Perspective on “Self-consistent equations including exchange and correlation effects”

 The paper by Kohn and Sham (KS) is important for at least two reasons. First, it is the basis for practical methods for density functional calculations. Second, it has endowed chemistry and physics with an independent particle model with very appealing features. As expressed in the title of the KS paper, correlation effects are included at the level of one-electron equations, the practical advantages of which have often been stressed. An implication that has been less widely recognized is that the KS molecular orbital model is physically well-founded and has certain advantages over the Hartree–Fock model. It provides an excellent basis for molecular orbital theoretical interpretation and prediction in chemistry. Received: 16 February 1999 / Accepted: 22 June 1999 / Published online: 9 September 1999     

Confinement effects on the spin potential of first row transition metal cations

Abstract

By using a spherical confinement method, the behaviour of spin potential and pairing energy is studied and compared to the free ion limit for a representative sample of first row transition metal cations. The study was carried out using three approximations within the Kohn–Sham model; exchange-only, exchange plus correlation contribution and correcting the self-interaction error. For the three approaches, the spin potential shows a close connection with the capability of a system to perform a spin-flip process. Namely, in accordance with Hund’s rule, the spin potential increases from low d occupation up to maximum for the half filled configurations; and it decreases from that point on, as d occupation grows. Such a conclusion is reached for confined and non-confined cations, even under extreme confinement conditions. In addition, two important observations are obtained: (a) In contrast to the neutral atoms situation, in the case of cations no eigenvalue crossings are observed under confinement conditions for the whole sample of ions tested. (b) The self-interaction error found in many exchange–correlation functionals does not affect the pairing energy over confined atoms, even when this error has an important contribution on a single eigenvalue. Therefore, pairing energy predicted by exchange–correlation functionals non-corrected by the self-interaction error can be made safely on transition metal cations under high pressures.     

Accelerating Kohn‐Sham response theory using density fitting and the auxiliary‐density‐matrix method

An extension of the formulation of the atomic‐orbital‐based response theory of Larsen et al., JCP 113, 8909 (2000) is presented. This new framework has been implemented in LSDalton and allows for the use of Kohn‐Sham density‐functional theory with approximate treatment of the Coulomb and Exchange contributions to the response equations via the popular resolution‐of‐the‐identity approximation as well as the auxiliary‐density matrix method (ADMM). We present benchmark calculations of ground‐state energies as well as the linear and quadratic response properties: vertical excitation energies, polarizabilities, and hyperpolarizabilities. The quality of these approximations in a range of basis sets is assessed against reference calculations in a large aug‐pcseg‐4 basis. Our results confirm that density fitting of the Coulomb contribution can be used without hesitation for all the studied properties. The ADMM treatment of exchange is shown to yield high accuracy for ground‐state and excitation energies, whereas for polarizabilities and hyperpolarizabilities the performance gain comes at a cost of accuracy. Excitation energies of a tetrameric model consisting of units of the P700 special pigment of photosystem I have been studied to demonstrate the applicability of the code for a large system.     

A mesh-free convex approximation scheme for Kohn–Sham density functional theory

Density functional theory developed by Hohenberg, Kohn and Sham is a widely accepted, reliable ab initio method. We present a non-periodic, real space, mesh-free convex approximation scheme for Kohn–Sham density functional theory. We rewrite the original variational problem as a saddle point problem and discretize it using basis functions which form the Pareto optimum between competing objectives of maximizing entropy and minimizing the total width of the approximation scheme. We show the utility of the approximation scheme in performing both all-electron and pseudopotential calculations, the results of which are in good agreement with literature.     

Kohn–Sham potentials by an inverse Kohn–Sham equation and accuracy assessment by virial theorem

In the recent study, the authors have proposed an integral equation for solving the inverse Kohn–Sham problem. In the present paper, the integral equation is numerically solved for one-dimensional model of a He atom and an H₂ molecule in the electronic ground states. For this purpose, we propose an iterative solution algorithm avoiding the inversion of the kernel of the integral equation. To quantify the numerical accuracy of the calculated exchange-correlation potentials, we evaluate the exchange and correlation energies based on the virial theorem as well as the reproduction of the exact ground-state electronic energy. The results demonstrate that the numerical solutions of our integral equation for the inverse Kohn–Sham problem are accurate enough in reproducing the Kohn–Sham potential and in satisfying the virial theorem.     

Depurated inversion method for orbital‐specific exchange potentials

This work presents exchange potentials for specific orbitals calculated by inverting Hartree–Fock wavefunctions. This was achieved by using a Depurated Inversion Method. The basic idea of the method relies on the substitution of Hartree–Fock orbitals and eigenvalues into the Kohn–Sham equation. Through inversion, the corresponding effective potentials were obtained. Further treatment of the inverted potential should be carried on. The depuration is a careful optimization which eliminates the poles and also ensures the fullfilment of the appropriate boundary conditions. The procedure developed here is not restricted to the ground state or to a nodeless orbital and is applicable to all kinds of atoms. As an example, exchange potentials for noble gases and term‐dependent orbitals of the lower configuration of Nitrogen are calculated. The method allows to reproduce the input energies and wavefunctions with a remarkable degree of accuracy.     

On the Presumptive Similarity of Kohn–Sham and Brueckner Orbitals

For states of many-electron systems disclosing various degrees of quasidegeneracy, we have carried out comparative studies of Kohn–Sham orbitals (KSO) generated for several xc-potentials, Brueckner orbitals (BO) represented by the Brueckner-coupled cluster orbitals, and Hartree–Fock (HF) orbitals by means of criteria directly related to the orbital structure which are based on relative distance indices for various pairs of equidimensional subspaces defined by the KSO and BO basis sets. We have found that both for weak and strong quasidegeneracy there are systems for which the KSO–BO distances are larger than the BO–HF ones. For strongly quasidegenerate states it is found that the distance indices are the largest for hybrid potentials, and that the subspaces spanned by KSOs are closer to those spanned by HF orbitals than by BOs. Hence, our results do not support the recently formulated expectations concerning the similarity of Brueckner orbitals and Kohn–Sham orbitals, including those corresponding to purely local exchange-correlation potentials.