Variational geminal-augmented multireference self-consistent field theory: Two-electron systems

Compact two-electron wave function for bond dissociation and Van der Waals interactions: a natural amplitude assessment

Electron correlations in molecules can be divided in short range dynamical correlations, long range Van der Waals type interactions, and near degeneracy static correlations. In this work, we analyze for a one-dimensional model of a two-electron system how these three types of correlations can be incorporated in a simple wave function of restricted functional form consisting of an orbital product multiplied by a single correlation function f (r12) depending on the interelectronic distance r12. Since the three types of correlations mentioned lead to different signatures in terms of the natural orbital (NO) amplitudes in two-electron systems, we make an analysis of the wave function in terms of the NO amplitudes for a model system of a diatomic molecule. In our numerical implementation, we fully optimize the orbitals and the correlation function on a spatial grid without restrictions on their functional form. Due to this particular form of the wave function, we can prove that none of the amplitudes vanishes and moreover that it displays a distinct sign pattern and a series of avoided crossings as a function of the bond distance in agreement with the exact solution. This shows that the wave function ansatz correctly incorporates the long range Van der Waals interactions. We further show that the approximate wave function gives an excellent binding curve and is able to describe static correlations. We show that in order to do this the correlation function f (r12) needs to diverge for large r12 at large internuclear distances while for shorter bond distances it increases as a function of r12 to a maximum value after which it decays exponentially. We further give a physical interpretation of this behavior.

Optimal composition of atomic orbital basis sets for recovering static correlation energies

Static correlation energies (Estat) are calculated in a range of basis sets for a chemically diverse collection of atoms and molecules. The reliability of a basis set in capturing Estat is assessed according to the following: mean and maximum absolute deviations from near-exact Estat estimates, monotonic convergence to the complete basis set limit, and ability to capture Estat accurately independent of changes in geometry, molecular size, and electronic configuration. Within the polarization and correlation-consistent basis set series, triple-ζ basis sets are the smallest that can reliably capture Estat. The cc-pVTZ basis set performs particularly well, recovering Estat to chemical accuracy for all atoms and molecules in our data set. A series of customized basis sets are constructed by stripping polarization functions from, and swapping polarization functions among, existing basis sets. Basis sets without polarization functions are incapable of accurately recovering Estat. Basis sets with a near-complete set of s, p, and d functions can approach chemical accuracy in maximum absolute error. However, this may be achieved at lower computational cost by using a well balanced triple-ζ basis set including f functions, along with a smaller number of s, p, and d functions. Recommended basis sets for calculating Estat with increasing accuracy at increasing computational cost are 6-311G(2d,2p), cc-pVTZ, and cc-pVQZ stripped of g functions.

Computational Photochemistry and Photophysics: the state of the art

This review starts with the most basic concepts in photochemistry and photophysics, followed by a chronological introduction of theoretical methods and relevant applications in the history of computational photochemistry, along with the authors’ comments on the methodologies currently available for photochemical studies. Recent advances in the field are next summarized and discussed, focusing separately on methodology and computational techniques and some highlighted applied works carried out during the last two years on the topics of photodissociations, photostability, photodimerizations, photoisomerizations, proton/hydrogen transfer, photodecarboxylations, charge transport, bioexcimers, chemiluminescence and bioluminescence. We finish this review by conclusions and an outlook of the future.

Calculation of electron-hole recombination probability using explicitly correlated Hartree-Fock method

The electron-hole explicitly correlated Hartree-Fock method (eh-XCHF) is presented as a general strategy for investigation of electron-hole correlation and computation of electron-hole recombination probability. The eh-XCHF method is a variational method which uses explicitly correlated wavefunction that depends on the electron-hole inter-particle distances. It is shown that the explicitly correlated ansatz provides a systematic route to variationally minimize the total energy. The parabolic quantum dot is used as the benchmark system and the eh-XCHF method is used for computation of the ground state energy and electron-hole recombination probability. The results are compared to Hartree-Fock and explicitly correlated full configuration interaction (R12-FCI) calculations. The results indicate that an accurate description of the electron-hole wavefunction at short electron-hole inter-particle distances is crucial for qualitative description of the electron-hole recombination probability. The eh-XCHF method successfully addresses this issue and comparison of eh-XCHF calculations with R12-FCI shows good agreement. The quality of the mean field approximation for electron-hole system is also investigated by comparing HF and R12-FCI energies for electron-electron and electron-hole systems. It was found that performance of the mean field approximation is worse for the electron-hole system as compared to the corresponding electron-electron system.