first solving the configuration interaction problem

We further develop an idea to generate a compact multireference space without first solving the configuration interaction problem previously proposed for the ground state (GS) (Glushkov, Chem. Phys. Lett. 1995, 244, 1). In the present contribution, our attention is focused on low‐lying excited states (ESs) with the same symmetry as the GS which can be adequately described in terms of an high‐spin open‐shell formalism. Two references Møller–Plesset (MP) like perturbation theory for ESs is developed. It is based on: (1) a main reference configuration constructed from the parent molecular orbitals adjusted to a given ES and (2) secondary double excitation configuration built on the GS like orbitals determined by the Hartree–Fock equations subject to some orthogonality constraints. It is shown how to modify the MP zeroth‐order Hamiltonian so that the reference configurations and corresponding excitations are eigenfunctions of it and are compatible with orthogonality conditions for the GS and ES. Intruder states appearance is also discussed. The proposed scheme is applied to the GS, ES, and excitation energies of small molecules to illustrate and calibrate our calculations. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Probing Rapidly‐Ionizing Super‐Atom Molecular Orbitals in C60: A Computational and Femtosecond Photoelectron Spectroscopy Study

Super‐atom molecular orbitals (SAMOs) are diffuse hydrogen‐like orbitals defined by the shallow potential at the centre of hollow molecules such as fullerenes. The SAMO excited states differ from the Rydberg states by the significant electronic density present inside the carbon cage. We provide a detailed computational study of SAMO and Rydberg states and an experimental characterization of SAMO excited electronic states for gas‐phase C₆₀ molecules by photoelectron spectroscopy. A large band of 500 excited states was computed using time‐dependent density functional theory. We show that due to their diffuse character, the photoionization widths of the SAMO and Rydberg states are orders of magnitude larger than those of the isoenergetic non‐SAMO excited states. Moreover, in the range of kinetic energies experimentally measured, only the SAMO states photoionize significantly on the timescale of the femtosecond laser experiments. Single photon ionization of the SAMO states dominates the photoelectron spectrum for relatively low laser intensities. The computed photoelectron spectra and photoelectron angular distributions are in good agreement with the experimental results.