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Richter R, Aschebrock T, Schelter I, Kümmel S. Meta-generalized gradient approximations in time dependent generalized Kohn-Sham theory: Importance of the current density correction. J Chem Phys 2023; 159:124117. [PMID: 38127400 DOI: 10.1063/5.0167972] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/16/2023] [Accepted: 09/07/2023] [Indexed: 12/23/2023] Open
Abstract
We revisit the use of Meta-Generalized Gradient Approximations (mGGAs) in time-dependent density functional theory, reviewing conceptual questions and solving the generalized Kohn-Sham equations by real-time propagation. After discussing the technical aspects of using mGGAs in combination with pseudopotentials and comparing real-space and basis set results, we focus on investigating the importance of the current-density based gauge invariance correction. For the two modern mGGAs that we investigate in this work, TASK and r2SCAN, we observe that for some systems, the current density correction leads to negligible changes, but for others, it changes excitation energies by up to 40% and more than 0.8 eV. In the cases that we study, the agreement with the reference data is improved by the current density correction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rian Richter
- Theoretical Physics IV, University of Bayreuth, 95440 Bayreuth, Germany
| | - Thilo Aschebrock
- Theoretical Physics IV, University of Bayreuth, 95440 Bayreuth, Germany
| | - Ingo Schelter
- Theoretical Physics IV, University of Bayreuth, 95440 Bayreuth, Germany
| | - Stephan Kümmel
- Theoretical Physics IV, University of Bayreuth, 95440 Bayreuth, Germany
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Brütting M, Foerster JM, Kümmel S. Understanding Primary Charge Separation in the Heliobacterial Reaction Center. J Phys Chem Lett 2023; 14:3092-3102. [PMID: 36951395 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpclett.3c00377] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
The homodimeric reaction center of heliobacteria retains features of the ancestral reaction center and can thus provide insights into the evolution of photosynthesis. Primary charge separation is expected to proceed in a two-step mechanism along either of the two reaction center branches. We reveal the first charge-separation step from first-principles calculations based on time-dependent density functional theory with an optimally tuned range-separated hybrid and ab initio Born-Oppenheimer molecular dynamics: the electron is most likely localized on the electron transfer cofactor 3 (EC3, OH-chlorophyll a), and the hole on the adjacent EC2. Including substantial parts of the surrounding protein environment into the calculations shows that a distinct structural mechanism is decisive for the relative energetic positioning of the electronic excitations: specific charged amino acids in the vicinity of EC3 lower the energy of charge-transfer excitations and thus facilitate efficient charge separation. These results are discussed considering recent experimental insights.
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Trepl T, Schelter I, Kümmel S. Analyzing Excitation-Energy Transfer Based on the Time-Dependent Density Functional Theory in Real Time. J Chem Theory Comput 2022; 18:6577-6587. [PMID: 36268773 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jctc.2c00600] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Excitation-energy transfer is a key step in processes such as photosynthesis that convert light into other forms of energy. Time-dependent density functional theory (DFT) in real time is ideal for the first-principles simulation of such processes due to its computational efficiency. We here demonstrate how real-time DFT can be used for analyzing excitation-energy transfer from first-principles. We discuss several measures of energy transfer that are based solely on the time-dependent density, are well founded in the DFT framework, allow for intuitive understanding and visualization, and reproduce important limiting cases of an analytical model. We demonstrate their usefulness in calculations for model systems, both with static nuclei and in the context of DFT-based Ehrenfest dynamics.
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Affiliation(s)
- T Trepl
- Theoretical Physics IV, University of Bayreuth, Bayreuth95440, Germany
| | - I Schelter
- Theoretical Physics IV, University of Bayreuth, Bayreuth95440, Germany
| | - S Kümmel
- Theoretical Physics IV, University of Bayreuth, Bayreuth95440, Germany
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Brütting M, Foerster JM, Kümmel S. Investigating Primary Charge Separation in the Reaction Center of Heliobacterium modesticaldum. J Phys Chem B 2021; 125:3468-3475. [PMID: 33788561 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.0c10283] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
We compute the primary charge separation step in the homodimeric reaction center (RC) of Heliobacterium modesticaldum from first principles. Using time-dependent density functional theory with the optimally tuned range-separated hybrid functional ωPBE, we calculate the excitations of a system comprising the special pair, the adjacent accessory bacteriochlorophylls, and the most relevant parts of the surrounding protein environment. The structure of the excitation spectrum can be rationalized from coupling of the individual bacteriochlorophyll pigments similar to molecular J- and H-aggregates. We find excited states corresponding to forward-charge transfer along the individual branches of the RC of H. modesticaldum. In the spectrum, these are located at an energy between the coupled Qy and Qx transitions. With ab initio Born-Oppenheimer molecular dynamics simulations, we reveal the influence of thermal vibrations on the excited states. The results show that the energy gap between the coupled Qy and the forward-charge transfer excitations is ∼0.4 eV, which we consider to conflict with the concept of a direct transfer mechanism. Our calculations, however, reveal a certain spectral overlap of the forward-charge transfer and the coupled Qx excitations. The reliability and robustness of the results are demonstrated by several numerical tests.
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Hashemi Z, Leppert L. Assessment of the Ab Initio Bethe-Salpeter Equation Approach for the Low-Lying Excitation Energies of Bacteriochlorophylls and Chlorophylls. J Phys Chem A 2021; 125:2163-2172. [PMID: 33656894 PMCID: PMC8028335 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpca.1c01240] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Bacteriochlorophyll and chlorophyll molecules are crucial building blocks of the photosynthetic apparatus in bacteria, algae, and plants. Embedded in transmembrane protein complexes, they are responsible for the primary processes of photosynthesis: excitation energy and charge transfer. Here, we use ab initio many-body perturbation theory within the GW approximation and Bethe-Salpeter equation (BSE) approach to calculate the electronic structure and optical excitations of bacteriochlorophylls a, b, c, d, and e and chlorophylls a and b. We systematically study the effects of the structure, basis set size, partial self-consistency in GW, and the underlying exchange-correlation approximation and compare our calculations with results from time-dependent density functional theory, multireference RASPT2, and experimental literature results. We find that optical excitations calculated with GW+BSE are in excellent agreement with experimental data, with an average deviation of less than 100 meV for the first three bright excitations of the entire family of (bacterio)chlorophylls. Contrary to state-of-the-art time-dependent density functional theory (TDDFT) with an optimally tuned range-separated hybrid functional, this accuracy is achieved in a parameter-free approach. Moreover, GW+BSE predicts the energy differences between the low-energy excitations correctly and eliminates spurious charge transfer states that TDDFT with (semi)local approximations is known to produce. Our study provides accurate reference results and highlights the potential of the GW+BSE approach for the simulation of larger pigment complexes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zohreh Hashemi
- Institute of Physics, University of Bayreuth, Bayreuth 95440, Germany
| | - Linn Leppert
- Institute of Physics, University of Bayreuth, Bayreuth 95440, Germany.,MESA+ Institute for Nanotechnology, University of Twente, 7500 AE Enschede, The Netherlands
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de Queiroz TB, de Figueroa ER, Coutinho-Neto MD, Maciel CD, Tapavicza E, Hashemi Z, Leppert L. First principles theoretical spectroscopy of methylene blue: Between limitations of time-dependent density functional theory approximations and its realistic description in the solvent. J Chem Phys 2021; 154:044106. [PMID: 33514105 DOI: 10.1063/5.0029727] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Methylene blue [3,7-Bis(di-methylamino) phenothiazin-5-ium chloride] is a phenothiazine dye with applications as a sensitizer for photodynamic therapy, photoantimicrobials, and dye-sensitized solar cells. Time-dependent density functional theory (TDDFT), based on (semi)local and global hybrid exchange-correlation functionals, fails to correctly describe its spectral features due to known limitations for describing optical excitations of π-conjugated systems. Here, we use TDDFT with a non-empirical optimally tuned range-separated hybrid functional to explore the optical excitations of gas phase and solvated methylene blue. We compute solvated configurations using molecular dynamics and an iterative procedure to account for explicit solute polarization. We rationalize and validate that by extrapolating the optimized range separation parameter to an infinite amount of solvating molecules, the optical gap of methylene blue is well described. Moreover, this method allows us to resolve contributions from solvent-solute intermolecular interactions and dielectric screening. We validate our results by comparing them to first-principles calculations based on the GW+Bethe-Salpeter equation approach and experiment. Vibronic calculations using TDDFT and the generating function method account for the spectra's subbands and bring the computed transition energies to within 0.15 eV of the experimental data. This methodology is expected to perform equivalently well for describing solvated spectra of π-conjugated systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thiago B de Queiroz
- Centro de Ciências Naturais e Humanas, Universidade Federal do ABC, Av. dos Estados 5001, 09510-580 Santo André-SP, Brazil
| | - Erick R de Figueroa
- Centro de Ciências Naturais e Humanas, Universidade Federal do ABC, Av. dos Estados 5001, 09510-580 Santo André-SP, Brazil
| | - Maurício D Coutinho-Neto
- Centro de Ciências Naturais e Humanas, Universidade Federal do ABC, Av. dos Estados 5001, 09510-580 Santo André-SP, Brazil
| | - Cleiton D Maciel
- Instituto Federal de Educação, Ciência e Tecnologia de São Paulo, Campus Itaquaquecetuba, Avenida Primeiro de Maio, 500, 08571-050 Itaquaquecetuba-SP, Brazil
| | - Enrico Tapavicza
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, California State University, Long Beach, 1250 Bellflower Boulevard, Long Beach, California 90840, USA
| | - Zohreh Hashemi
- Institute of Physics, University of Bayreuth, Bayreuth 95440, Germany
| | - Linn Leppert
- Institute of Physics, University of Bayreuth, Bayreuth 95440, Germany
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Kehrer J, Richter R, Foerster JM, Schelter I, Kümmel S. Self-interaction correction, electrostatic, and structural influences on time-dependent density functional theory excitations of bacteriochlorophylls from the light-harvesting complex 2. J Chem Phys 2020; 153:144114. [PMID: 33086803 DOI: 10.1063/5.0014938] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
First-principles calculations offer the chance to obtain a microscopic understanding of light-harvesting processes. Time-dependent density functional theory can have the computational efficiency to allow for such calculations. However, the (semi-)local exchange-correlation approximations that are computationally most efficient fail to describe charge-transfer excitations reliably. We here investigate whether the inexpensive average density self-interaction correction (ADSIC) remedies the problem. For the systems that we study, ADSIC is even more prone to the charge-transfer problem than the local density approximation. We further explore the recently reported finding that the electrostatic potential associated with the chromophores' protein environment in the light-harvesting complex 2 beneficially shifts spurious excitations. We find a great sensitivity on the chromophores' atomistic structure in this problem. Geometries obtained from classical molecular dynamics are more strongly affected by the spurious charge-transfer problem than the ones obtained from crystallography or density functional theory. For crystal structure geometries and density-functional theory optimized ones, our calculations confirm that the electrostatic potential shifts the spurious excitations out of the energetic range that is most relevant for electronic coupling.
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Affiliation(s)
- Juliana Kehrer
- Theoretical Physics IV, University of Bayreuth, D-95440 Bayreuth, Germany
| | - Rian Richter
- Theoretical Physics IV, University of Bayreuth, D-95440 Bayreuth, Germany
| | | | - Ingo Schelter
- Theoretical Physics IV, University of Bayreuth, D-95440 Bayreuth, Germany
| | - Stephan Kümmel
- Theoretical Physics IV, University of Bayreuth, D-95440 Bayreuth, Germany
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Hofmann F, Kümmel S. Molecular excitations from meta-generalized gradient approximations in the Kohn-Sham scheme. J Chem Phys 2020; 153:114106. [PMID: 32962375 DOI: 10.1063/5.0023657] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Meta-Generalized Gradient Approximations (meta-GGAs) can, in principle, include spatial and temporal nonlocality in time-dependent density functional theory at a much lower computational cost than functionals that use exact exchange. We here test whether a meta-GGA that has recently been developed with a focus on capturing nonlocal response properties and the particle number discontinuity can realize such features in practice. To this end, we extended the frequency-dependent Sternheimer formalism to the meta-GGA case. Using the Krieger-Li-Iafrate (KLI) approximation, we calculate the optical response for the selected paradigm molecular systems and compare the meta-GGA Kohn-Sham response to the one found with exact exchange and conventional (semi-)local functionals. We find that the new meta-GGA captures important properties of the nonlocal exchange response. The KLI approximation, however, emerges as a limiting factor in the evaluation of charge-transfer excitations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fabian Hofmann
- Theoretical Physics IV, University of Bayreuth, D-95440 Bayreuth, Germany
| | - Stephan Kümmel
- Theoretical Physics IV, University of Bayreuth, D-95440 Bayreuth, Germany
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