Efficient Evaluation of the Breit Operator in the Pauli Spinor Basis

Dirac-Coulomb-Breit Molecular Mean-Field Exact-Two-Component Relativistic Equation-of-Motion Coupled-Cluster Theory

We present a relativistic equation-of-motion coupled-cluster with single and double excitation formalism within the exact two-component framework (X2C-EOM-CCSD), where both scalar relativistic effects and spin-orbit coupling are variationally included at the reference level. Three different molecular mean-field treatments of relativistic corrections, including the one-electron, Dirac-Coulomb, and Dirac-Coulomb-Breit Hamiltonian, are considered in this work. Benchmark calculations include atomic excitations and fine-structure splittings arising from spin-orbit coupling. Comparison with experimental values and relativistic time-dependent density functional theory is also carried out. The computation of the oscillator strength using the relativistic X2C-EOM-CCSD approach allows for studies of spin-orbit-driven processes, such as the spontaneous phosphorescence lifetime.

Comparison of Variational and Perturbative Spin-Orbit Coupling within Two-Component CASSCF

The modeling of spin-orbit coupling (SOC) remains a challenge in computational chemistry due to the high computational cost. With the rising popularity of spin-driven processes and f-block metals in chemistry and materials science, it is incumbent on the community to develop accurate multiconfigurational SOC methods that scale to large systems and understand the limits of different treatments of SOC. Herein, we introduce an implementation of perturbative SOC in scalar-relativistic two-component CASSCF (srX2C-CASSCF-SO). Perspectives on the limitations and accuracy of srX2C-CASSCF-SO are presented via benchmark calculations.

Unified construction of relativistic Hamiltonians

It is shown that the four-component (4C), quasi-four-component (Q4C), and exact two-component (X2C) relativistic Hartree-Fock equations can be implemented in a unified manner by making use of the atomic nature of the small components of molecular 4-spinors. A model density matrix approximation can first be invoked for the small-component charge/current density functions, which gives rise to a static, pre-molecular mean field to be combined with the one-electron term. As a result, only the nonrelativistic-like two-electron term of the 4C/Q4C/X2C Fock matrix needs to be updated during the iterations. A "one-center small-component" approximation can then be invoked in the evaluation of relativistic integrals, that is, all atom-centered small-component basis functions are regarded as extremely localized near the position of the atom to which they belong such that they have vanishing overlaps with all small- or large-component functions centered at other nuclei. Under these approximations, the 4C, Q4C, and X2C mean-field and many-electron Hamiltonians share precisely the same structure and accuracy. Beyond these is the effective quantum electrodynamics Hamiltonian that can be constructed in the same way. Such approximations lead to errors that are orders of magnitude smaller than other sources of errors (e.g., truncation errors in the one- and many-particle bases as well as uncertainties of experimental measurements) and are, hence, safe to use for whatever purposes. The quaternion forms of the 4C, Q4C, and X2C equations are also presented in the most general way, based on which the corresponding Kramers-restricted open-shell variants are formulated for "high-spin" open-shell systems.

Full Breit Hamiltonian in the Multiwavelets Framework

New techniques in core-electron spectroscopy are necessary to resolve the structures of oxides of f-elements and other strongly correlated materials that are present only as powders and not as single crystals. Thus, accurate quantum chemical methods must be developed to calculate core spectroscopic properties in such materials. In this contribution, we present an important development in this direction, extending our fully adaptive real-space multiwavelet basis framework to tackle the four-component Dirac-Coulomb-Breit Hamiltonian. We show that multiwavelets can reproduce one-dimensional grid-based approaches. They are however a fully three-dimensional approach which can later be extended to molecules and materials. Our multiwavelet implementation attained precise results irrespective of the chosen nuclear model, provided that the error threshold is tight enough and that the chosen polynomial basis is sufficiently large. Furthermore, our results confirmed that in two-electron species, the magnetic and Gauge contributions from s-orbitals are identical in magnitude and can account for the experimental evidence from K and L edges.

Exploring Locality in Molecular Dirac-Coulomb-Breit Calculations: A Perspective

The Dirac-Coulomb-Breit (DCB) operator is widely recognized for its ability to accurately capture relativistic effects and spin-physics in molecular calculations. However, due to its high computational cost, there is a need to develop low-scaling approximations without compromising accuracy. To tackle this challenge, it becomes essential to gain a deeper understanding of the DCB operator's behavior. This work aims to explore local integral approximations, shedding light on the locality of the parts of the charge-current distribution due to the small component. In particular, we propose an atomic Breit approximation that leverages an analysis of the behavior observed in a series of gold chains. Through benchmark studies of metal complexes, we evaluated the accuracy and performance of the proposed atomic Breit approximation. This work provides a comprehensive understanding of the behavior of the charge-current distribution in terms of its contributions from its AO basis constituents, facilitating the development of low-scaling methods that strike a balance between computational efficiency and accuracy.

A Perspective on Sustainable Computational Chemistry Software Development and Integration

The power of quantum chemistry to predict the ground and excited state properties of complex chemical systems has driven the development of computational quantum chemistry software, integrating advances in theory, applied mathematics, and computer science. The emergence of new computational paradigms associated with exascale technologies also poses significant challenges that require a flexible forward strategy to take full advantage of existing and forthcoming computational resources. In this context, the sustainability and interoperability of computational chemistry software development are among the most pressing issues. In this perspective, we discuss software infrastructure needs and investments with an eye to fully utilize exascale resources and provide unique computational tools for next-generation science problems and scientific discoveries.

Relativistic resolution-of-the-identity with Cholesky integral decomposition

In this study, we present an efficient integral decomposition approach called the restricted-kinetic-balance resolution-of-the-identity (RKB-RI) algorithm, which utilizes a tunable RI method based on the Cholesky integral decomposition for in-core relativistic quantum chemistry calculations. The RKB-RI algorithm incorporates the restricted-kinetic-balance condition and offers a versatile framework for accurate computations. Notably, the Cholesky integral decomposition is employed not only to approximate symmetric large-component electron repulsion integrals but also those involving small-component basis functions. In addition to comprehensive error analysis, we investigate crucial conditions, such as the kinetic balance condition and variational stability, which underlie the applicability of Dirac relativistic electronic structure theory. We compare the computational cost of the RKB-RI approach with the full in-core method to assess its efficiency. To evaluate the accuracy and reliability of the RKB-RI method proposed in this work, we employ actinyl oxides as benchmark systems, leveraging their properties for validation purposes. This investigation provides valuable insights into the capabilities and performance of the RKB-RI algorithm and establishes its potential as a powerful tool in the field of relativistic quantum chemistry.

Improving One-Electron Exact-Two-Component Relativistic Methods with the Dirac-Coulomb-Breit-Parameterized Effective Spin-Orbit Coupling

In photochemical processes, spin-orbit coupling plays a crucial role in determining the outcome of the reaction. However, the exact treatment of the Dirac-Coulomb-Breit two-electron operator required for rigorous inclusion of spin-orbit coupling is computationally prohibitive. To address this challenge, we present a Dirac-Coulomb-Breit-parameterized screened-nuclear spin-orbit factor to approximate two-electron spin-orbit couplings in the effective one-electron spin-orbit Hamiltonian. We propose two schemes, the universal and row-dependent parameterizations, to further improve the accuracy of the method. Benchmark calculations on both atomic and molecular systems are performed and compared to results from the computationally expensive four-component Dirac-Coulomb-Breit method. The Dirac-Coulomb-Breit-parameterized approach offers a more computationally feasible method for accurate spin-orbit coupling calculations.

Scalar Breit interaction for molecular calculations

Variational treatment of the Dirac-Coulomb-Gaunt or Dirac-Coulomb-Breit two-electron interaction at the Dirac-Hartree-Fock level is the starting point of high-accuracy four-component calculations of atomic and molecular systems. In this work, we introduce, for the first time, the scalar Hamiltonians derived from the Dirac-Coulomb-Gaunt and Dirac-Coulomb-Breit operators based on spin separation in the Pauli quaternion basis. While the widely used spin-free Dirac-Coulomb Hamiltonian includes only the direct Coulomb and exchange terms that resemble nonrelativistic two-electron interactions, the scalar Gaunt operator adds a scalar spin-spin term. The spin separation of the gauge operator gives rise to an additional scalar orbit-orbit interaction in the scalar Breit Hamiltonian. Benchmark calculations of Aun (n = 2-8) show that the scalar Dirac-Coulomb-Breit Hamiltonian can capture 99.99% of the total energy with only 10% of the computational cost when real-valued arithmetic is used, compared to the full Dirac-Coulomb-Breit Hamiltonian. The scalar relativistic formulation developed in this work lays the theoretical foundation for the development of high-accuracy, low-cost correlated variational relativistic many-body theory.

Reducing Exact Two-Component Theory for NMR Couplings to a One-Component Approach: Efficiency and Accuracy

The self-consistent and complex spin-orbit exact two-component (X2C) formalism for NMR spin-spin coupling constants [ J. Chem. Theory Comput. 17, 2021, 3874-3994] is reduced to a scalar one-component ansatz. This way, the first-order response term can be partitioned into the Fermi-contact (FC) and spin-dipole (SD) interactions as well as the paramagnetic spin-orbit (PSO) contribution. The FC+SD terms are real and symmetric, while the PSO term is purely imaginary and antisymmetric. The relativistic one-component approach is combined with a modern density functional treatment up to local hybrid functionals including the response of the current density. Computational demands are reduced by factors of 8-24 as shown for a large tin compound consisting of 137 atoms. Limitations of the current ansatz are critically assessed for Sn, Pb, Pd, and Pt compounds, i.e. the one-component treatment is not sufficient for tin compounds featuring a few heavy halogen atoms.

State Interaction Linear Response Time-Dependent Density Functional Theory with Perturbative Spin-Orbit Coupling: Benchmark and Perspectives

Spin-orbit coupling (SOC) is an important driving force in photochemistry. In this work, we develop a perturbative spin-orbit coupling method within the linear response time-dependent density function theory framework (TDDFT-SO). A full state interaction scheme, including singlet-triplet and triplet-triplet coupling, is introduced to describe not only the coupling between the ground and excited states, but also between excited states with all couplings between spin microstates. In addition, expressions to compute spectral oscillator strengths are presented. Scalar relativity is included variationally using the second-order Douglas-Kroll-Hess Hamiltonian, and the TDDFT-SO method is validated against variational SOC relativistic methods for atomic, diatomic, and transition metal complexes to determine the range of applicability and potential limitations. To demonstrate the robustness of TDDFT-SO for large-scale chemical systems, the UV-Vis spectrum of Au₂₅(SR)₁₈ ^- is computed and compared to experiment. Perspectives on the limitation, accuracy, and capability of perturbative TDDFT-SO are presented via analyses of benchmark calculations. Additionally, an open-source Python software package (PyTDDFT-SO) is developed and released to interface with the Gaussian 16 quantum chemistry software package to perform this calculation.

Correlated Dirac-Coulomb-Breit multiconfigurational self-consistent-field methods

The fully correlated frequency-independent Dirac-Coulomb-Breit Hamiltonian provides the most accurate description of electron-electron interaction before going to a genuine relativistic quantum electrodynamics theory of many-electron systems. In this work, we introduce a correlated Dirac-Coulomb-Breit multiconfigurational self-consistent-field method within the frameworks of complete active space and density matrix renormalization group. In this approach, the Dirac-Coulomb-Breit Hamiltonian is included variationally in both the mean-field and correlated electron treatment. We also analyze the importance of the Breit operator in electron correlation and the rotation between the positive- and negative-orbital space in the no-virtual-pair approximation. Atomic fine-structure splittings and lanthanide contraction in diatomic fluorides are used as benchmark studies to understand the contribution from the Breit correlation.

Relativistic Kramers-Unrestricted Exact-Two-Component Density Matrix Renormalization Group

In this work we develop a variational relativistic density matrix renormalization group (DMRG) approach within the exact-two-component (X2C) framework (X2C-DMRG), using spinor orbitals optimized with the two-component relativistic complete active space self-consistent field. We investigate fine-structure splittings of p- (Ga, In, Tl) and d-block (Sc, Y, La) atoms and excitation energies of monohydride molecules (GeH, SnH, and TlH) with X2C-DMRG calculations using an all-electron relativistic Hamiltonian in a Kramers-unrestricted basis. We find that X2C-DMRG yields accurate ²P and ²D splittings compared to multireference configuration interaction with singles and doubles (MRCISD). We also investigated the degree of symmetry breaking in the atomic multiplets and convergence of electron correlation in the total energies. Symmetry breaking can be large in some cases (∼30 meV); however, increasing the number of renormalized block states m for the DMRG optimization recovers the symmetry breaking by several orders of magnitude. Encouragingly, we find the convergence of electron correlation to be close to MRCISDTQ5 quality. Relativistic X2C-DMRG approaches are important for cases where spin-orbit coupling is significant and the underlying reference wave function requires a large determinantal space. We are able to obtain quantitatively correct fine-structure splittings for systems up to 10¹⁹ number of determinants with traditional CI approaches, which are currently unfeasible to converge for the field.