Solving the Trivial Crossing Problem While Preserving the Nodal Symmetry of the Wave Function

Nonadiabatic Dynamics in a Continuous Circularly Polarized Laser Field with Floquet Phase-Space Surface Hopping

Nonadiabatic chemical reactions involving continuous circularly polarized light (cw CPL) have not attracted as much attention as dynamics in unpolarized/linearly polarized light. However, including circularly (in contrast to linearly) polarized light allows one to effectively introduce a complex-valued time-dependent Hamiltonian, which offers a new path for control or exploration through the introduction of Berry forces. Here, we investigate several inexpensive semiclassical approaches for modeling such nonadiabatic dynamics in the presence of a time-dependent complex-valued Hamiltonian, beginning with a straightforward instantaneous adiabatic fewest-switches surface hopping (IA-FSSH) approach (where the electronic states depend on position and time), continuing to a standard Floquet fewest switches surface hopping (F-FSSH) approach (where the electronic states depend on position and frequency), and ending with an exotic Floquet phase-space surface hopping (F-PSSH) approach (where the electronic states depend on position, frequency, and momentum). Using a set of model systems with time-dependent complex-valued Hamiltonians, we show that the Floquet phase-space adiabats are the optimal choice of basis as far as accounting for Berry phase effects and delivering accuracy. Thus, the F-PSSH algorithm sets the stage for future modeling of nonadiabatic dynamics under strong externally pumped circular polarization.

Extending multi-layer energy-based fragment method for excited-state calculations of large covalently bonded fragment systems

Recently, we developed a low-scaling Multi-Layer Energy-Based Fragment (MLEBF) method for accurate excited-state calculations and nonadiabatic dynamics simulations of nonbonded fragment systems. In this work, we extend the MLEBF method to treat covalently bonded fragment ones. The main idea is cutting a target system into many fragments according to chemical properties. Fragments with dangling bonds are first saturated by chemical groups; then, saturated fragments, together with the original fragments without dangling bonds, are grouped into different layers. The accurate total energy expression is formulated with the many-body energy expansion theory, in combination with the inclusion-exclusion principle that is used to delete the contribution of chemical groups introduced to saturate dangling bonds. Specifically, in a two-layer MLEBF model, the photochemically active and inert layers are calculated with high-level and efficient electronic structure methods, respectively. Intralayer and interlayer energies can be truncated at the two- or three-body interaction level. Subsequently, through several systems, including neutral and charged covalently bonded fragment systems, we demonstrate that MLEBF can provide accurate ground- and excited-state energies and gradients. Finally, we realize the structure, conical intersection, and path optimizations by combining our MLEBF program with commercial and free packages, e.g., ASE and SciPy. These developments make MLEBF a practical and reliable tool for studying complex photochemical and photophysical processes of large nonbonded and bonded fragment systems.

INAQS, a Generic Interface for Nonadiabatic QM/MM Dynamics: Design, Implementation, and Validation for GROMACS/Q-CHEM simulations

The accurate description of large molecular systems in complex environments remains an ongoing challenge for the field of computational chemistry. This problem is even more pronounced for photoinduced processes, as multiple excited electronic states and their corresponding nonadiabatic couplings must be taken into account. Multiscale approaches such as hybrid quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics (QM/MM) offer a balanced compromise between accuracy and computational burden. Here, we introduce an open-source software package (INAQS) for nonadiabatic QM/MM simulations that bridges the sampling capabilities of the GROMACS MD package and the excited-state infrastructure of the Q-CHEM electronic structure software. The interface is simple and can be adapted easily to other MD codes. The code supports a variety of different trajectory-based molecular dynamics, ranging from Born-Oppenheimer to surface hopping dynamics. To illustrate the power of this combination, we simulate electronic absorption spectra, free-energy surfaces along a reaction coordinate, and the excited-state dynamics of 1,3-cyclohexadiene in solution.

Experimental and theoretical study of energy transfer in a chromophore triad: What makes modeling dynamics successful?

Simulation of electronic dynamics in realistically large molecular systems is a demanding task that has not yet achieved the same level of quantitative prediction already realized for its static counterpart. This is particularly true for processes occurring beyond the Born-Oppenheimer regime. Non-adiabatic molecular dynamics (NAMD) simulations suffer from two convoluted sources of error: numerical algorithms for dynamics and electronic structure calculations. While the former has gained increasing attention, particularly addressing the validity of ad hoc methodologies, the effect of the latter remains relatively unexplored. Indeed, the required accuracy for electronic structure calculations to reach quantitative agreement with experiment in dynamics may be even more strict than that required for static simulations. Here, we address this issue by modeling the electronic energy transfer in a donor-acceptor-donor (D-A-D) molecular light harvesting system using fewest switches surface hopping NAMD simulations. In the studied system, time-resolved experimental measurements deliver complete information on spectra and energy transfer rates. Subsequent modeling shows that the calculated electronic transition energies are "sufficiently good" to reproduce experimental spectra but produce over an order of magnitude error in simulated dynamical rates. We further perform simulations using artificially shifted energy gaps to investigate the complex relationship between transition energies and modeled dynamics to understand factors affecting non-radiative relaxation and energy transfer rates.

PySpawn: Software for Nonadiabatic Quantum Molecular Dynamics

The ab initio multiple spawning (AIMS) method enables nonadiabatic quantum molecular dynamics simulations in an arbitrary number of dimensions, with potential energy surfaces provided by electronic structure calculations performed on-the-fly. However, the intricacy of the AIMS algorithm complicates software development, deployment on modern shared computer resources, and postsimulation data analysis. PySpawn is a nonadiabatic molecular dynamics software package that addresses these issues. The program is designed to be easily interfaced with electronic structure software, and an interface to the TeraChem software package is described here. PySpawn introduces a task-based reorganization of the AIMS algorithm, allowing fine-grained restart capability and setting the stage for efficient parallelization in a future release. PySpawn includes a user-friendly and interactive Python analysis module that will enable novice users to painlessly adopt AIMS. As a demonstration of PySpawn's simulation capability and analysis module, we report complete active space self-consistent field-based AIMS simulations of the 1,2-dithienyl-1,2-dicyanoethene molecule, a promising molecular photoswitch.

Nonadiabatic Dynamics in a Laser Field: Using Floquet Fewest Switches Surface Hopping To Calculate Electronic Populations for Slow Nuclear Velocities

We investigate two well-known approaches for extending the fewest switches surface hopping (FSSH) algorithm to periodic time-dependent couplings. The first formalism acts as if the instantaneous adiabatic electronic states were standard adiabatic states, which just happen to evolve in time. The second formalism replaces the role of the usual adiabatic states by the time-independent adiabatic Floquet states. For a set of modified Tully model problems, the Floquet FSSH (F-FSSH) formalism gives a better estimate for both transmission and reflection probabilities than the instantaneous adiabatic FSSH (IA-FSSH) formalism, especially for slow nuclear velocities. More importantly, only F-FSSH predicts the correct final scattering momentum. Finally, in order to use Floquet theory accurately, we find that it is crucial to account for the interference between wavepackets on different Floquet states. Our results should be of interest to all those interested in laser-induced molecular dynamics.

A Robust and Unified Solution for Choosing the Phases of Adiabatic States as a Function of Geometry: Extending Parallel Transport Concepts to the Cases of Trivial and Near-Trivial Crossings

We investigate a simple and robust scheme for choosing the phases of adiabatic electronic states smoothly (as a function of geometry) so as to maximize the performance of ab initio non-adiabatic dynamics methods. Our approach is based upon consideration of the overlap matrix (U) between basis functions at successive points in time and selecting the phases so as to minimize the matrix norm of log(U). In so doing, one can extend the concept of parallel transport to cases with sharp curve crossings. We demonstrate that this algorithm performs well under extreme situations where dozens of states cross each other either through trivial crossings (where there is zero effective diabatic coupling), or through non-trivial crossings (when there is a non-zero diabatic coupling), or through a combination of both. In all cases, we compute the time-derivative coupling matrix elements (or equivalently non-adiabatic derivative coupling matrix elements) that are as smooth as possible. Our results should be of interest to all who are interested in either non-adiabatic dynamics, or more generally, parallel transport in large systems.