The spin-density-functional formalism for quantum mechanical calculations: Test on diatomic molecules with an efficient numerical method

We have applied the spin-density-functional (SDF ) formalism with the local-spin-density (LSD ) approximation to a number of small molecules with the primary aim of testing the approximation for molecular applications. A new numerical method to solve the one-electron wave equation is developed, utilizing the special features of the SDF formalism. We have calculated energy curves, dissociation energies, and equilibrium distances for some diatomic molecules H (²Σ, ²Σ), H₂(¹Σ, ³Σ), He (¹Σ), and He₂(¹Σ)] and the vibrational frequencies of H₂. The deviations from the experimental results are typically 1/2 eV for the energies and ≤ 0.1 Å for the distances. We discuss the LSD approximation using the concept of an exchange-correlation hole and make predictions about the applicability to other molecules. The LSD approximation is compared with the Hartree-Fock and multiple-scattering-Xα methods and some difficulties in the latter methods are pointed out. It is argued that the SDF formalism within the LSD approximation has physical advantages compared to the Hartree-Fock and Xα methods and that it should provide a simple and useful method for a broad range of applications.