A new fragment-based approach for calculating electronic excitation energies of large systems

We present a new fragment-based scheme to calculate the excited states of large systems without necessity of a Hartree-Fock (HF) solution of the whole system. This method is based on the implementation of the renormalized excitonic method [M. A. Hajj et al., Phys. Rev. B 72, 224412 (2005)] at ab initio level, which assumes that the excitation of the whole system can be expressed by a linear combination of various local excitations. We decomposed the whole system into several blocks and then constructed the effective Hamiltonians for the intra- and inter-block interactions with block canonical molecular orbitals instead of widely used localized molecular orbitals. Accordingly, we avoided the prerequisite HF solution and the localization procedure of the molecular orbitals in the popular local correlation methods. Test calculations were implemented for hydrogen molecule chains at the full configuration interaction, symmetry adapted cluster/symmetry adapted cluster configuration interaction, HF/configuration interaction singles (CIS) levels and more realistic polyene systems at the HF/CIS level. The calculated vertical excitation energies for lowest excited states are in reasonable accordance with those determined by the calculations of the whole systems with traditional methods, showing that our new fragment-based method can give good estimates for low-lying energy spectra of both weak and moderate interaction systems with economic computational costs.     

Theoretical investigation of the He-I2(E3Πg) ion-pair state: ab initio intermolecular potential and vibrational levels

We present a theoretical study on the potential energy surface and vibrational bound states of the E electronic excited state of the HeI(2) van der Waals system. The interaction energies are computed using accurate ab initio methods and large basis sets. Relativistic small-core effective core potentials in conjunction with a quintuple-zeta quality basis set are employed for the heavy iodine atoms in multireference configuration interaction calculations for the (3)A' and (3)A" states. For the representation of the potential energy surface we used a general interpolation technique for constructing potential surfaces from ab initio data based on the reproducing kernel Hilbert space method. The surface presents global and local minima for T-shaped configurations with well-depths of 33.2 and 4.6 cm(-1), respectively. Vibrational energies and states are computed through variational quantum mechanical calculations. We found that the binding energy of the HeI(2)(E) T-shaped isomer is 16.85 cm(-1), in excellent agreement with recent experimental measurements. In lieu of more experimental data we also report our predictions on higher vibrational levels and we analyze the influence of the underlying surface on them. This is the first attempt to represent the potential surface of such a highly excited electronic state of a van der Waals complex, and it demonstrates the capability of the ab initio technology to provide accurate results for carrying out reliable studies to model experimental data.     

Electronic structures of low-lying Bu excited states in trans-oligoenes: Pariser-Parr-Pople and ab initio calculations

Two lowest-lying excited singlets with B(u) symmetry of all-trans-oligoenes, the well-known ionic 1(1)B(u)(+) state as well as the "hidden" ionic-covalent-mixed 1(1)B(u)(-) state, are calculated within both the Pariser-Parr-Pople (PPP) model at full configuration interaction (FCI) level and ab initio methods. The vertical excitation energies as well as wavefunctions from PPP-FCI calculations are found to be in good agreement with those from high-level multi-reference methods, such as multi-reference complete active space self-consistent field (CASSCF) with second order perturbative corrections (CASPT2), multi-reference M?ller-Plesset perturbation theory (MRMP), and complete active space valence bond theory (CASVB). The oscillator strengths from PPP calculation are in good agreement with spectroscopy experiments. The relatively small oscillator strength of 1(1)B(u)(-) is due to the approximate electron-hole symmetry of this state. In addition, the bond lengths in both states are found to show remarkable relativity with the bond orders calculated with ground state geometries, which suggests a possible strategy for initial guess in geometry optimization of excited states.     

Local orbitals for the study of the π→π* excitation in polyenes

Localized orbitals have recently been employed in large ab initio calculations, but their use has generally been restricted to ground‐state problems. In this work, we analyze the molecular orbitals of the excited states, optimized with a recently proposed local procedure. This method produces local orbitals of the CAS–SCF type, which permits its application to the study of excited states. In particular, we focus on the π→π* triplet excited state in polyenes, calculated using a 2/2 CAS space which includes two electrons in one π and one π* orbitals. In small polyenes, these two singly occupied active orbitals are delocalized all along the molecule. The extent of the delocalization is analyzed by studying polyenes of increasing size. Different polyenes have been studied, going from C₁₄H₁₆ to the C₇₀H₇₂ polyene. The relation of the π→π* excitation with the cation and anion systems is also discussed. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Quantum Chem, 2005     

In search of the germanium halomethylidyne (Ge=C-X; X=F,Cl,Br) free radicals: Ab initio studies of their spectroscopic signatures

A variety of ab initio methods have been used to calculate the X (2)Pi and A (2)Sigma(+) state spectroscopic parameters of the GeCX (X=F,Cl,Br) free radicals. The theoretical methods and basis sets were tested on GeCH, for which extensive experimental data are available, and found to give predictions sufficiently reliable to guide experimental searches for spectra. In all cases, the linear Ge=C-X species was found to be the global minimum on the potential energy surface, with the bent X-Ge=C ((2)A(')) isomer as a local minimum much higher (62-36 kcal/mol) in energy. In both the ground and excited states, the GeC moiety is very similar to that of GeCH, with a double bond in the lower state and a triple bond in the excited state, indicating that halogenation does not radically perturb the energetics or structure of germanium methylidyne. Ground state GeCX radicals have suitable rotational constants for microwave studies, although they suffer from only modest dipole moments. Matrix infrared experiments are most likely to detect the nu(1) fundamentals in the 1450-1100 cm(-1) region or the nu(3) fundamentals at the transition between the mid- and far-infrared regions. We have used the ab initio values for the Renner-Teller parameter, the average bending frequency, and the spin-orbit coupling constant to calculate the ground state energy levels, which will be helpful in the interpretation of A-X single vibronic level emission spectra, if they can be observed. The electronic absorption spectra of the (2)Pi(32) spin component of the 0(0) (0) bands of all three radicals have been calculated assuming typical jet-expansion conditions and should be useful in future laser-induced fluorescence, resonance enhanced multiphoton ionization, or cavity ringdown searches for the electronic band systems.     

Local Control Theory in Trajectory Surface Hopping Dynamics Applied to the Excited‐State Proton Transfer of 4‐Hydroxyacridine

The application of local control theory combined with nonadiabatic ab initio molecular dynamics to study the photoinduced intramolecular proton transfer reaction in 4‐hydroxyacridine was investigated. All calculations were performed within the framework of linear‐response time‐dependent density functional theory. The computed pulses revealed important information about the underlying excited‐state nuclear dynamics highlighting the involvement of collective vibrational modes that would normally be neglected in a study performed on model systems constrained to a subset of the full configuration space. This study emphasizes the strengths of local control theory for the design of pulses that can trigger chemical reactions associated with the population of a given molecular excited state. In addition, analysis of the generated pulses can help to shed new light on the photophysics and photochemistry of complex molecular systems.     

Ab initio study of the electronic spectrum of peroxyacetyl nitrate

A theoretical study of the ground and excited states of peroxyacetyl nitrate (PAN), CH3C(O)OONO2, has been carried out using high level ab initio molecular orbital methods. The ground state geometry and vibrational frequencies are calculated using the coupled-cluster method. The vertical excitation energies for the lowest three excited states are calculated using the complete active space self-consistent field method along with the multireference internally contracted configuration interaction method. These results are compared with vertical excitation energies calculated with the coupled cluster equation of motion method. The calculation provides relevant insight into the origin of PAN absorption in the UV wavelength region from 200 to 300 nm. The nature of the electron transitions for these excited states is discussed.     

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.     

Nonadiabatic coupling and diabatic electronic population dynamics on 11A2 and 11B1 states of ozone molecule

In this work, we examine nonadiabatic population dynamics for 1¹B₁ and 1¹A₂ states of ozone molecule (O₃). In O₃, two lowest singlet excited states, ¹A₂ and ¹B₁, can be coupled. Thus, population transfer between them occurs through the seam involving these two states. At any point of the seam (conical intersection), the Born-Oppenheimer approximation breaks down, and it is necessary to investigate nonadiabatic dynamics. We consider a linear vibronic coupling Hamiltonian model and evaluate vibronic coupling constant, diabatic frequencies for three modes of O₃, bilinear and quadratic coupling constants for diabatic potentials, displacements, and Huang-Rhys coupling constants using ab initio calculations. The electronic structure calculations have been performed at the multireference configuration interaction and complete active space with second-order perturbation theory with a full-valence complete active space self-consistent field methods and augmented Dunning's standard correlation-consistent-polarized quadruple zeta basis set to determine ab initio potential energy surfaces for the ground state and first two excited states of O₃, respectively. We have chosen active space comprising 18 electrons distributed over 12 active orbitals. Our calculations predict the linear vibronic coupling constant 0.123 eV. We have obtained the population on the 1¹B₁ and 1¹A₂ excited electronic states for the first 500 fs after photoexcitation.     

9,10-二氰基蒽和杜烯间光诱导电子转移的电荷分离态和电子耦合

采用从头算方法,讨论了9,10-二氰基蒽(DCA)和杜烯(DUR)间光诱导电子转移反应的态-态跃迁.考虑基组重叠误差(BSSE)对相互作用能的校正,用MP₂方法优化得到重叠式[DCA…DUR]配合物的稳定构型.用单激发组态相互作用(CIS)方法讨论了[DCA…DUR]配合物的光诱导电荷分离和电荷复合过程.根据广义Mulliken-Hush(GMH)模型,计算了电荷复合过程的电子耦合矩阵元.结果表明,[DCA…DUR]配合物的S₀→S₁和S₀→S₂跃迁产生了两个强的局域激发态,S₀→S₃跃迁直接导致电荷分离态,小的振子强度预测该电荷转移(CT)跃迁是一弱跃迁,电荷分离态S₃衰变到低局域激发态或基态的电荷复合是可能的.     

Full configuration interaction calculation of singlet excited states of Be3

The full configuration interaction (FCI) study of the singlets vertical spectrum of the neutral beryllium trimer has been performed using atomic natural orbitals [3s2p1d] basis set. The FCI triangular equilibrium structure of the ground state has been used to calculate the FCI vertical excitation energies up to 4.8 eV. The FCI vertical ionization potential for the same geometry and basis set amounts to 7.6292 eV. The FCI dipole and quadrupole transition moments from the ground state are reported as well. The FCI electric quadrupole moment of the X (3)A(1) (') ground state has been also calculated with the same basis set (Theta(zz)=-2.6461 a.u., Theta(xx)=Theta(yy)=-1/2Theta(zz)). Twelve of the 19 calculated excited singlets are doubly excited states. Most of the states have large multiconfigurational character. These results provide benchmark values for electronic correlation multireference methods. (4ex6MO)CAS-SDCI values for the same energies and properties are also reported.     

Molecular mechanics-valence bond method for planar conjugated hydrocarbon cations

We present an extension of the molecular mechanics-valence bond (MMVB) hybrid method to study ground and excited states of planar conjugated hydrocarbon cations. Currently, accurate excited state calculations on these systems are limited to expensive ab initio studies of smaller systems: up to 15 active electrons in 16 pi orbitals with complete active space self-consistent field (CASSCF) theory using high symmetry. The new MMVB extension provides a faster, cheaper treatment to investigate larger cation systems with more than 24 active orbitals. Extension requires both new matrix elements and new parameters: In this paper we present both, for the limited planar case. The scheme is tested for the planar radical cations of benzene, naphthalene, anthracene, and phenanthrene. Calculated MMVB relative energies are in good agreement with CASSCF results for equilibrium geometries on the ground and first excited states, and conical intersections.     

Ab initio determination of mode coupling in HSSH: the torsional splitting in the first excited S-S stretching state

A mechanism for the enhanced splitting detected in the millimeter-wave rotational spectra of the first excited S-S stretching state of HSSH (disulfane) has been studied. The mechanism, which involves a potential coupling between the first excited S-S stretching state and excited torsional states, has been investigated in part by the use of ab initio theory. Based on an ab initio potential surface, coupling matrix elements have been calculated, and the amount of splitting has then been estimated by second-order perturbation theory. The result, while not in quantitative agreement with the measured splitting, lends plausibility to the assumed mechanism.     

Computation of large systems with an economic basis set: systems in excited states

An economic basis set for ab initio calculations of systems in excited states has been studied. The economic basis set, in which the polarization functions are applied only to oxygen (O), while the 6-31G basis set is used for carbon (C) and hydrogen (H), is shown to save considerable computing time and to give reliable geometric and frequency measurements. In addition, the economic basis set has been considered for obtaining reliable excitation energies, with the correction factor, using high-level single-point energy calculations. This study is expected to shed light on basis set selection for computations of large systems in excited states.     

Transition strengths and first-order properties of excited states from local coupled cluster CC2 response theory with density fitting

A new ab initio method for calculating transition strengths and orbital-unrelaxed first-order properties of singlet ground and excited states of extended molecular systems is presented. It is based on coupled cluster response theory at the level of the CC2 model with local approximations introduced to the doubles-excitation part of the wave function. Density fitting is employed for the calculation of the electron repulsion integrals, so that--with the exception of doubles amplitudes--only three-indexed objects do occur in the formalism. The new method was tested by performing calculations for a set of various molecules and excited states and by comparing the results with corresponding canonical (nonlocal) calculations. It turned out that for calculating transition strengths and properties of excited states the ordinary Boughton-Pulay domains are insufficient in numerous cases. To circumvent this problem a new scheme for extending domains is proposed, which is based on the solution of the coupled perturbed localization and Hartree-Fock equations. When such extended domains are used, a satisfactory agreement between canonical and local results is achieved.     

Ab initio quantum dynamical study of the multi-state nonadiabatic photodissociation of pyrrole

There has been a substantial amount of theoretical investigations on the photodynamics of pyrrole, often relying on surface hopping techniques or, if fully quantal, confining the study to the lowest two or three singlet states. In this study we extend ab initio based quantum dynamical investigations to cover simultaneously the lowest five singlet states, two π-σ? and two π-π? excited states. The underlying potential energy surfaces are obtained from large-scale MRCI ab initio computations. These are used to extract linear and quadratic vibronic coupling constants employing the corresponding coupling models. For the N-H stretching mode Q(24) an anharmonic treatment is necessary and also adopted. The results reveal a sub-picosecond internal conversion from the S(4) (π-π?) state, corresponding to the strongly dipole-allowed transition, to the S(1) and S(2) (π-σ?) states and, hence, to the ground state of pyrrole. The significance of the various vibrational modes and coupling terms is assessed. Results are also presented for the dissociation probabilities on the three lowest electronic states.     

Spin-orbit ab initio investigation of the photolysis of bromoiodomethane.

The photodissociation of bromoiodomethane has been investigated by spin-orbit ab initio calculations. The experimentally observed A- and B-bands and the corresponding photoproducts were assigned by multistate second-order multiconfigurational perturbation theory in conjunction with spin-orbit interaction through complete active space state interaction potential energy curves, vertical excitation energies, and oscillator strengths of low-lying excited states. The present conclusions with respect to the dissociation process in the B-band are different compared with those of previous studies. The reaction between the iso-CH(2)Br-I and iso-CH(2)I-Br species has also been studied. Finally, a set of stable excited states was identified for both isomers. These species might be of importance in the recombination process that follows the photodissociation in a solvent.     

On the (Emultiply sign in circlee)-Jahn-Teller conical intersections in the 3p(E') and 3d(E") Rydberg electronic states of triatomic hydrogen

The static and dynamic aspects of the Jahn-Teller (JT) interactions in the 3p(E') and 3d(E") Rydberg electronic states of H3 are analyzed theoretically. The static aspects are discussed based on recent ab initio quantum chemistry results, and the dynamic aspects are examined in terms of the vibronic spectra and nonradiative decay behavior of these states. The adiabatic potential-energy surfaces of these degenerate electronic states are derived from extensive ab initio calculations. The calculated adiabatic potential-energy surfaces are diabatized following our earlier study on this system in its 2p(E') ground electronic state. The nuclear dynamics on the resulting conically intersecting manifold of electronic states is studied by a time-dependent wave-packet approach. Calculations are performed both for the uncoupled and coupled state situations in order to understand the importance of nonadiabatic interactions due to the JT conical intersections in these excited Rydberg electronic states.     

The predicted spectrum of the hypermetallic molecule MgOMg

The present study of MgOMg is a continuation of our theoretical work on Group 2 M(2)O hypermetallic oxides. Previous ab initio calculations have shown that MgOMg has a linear (1)Σ(g)+ ground electronic state and a very low lying first excited triplet electronic state that is also linear; the triplet state has (3)Σ(u)+ symmetry. No gas phase spectrum of this molecule has been assigned, and here we simulate the infrared absorption spectrum for both states. We calculate the three-dimensional potential energy surface, and the electric dipole moment surfaces, of each of the two states using a multireference configuration interaction (MRCISD) approach based on full-valence complete active space self-consistent field (FV-CASSCF) wavefunctions with a cc-pCVQZ basis set. A variational MORBID calculation using our potential energy and dipole moment surfaces is performed to determine rovibrational term values and to simulate the infrared absorption spectrum of the two states. We also calculate the dipole polarizability of both states at their equilibrium geometry in order to assist in the interpretation of future beam deflection experiments. Finally, in order to assist in the analysis of the electronic spectrum, we calculate the vertical excitation energies, and electric dipole transition matrix elements, for six excited singlet states and five excited triplet states using the state-average full valence CASSCF-MRCISD/aug-cc-pCVQZ procedure.     

Formation of ultracold SrYb molecules in an optical lattice by photoassociation spectroscopy: theoretical prospects

State-of-the-art ab initio techniques have been applied to compute the potential energy curves for the SrYb molecule in the Born-Oppenheimer approximation for the electronic ground state and the first fifteen excited singlet and triplet states. All the excited state potential energy curves were computed using the equation of motion approach within the coupled-cluster singles and doubles framework and large basis-sets, while the ground state potential was computed using the coupled cluster method with single, double, and noniterative triple excitations. The leading long-range coefficients describing the dispersion interactions at large interatomic distances are also reported. The electric transition dipole moments have been obtained as the first residue of the polarization propagator computed with the linear response coupled-cluster method restricted to single and double excitations. Spin-orbit coupling matrix elements have been evaluated using the multireference configuration interaction method restricted to single and double excitations with a large active space. The electronic structure data were employed to investigate the possibility of forming deeply bound ultracold SrYb molecules in an optical lattice in a photoassociation experiment using continuous-wave lasers. Photoassociation near the intercombination line transition of atomic strontium into the vibrational levels of the strongly spin-orbit mixed b(3)Σ(+), a(3)Π, A(1)Π, and C(1)Π states with subsequent efficient stabilization into the v' = 1 vibrational level of the electronic ground state is proposed. Ground state SrYb molecules can be accumulated by making use of collisional decay from v' = 1 to v' = 0. Alternatively, photoassociation and stabilization to v' = 0 can proceed via stimulated Raman adiabatic passage provided that the trapping frequency of the optical lattice is large enough and phase coherence between the pulses can be maintained over at least tens of microseconds.