A simple representation of energy matrix elements in terms of symmetry‐invariant bases

When a system under consideration has some symmetry, usually its Hamiltonian space can be parallel partitioned into a set of subspaces, which is invariant under symmetry operations. The bases that span these invariant subspaces are also invariant under the symmetry operations, and they are the symmetry‐invariant bases. A standard methodology is available to construct a series of generator functions (GFs) and corresponding symmetry‐adapted basis (SAB) functions from these symmetry‐invariant bases. Elements of the factorized Hamiltonian and overlap matrix can be expressed in terms of these SAB functions, and their simple representations can be deduced in terms of GFs. The application of this method to the Heisenberg spin Hamiltonian is demonstrated. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Comput Chem, 2010     

A Basis for Orbital Symmetry Rules

The influence of molecular symmetry on reaction rates is examined with an approach in which reactions are viewed as electronic transitions between states of reacants and products (described, in turn by quasiadiabatic potential surface). The moleculer Hamiltonian is used to derive selection rules for these transitions. The complete Hamilatonian has no useful symmetery. Neglect of non-Born-Oppenheimer and spin-orbit terms (and of other angular momentum coupling terms) leads to an apporixmate Hamiltonian and to selection rules which from the basis of the Woodward-Hoffmann rules. This apporch provides an alternative to the adiabatic potantial surfaces, reaction coordinates, and transition state theory used in more familiar discussions of the Woodward-Hoffmann rules. Further, it provides a particulary clear method for discussing violations of these symmetry rules, and for differentiating concerted and nonconcerted reactions.     

Pseudosymmetry analysis of molecular orbitals

We introduce a pseudosymmetry analysis of molecular orbitals by means of the newly proposed irreducible representation measures. To do that we define first what we consider as molecular pseudosymmetry and the relationships of this concept with those of approximate symmetry and quasisymmetry. We develop a general algorithm to quantify the pseudosymmetry content of a given object within the framework of the finite group algebra. The obtained mathematical expressions are able to decompose molecular orbitals by means of the irreducible representations of any reference symmetry point group. The implementation and usefulness of the pseudosymmetry analysis of molecular orbitals is demonstrated in the study of σ and π orbitals in planar and nonplanar polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and the t_2g and e_g character of the d‐orbitals in the [FeH₆]^3? anion in its high spin state along the Bailar twist pathway. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Systematic Study of Selected Diagonalization Methods for Configuration Interaction Matrices

Several modifications to the Davidson algorithm are systematically explored to establish their performance for an assortment of configuration interaction (CI) computations. The combination of a generalized Davidson method, a periodic two‐vector subspace collapse, and a blocked Davidson approach for multiple roots is determined to retain the convergence characteristics of the full subspace method. This approach permits the efficient computation of wave functions for large‐scale CI matrices by eliminating the need to ever store more than three expansion vectors ( b _i) and associated matrix‐vector products ( σ _i), thereby dramatically reducing the I/O requirements relative to the full subspace scheme. The minimal‐storage, single‐vector method of Olsen is found to be a reasonable alternative for obtaining energies of well‐behaved systems to within μE_h accuracy, although it typically requires around 50% more iterations and at times is too inefficient to yield high accuracy (ca. 10^?10 E_h) for very large CI problems. Several approximations to the diagonal elements of the CI Hamiltonian matrix are found to allow simple on‐the‐fly computation of the preconditioning matrix, to maintain the spin symmetry of the determinant‐based wave function, and to preserve the convergence characteristics of the diagonalization procedure. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Comput Chem 22: 1574–1589, 2001     

Continuous symmetry measures for complex symmetry group

Symmetry is a fundamental property of nature, used extensively in physics, chemistry, and biology. The Continuous symmetry measures (CSM) is a method for estimating the deviation of a given system from having a certain perfect symmetry, which enables us to formulate quantitative relation between symmetry and other physical properties. Analytical procedures for calculating the CSM of all simple cyclic point groups are available for several years. Here, we present a methodology for calculating the CSM of any complex point group, including the dihedral, tetrahedral, octahedral, and icosahedral symmetry groups. We present the method and analyze its performances and errors. We also introduce an analytical method for calculating the CSM of the linear symmetry groups. As an example, we apply these methods for examining the symmetry of water, the symmetry maps of AB₄ complexes, and the symmetry of several Lennard‐Jones clusters. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Full Non-Rigid Group and Symmetry of Dimethyltrichlorophosphorus

In this work, a simple method is described, by means of which it is possible to calculate character tables for the symmetry group of molecules consisting of a number of NH3 groups attached to a rigid framework. The full non-rigid group (f-NRG) of dimethyltrichlorophosphorus with the symmetry group D3h was studied. It has been proven that it is a group of order 216 with 27 conjugacy classes and its character table computed. Finally, the Permutation-lnversion group of this molecule was calculated.     

Characterization of the potential energy surfaces of two small but challenging noncovalent dimers: (P2)2 and (PCCP)2

This work characterizes eight stationary points of the P₂ dimer and six stationary points of the PCCP dimer, including a newly identified minimum on both potential energy surfaces. Full geometry optimizations and corresponding harmonic vibrational frequencies were computed with the second‐order Møller–Plesset (MP2) electronic structure method and six different basis sets: aug‐cc‐pVXZ, aug‐cc‐pV(X+d)Z, and aug‐cc‐pCVXZ where X = T, Q. A new L‐shaped structure with C₂ symmetry is the only minimum for the P₂ dimer at the MP2 level of theory with these basis sets. The previously reported parallel‐slipped structure with C_2h symmetry and a newly identified cross configuration with D₂ symmetry are the only minima for the PCCP dimer. Single point energies were also computed using the canonical MP2 and CCSD(T) methods as well as the explicitly correlated MP2‐F12 and CCSD(T)‐F12 methods and the aug‐cc‐pVXZ (X = D, T, Q, 5) basis sets. The energetics obtained with the explicitly correlated methods were very similar to the canonical results for the larger basis sets. Extrapolations were performed to estimate the complete basis set (CBS) limit MP2 and CCSD(T) binding energies. MP2 and MP2‐F12 significantly overbind the P₂ and PCCP dimers relative to the CCSD(T) and CCSD(T)‐F12 binding energies by as much as 1.5 kcal mol^?1 for the former and 5.0 kcal mol^?1 for the latter at the CBS limit. The dominant attractive component of the interaction energy for each dimer configuration was dispersion according to several symmetry‐adapted perturbation theory analyses. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Unitary symmetry and classification of the states of <Emphasis Type="Italic">n</Emphasis>-spin clusters. Magnetic and thermodynamic parameters

The unitary symmetry and classification of spin clusters by spin momenta S are considered on the basis of reduction of the full linear group to unitary groups U _{2s + 1} and orthogonal rotation group R ₃. Reduction of the permutation group P _n of n spins to the point group of the cluster is applied to the classification of the spatial states of a spin cluster with the use of permutation quantum numbers introduced in this work and the Young diagrams of the permutation group P _n . Examples of the classification of spin systems with spins s = 1/2, 1, 3/2, 2, and 5/2 with U _{2s + 1} × P _n groups (n = 5–15) are reported. This classification is common for all spin clusters and is the same for both cyclic clusters and 3D clusters with symmetry groups of a crystal. On the basis of this classification, the magnetic and thermodynamic parameters of a spin system are calculated as a function of the number of spins and temperature. For s = 1/2 clusters, the analytical formulas are derived for magnetic susceptibility, internal energy, heat capacity, and entropy as a function of quantum numbers for a cluster with any number of spins, and their dependences on temperature and the number of atoms are considered.     

Spin-free approach for evaluation of electronic matrix elements using character operators of ℒN

A spin-free method is presented for evaluating electronic matrix elements over a spin-independent many-electron Hamiltonian. The spin-adapted basis of configuration state functions is obtained using a nonorthogonal spin basis consisting of projected spin eigenfunctions. The general expressions for the matrix elements are given explicitly, and it is demonstrated how the matrix elements may be obtained simply from the knowledge of the irreducible characters of the permutation group ℒ_N. The presented formulas are very general and may be applied in connection with both spin-coupled valence bond studies and in conventional configuration interaction (CI) methods based on an orthonormal orbital basis. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Application of the unitary group approach to evaluate spin density for configuration interaction calculations in a basis of S2 eigenfunctions

We present an implementation of the spin‐dependent unitary group approach to calculate spin densities for configuration interaction calculations in a basis of spin symmetry‐adapted functions. Using S² eigenfunctions helps to reduce the size of configuration space and is beneficial in studies of the systems where selection of states of specific spin symmetry is crucial. To achieve this, we combine the method to calculate U(n) generator matrix elements developed by Downward and Robb (Theor. Chim. Acta 1977, 46, 129) with the approach of Battle and Gould to calculate U(2n) generator matrix elements (Chem. Phys. Lett. 1993, 201, 284). We also compare and contrast the spin density formulated in terms of the spin‐independent unitary generators arising from the group theory formalism and equivalent formulation of the spin density representation in terms of the one‐ and two‐electron charge densities.     

On the use of symmetry in the ab initio quantum mechanical simulation of nanotubes and related materials

Nanotubes can be characterized by a very high point symmetry, comparable or even larger than the one of the most symmetric crystalline systems (cubic, 48 point symmetry operators). For example, N = 2n rototranslation symmetry operators connect the atoms of the (n,0) nanotubes. This symmetry is fully exploited in the CRYSTAL code. As a result, ab initio quantum mechanical large basis set calculations of carbon nanotubes containing more than 150 atoms in the unit cell become very cheap, because the irreducible part of the unit cell reduces to two atoms only. The nanotube symmetry is exploited at three levels in the present implementation. First, for the automatic generation of the nanotube structure (and then of the input file for the SCF calculation) starting from a two‐dimensional structure (in the specific case, graphene). Second, the nanotube symmetry is used for the calculation of the mono‐ and bi‐electronic integrals that enter into the Fock (Kohn‐Sham) matrix definition. Only the irreducible wedge of the Fock matrix is computed, with a saving factor close to N. Finally, the symmetry is exploited for the diagonalization, where each irreducible representation is separately treated. When M atomic orbitals per carbon atom are used, the diagonalization computing time is close to Nt, where t is the time required for the diagonalization of each 2M × 2M matrix. The efficiency and accuracy of the computational scheme is documented. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Comput Chem, 2010     

Theoretical calculation of the electronic states with spin‐orbit effects of the molecule NaRb

The potential energy curves of the molecule NaRb have been calculated for the 60 low‐lying electronic states in the Ω‐representation. Using an ab‐initio method the calculation is based on nonempirical pseudo‐potential in the interval 3.0a_o ≤ R ≤ 44.0a_o of the internuclear distance. The spin‐orbit effects have been taken into account through a semiempirical spin‐orbit pseudo‐potential added to the electrostatic Hamiltonian with Gaussian basis sets for both atoms. The spectroscopic constants have been calculated for 42 states and the components of the spin‐orbit splitting have been identified for the states (1, 2, 5)³Π and (1, 2)³Δ. The comparison of the present results with those available in literature shows a good agreement, whereas the other results, to the best of our knowledge, are given here for the first time. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Quantum Chem, 2009     

Studies of a Large Odd‐Numbered Odd‐Electron Metal Ring: Inelastic Neutron Scattering and Muon Spin Relaxation Spectroscopy of Cr8Mn

The spin dynamics of Cr₈Mn, a nine‐membered antiferromagnetic (AF) molecular nanomagnet, are investigated. Cr₈Mn is a rare example of a large odd‐membered AF ring, and has an odd‐number of 3d‐electrons present. Odd‐membered AF rings are unusual and of interest due to the presence of competing exchange interactions that result in frustrated‐spin ground states. The chemical synthesis and structures of two Cr₈Mn variants that differ only in their crystal packing are reported. Evidence of spin frustration is investigated by inelastic neutron scattering (INS) and muon spin relaxation spectroscopy (μSR). From INS studies we accurately determine an appropriate microscopic spin Hamiltonian and we show that μSR is sensitive to the ground‐spin‐state crossing from S=1/2 to S=3/2 in Cr₈Mn. The estimated width of the muon asymmetry resonance is consistent with the presence of an avoided crossing. The investigation of the internal spin structure of the ground state, through the analysis of spin‐pair correlations and scalar‐spin chirality, shows a non‐collinear spin structure that fluctuates between non‐planar states of opposite chiralities.     

Symmetry measures of the electron density

In this communication we define electronic symmetry operation and symmetry group measures, eSOM and eSGM, respectively, develop the basic algorithms to obtain them, and give some examples of the possible applications of these new computational tools. These new symmetry measures based on the electron density have been tested in an analysis of (a) the inversion symmetry for heteronuclear diatomic molecules, for the eclipsed and staggered conformations of ethane and tetrafluoroethane, and for a series of octahedral sulfur halides; (b) the reflection symmetry of three different conformers of tetrafluoroethene; and (c) the loss of C₆ symmetry along the B_2u distortion mode of benzene and an analysis of rotational symmetry for different six‐member ring heterocycles. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Comput Chem, 2010     

Efficient generation of Heisenberg Hamiltonian matrices for VB calculations of potential energy surfaces

The spin‐Hamiltonian valence bond theory relies upon covalent configurations formed by singly occupied orbitals differing by their spin counterparts. This theory has been proven to be successful in studying potential energy surfaces of the ground and lowest excited states in organic molecules when used as a part of the hybrid molecular mechanics—valence bond method. The method allows one to consider systems with large active spaces formed by n electrons in n orbitals and relies upon a specially proposed graphical unitary group approach. At the same time, the restriction of the equality of the numbers of electrons and orbitals in the active space is too severe: it excludes from the consideration a lot of interesting applications. We can mention here carbocations and systems with heteroatoms. Moreover, the structure of the method makes it difficult to study charge‐transfer excited states because they are formed by ionic configurations. In the present work we tackle these problems by significant extension of the spin‐Hamiltonian approach. We consider (i) more general active space formed by n ± m electrons in n orbitals and (ii) states with the charge transfer. The main problem addressed is the generation of Hamiltonian matrices for these general cases. We propose a scheme combining operators of electron exchange and hopping, generating all nonzero matrix elements step‐by‐step. This scheme provides a very efficient way to generate the Hamiltonians, thus extending the applicability of spin‐Hamiltonian valence bond theory. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Quantum Chem, 2009     

Group of symmetry of the periodic system of chemical elements

The concurrence of the group of symmetry of the periodic system of elements with the group of dynamical symmetry of a hydrogenlike atom is employed in the theoretical investigation of atoms. The character of the degeneracy of the eigenvalues of a hydrogenlike atom Hamiltonian, without changing its eigenfunctions, was changed by introducing into this Hamiltonian a term which violates the symmetry in relation to transformations from the subgroup O(4) of the group SO(4, 2). In consequence, it was realized that such “reorganization” of the states of a hydrogenlike atom, which form a representation of the group SO(4, 2), effects the splitting of this representation into finite‐dimensional multiplets, first of which are in full agreement with the experimentally observable composition of electron shells of atoms, and retains the physical meaning of quantum numbers that define electron states. ©1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Int J Quant Chem 72: 499–508, 1999     

VIBPACK: A package to treat multidimensional electron‐vibrational molecular problems with application to magnetic and optical properties

We present a FORTRAN code based on a new powerful and efficient computational approach to solve multidimensional dynamic Jahn–Teller and pseudo Jahn–Teller problems. This symmetry‐assisted approach constituting a theoretical core of the program is based on the full exploration of the point symmetry of the electronic and vibrational states. We also report some selected examples of increasing complexity aimed to display the theoretical background as well as the advantages and capabilities of the program to evaluate of the energy pattern, magnetic and optical properties of large multimode vibronic systems. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Analytical irreducible representation bases of the single and double icosahedral groups and their applications

An equivalent basis of icosahedral molecules is introduced in which the basis functions can be transformed under the operations in the icosahedral group (I_h). In this equivalent basis, the irreducible representation basis (IRB) of I_h, including the double‐valued IRB of I, is deduced analytically based on the method introduced in the literature [J. Comput. Chem. 17 , 851 (1996)]. Therefore the concepts of symmetry‐matrix and symmetry‐supermatrix can be used in the single‐ and multiconfiguration self‐consistent field methods (including relativistic effects) to reduce the storage of two‐electron integrals and calculations of Fock matrix during iterations by a factor of ca. 10,000. In addition, the equivalent basis of I_h can also be used to reduce the calculations of atoms and representations of rank ≥ 2 tensors. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Int J Quant Chem 77: 615–624, 2000