Thermochemistry and Accurate Quantum Reaction Rate Calculations for H2/HD/D2 + CH3

A multi-layer multi-configurational time-dependent Hartree approach to lattice models beyond one dimension

The multi-layer multi-configurational time-dependent Hartree (MCTDH) approach is an efficient method to study quantum dynamics in real and imaginary time. The present work explores its potential to describe quantum fluids. The multi-layer MCTDH approach in second quantization representation is used to study lattice models beyond one dimension at finite temperatures. A scheme to map the lattice sites onto the MCTDH tree representation for multi-dimensional lattice models is proposed. A statistical sampling scheme previously used in MCTDH calculations is adapted to facilitate an efficient description of the thermal ensemble. As example, a two-dimensional hard-core Bose-Hubbard model is studied considering up to 64 × 64 lattice sites. The single particle function basis set size required to obtain converged results is found to not increase with the lattice size. The numerical results properly simulate the finite temperature Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless phase transition.

Accurate Quantum Dynamics Calculations for the Cl + CH4/CHD3/CD4 Reaction Rates

Full-dimensional quantum dynamics simulations of the reaction of Cl with methane and its isotopomers are reported. Thermal rate constants are computed for the Cl + CH4 → HCl + CH3, Cl + CHD3 → HCl + CD3, and Cl + CD4 → DCl + CD3 reactions. Temperatures between 200 and 500 K are considered. In this temperature range, excellent agreement with the experiment is obtained. A detailed analysis of the kinetic isotope effect reveals the crucial importance of the CH3/CD3 umbrella motion. Comparison with approximate ring-polymer molecular dynamics simulations shows significant differences depending on the isotope studied.

Eigenstate calculation in the state-averaged (multi-layer) multi-configurational time-dependent Hartree approach

A new approach for the calculation of eigenstates with the state-averaged (multi-layer) multi-configurational time-dependent Hartree (MCTDH) approach is presented. The approach is inspired by the recent work of Larsson [J. Chem. Phys. 151, 204102 (2019)]. It employs local optimization of the basis sets at each node of the multi-layer MCTDH tree and successive downward and upward sweeps to obtain a globally converged result. At the top node, the Hamiltonian represented in the basis of the single-particle functions (SPFs) of the first layer is diagonalized. Here p wavefunctions corresponding to the p lowest eigenvalues are computed by a block Lanczos approach. At all other nodes, a non-linear operator consisting of the respective mean-field Hamiltonian matrix and a projector onto the space spanned by the respective SPFs is considered. Here, the eigenstate corresponding to the lowest eigenvalue is computed using a short iterative Lanczos scheme. Two different examples are studied to illustrate the new approach: the calculation of the vibrational states of methyl and acetonitrile. The calculations for methyl employ the single-layer MCTDH approach, a general potential energy surface, and the correlation discrete variable representation. A five-layer MCTDH representation and a sum of product-type Hamiltonian are used in the acetonitrile calculations. Very fast convergence and order of magnitude reductions in the numerical effort compared to the previously used block relaxation scheme are found. Furthermore, a detailed comparison with the results of Avila and Carrington [J. Chem. Phys. 134, 054126 (2011)] for acetonitrile highlights the potential problems of convergence tests for high-dimensional systems.

A non-hierarchical correlation discrete variable representation

The correlation discrete variable representation (CDVR) facilitates (multi-layer) multi-configurational time-dependent Hartree (MCTDH) calculations with general potentials. It employs a layered grid representation to efficiently evaluate all potential matrix elements appearing in the MCTDH equations of motion. The original CDVR approach and its multi-layer extension show a hierarchical structure: the size of the grids employed at the different layers increases when moving from an upper layer to a lower one. In this work, a non-hierarchical CDVR approach, which uses identically structured quadratures at all layers of the MCTDH wavefunction representation, is introduced. The non-hierarchical CDVR approach crucially reduces the number of grid points required, compared to the hierarchical CDVR, shows superior scaling properties, and yields identical results for all three representations showing the same topology. Numerical tests studying the photodissociation of NOCl and the vibrational states of CH₃ demonstrate the accuracy of the non-hierarchical CDVR approach.

Symmetries in the multi-configurational time-dependent Hartree wavefunction representation and propagation

In multi-configurational time-dependent Hartree (MCTDH) approaches, different multi-layered wavefunction representations can be used to represent the same physical wavefunction. Transformations between different equivalent representations of a physical wavefunction that alter the tree structure used in the multi-layer MCTDH wavefunction representation interchange the role of single-particle functions (SPFs) and single-hole functions (SHFs) in the MCTDH formalism. While the physical wavefunction is invariant under these transformations, this invariance does not hold for the standard multi-layer MCTDH equations of motion. Introducing transformed SPFs, which obey normalization conditions typically associated with SHFs, revised equations of motion are derived. These equations do not show the singularities resulting from the inverse single-particle density matrix and are invariant under tree transformations. Based on the revised equations of motion, a new integration scheme is introduced. The scheme combines the advantages of the constant mean-field approach of Beck and Meyer [Z. Phys. D 42, 113 (1997)] and the singularity-free integrator suggested by Lubich [Appl. Math. Res. Express 2015, 311]. Numerical calculations studying the spin boson model in high dimensionality confirm the favorable properties of the new integration scheme.

Direct product-type grid representations for angular coordinates in extended space and their application in the MCTDH approach

Multi-configurational time-dependent Hartree (MCTDH) calculations using time-dependent grid representations can be used to accurately simulate high-dimensional quantum dynamics on general ab initio potential energy surfaces. Employing the correlation discrete variable representation, sets of direct product type grids are employed in the calculation of the required potential energy matrix elements. This direct product structure can be a problem if the coordinate system includes polar and azimuthal angles that result in singularities in the kinetic energy operator. In the present work, a new direct product-type discrete variable representation (DVR) for arbitrary sets of polar and azimuthal angles is introduced. It employs an extended coordinate space where the range of the polar angles is taken to be [-π, π]. The resulting extended space DVR resolves problems caused by the singularities in the kinetic energy operator without generating a very large spectral width. MCTDH calculations studying the F·CH₄ complex are used to investigate important properties of the new scheme. The scheme is found to allow for more efficient integration of the equations of motion compared to the previously employed cot-DVR approach [G. Schiffel and U. Manthe, Chem. Phys. 374, 118 (2010)] and decreases the required central processing unit times by about an order of magnitude.

Wavepacket dynamics and the multi-configurational time-dependent Hartree approach

Multi-configurational time-dependent Hartree (MCTDH) based approaches are efficient, accurate, and versatile methods for high-dimensional quantum dynamics simulations. Applications range from detailed investigations of polyatomic reaction processes in the gas phase to high-dimensional simulations studying the dynamics of condensed phase systems described by typical solid state physics model Hamiltonians. The present article presents an overview of the different areas of application and provides a comprehensive review of the underlying theory. The concepts and guiding ideas underlying the MCTDH approach and its multi-mode and multi-layer extensions are discussed in detail. The general structure of the equations of motion is highlighted. The representation of the Hamiltonian and the correlated discrete variable representation (CDVR), which provides an efficient multi-dimensional quadrature in MCTDH calculations, are discussed. Methods which facilitate the calculation of eigenstates, the evaluation of correlation functions, and the efficient representation of thermal ensembles in MCTDH calculations are described. Different schemes for the treatment of indistinguishable particles in MCTDH calculations and recent developments towards a unified multi-layer MCTDH theory for systems including bosons and fermions are discussed.

Generalized CC-TDSCF and LCSA: The system-energy representation

Typical (sub)system-bath quantum dynamical problems are often investigated by means of (approximate) reduced equations of motion. Wavepacket approaches to the dynamics of the whole system have gained momentum in recent years and there is hope that properly designed approximations to the wavefunction will allow one to correctly describe the subsystem evolution. The continuous-configuration time-dependent self-consistent field (CC-TDSCF) and local coherent-state approximation (LCSA) methods, for instance, use a simple Hartree product of bath single-particle-functions for each discrete variable representation (DVR) state introduced in the Hilbert space of the subsystem. Here we focus on the above two methods and replace the DVR states with the eigenstates of the subsystem Hamiltonian, i.e., we adopt an energy-local representation for the subsystem. We find that stable and semiquantitative results are obtained for a number of dissipative problems, at the same (small) computational cost of the original methods. Furthermore, we find that both methods give very similar results, thus suggesting that coherent-states are well suited to describe (local) bath states. As a whole, present results highlight the importance of the system basis-set in the selected-multiconfiguration expansion of the wavefunction. They suggest that accurate and yet computationally cheap methods may be simply obtained from CC-TDSCF/LCSA by letting the subsystem states be variationally optimized.

Direct Dynamics Implementation of the Least-Action Tunneling Transmission Coefficient. Application to the CH4/CD3H/CD4 + CF3 Abstraction Reactions

We present two new direct dynamics algorithms for calculating transmission coefficients of polyatomic chemical reactions by the multidimensional least-action tunneling approximation. The new algorithms are called the interpolated least-action tunneling method based on one-dimensional interpolation (ILAT1D) and the double interpolated least-action tunneling (DILAT) method. The DILAT algorithm, which uses a one-dimensional spline under tension to interpolate both of the effective potentials along the nonadiabatic portions of tunneling paths and the imaginary action integrals as functions of tunneling energies, was designed for the calculation of multidimensional LAT transmission coefficients for very large polyatomic systems. The performance of this algorithm has been tested for the CH4/CD3H/CD4 + CF3 hydrogen abstraction reactions with encouraging results, i.e., when the fitting is performed using 13 points, the algorithm is about 30 times faster than the full calculation with deviations that are smaller than 5%. This makes direct dynamics least-action tunneling calculations practical for larger systems, higher levels of electron correlation, and/or larger basis sets.