The accurate calculation of dipole moments and dipole polarizabilities using Gaussian-based density functional methods

Dipole moments and static dipole polarizabilities have been calculated for a number of small molecules using the linear combination of Gaussian-type orbitals–local spin density method. The effect of augmenting standard orbital basis sets with polarization functions has been investigated. A set of optimum ζ_d, for use in calculating polarizabilities, has been derived for the first-row atoms C, N, O, and F. The results of this optimized doubly polarized double-zeta basis set compare well with results obtained using a double-zeta basis set augmented by four even-tempered ζ_d polarization functions. The results of the optimized basis set, and a basis set augmented with only a single ζ_d polarization function derived from it, compare very favorably with those obtained from Møller–Plesset perturbation theory and with experimental data. They show a marked improvement on results obtained using standard Hartree–Fock self-consistent-field molecular orbital methods where no treatment of electron-correlation is included.     

Calculation of angular dependence of photoemission for the Al(100) + O system using a simple molecular orbital cluster model

The angular dependence of photoemission from oxygen chemisorbed on the (100) face of aluminum is calculated using a molecular cluster model. The cluster contains five aluminum atoms with one oxygen atom located in the four-fold site; two A1O distances are considered. The calculations employed the Xα scattered wave formalism and are the first results to be obtained for a chemisorption problem in which both initial and final states are based on a cluster model.     

Visual spatial memory is enhanced in female rats (but inhibited in males) by dietary soy phytoestrogens

Background  

In learning and memory tasks, requiring visual spatial memory (VSM), males exhibit superior performance to females (a difference attributed to the hormonal influence of estrogen). This study examined the influence of phytoestrogens (estrogen-like plant compounds) on VSM, utilizing radial arm-maze methods to examine varying aspects of memory. Additionally, brain phytoestrogen, calbindin (CALB), and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) levels were determined.     

Ionization potentials and bond lengths for CO,N2, and F2 using the SCF-Xα-SW method: A study of the effect of overlapping spheres

Using a simple, arbitrary, but fixed procedure for the choice of sphere sizes in the overlapping sphere version of the SCF-Xα-SW method, results for the ionization potentials of CO, N₂, F₂, and H₂O are in considerably better agreement with experiment than those of the muffin-tin version. The agreement is as good as those of the SCF-Hartree-Fock, Discrete Variational-Xα, and LCAO-Xα methods. For the first time the overlapping sphere modification has been used to calculate binding curves and results in equilibrium bond lengths for CO, N₂, and F₂ all within 0·3 a ₀ (0·16 Å) of the experimental values, a dramatic improvement over the muffin-tin results. The variation of the calculated ionization potentials under a moderate change in the amount of sphere overlap is found to be rather small, being of the order of the differences between the DV-Xα and LCAO-Xα methods, both of which completely avoid the muffin-tin approximation.     

Scattered-wave calculations of photoionization cross-sections and asymmetry parameters for CO,H2O and H2S

Partial photoionization cross-sections and asymmetry parameters are calculated for the valence orbitals of the molecules CO, H₂O, and H₂S and of the atoms O and S using a recently developed extension of the self-cosistent field— Xα—scattered-wave method to continuum states. The convergence of the partial-wave expansions for both initial and final states is studied for electron kinetic energies in the range 2–1000 eV. Since convergence is very slow at high kinetic energies, the interesting region between 2 and 50 eV is emphasized, and comparisons are made with experimental UV photoemission results where such data are available. Overall the method appears to be far more reliable than previous calculations for polyatomic molecules which have used plane-wave or orthogonalized plane-wave final states.     

Achieving reliability of calculations for flat potential surfaces in density functional theory: The case of Al4 and Al4+1

Harmonic frequencies obtained by finite-differences from nonlocal density functional calculations are presented for the ground states of Al₄ (neutral and cationic). The effect of varying the step size used in the finite-difference evaluation and the influence of the density convergence threshold are discussed. Potential energy curves along the most important normal coordinates are shown. With these results, we found that for Al₄ the square and the rhombus minima are almost degenerate with each other, while for Al₄⁺¹, the rhombus is more stable and the square is a transition state. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.