New classes of non-iterative energy corrections to multi-reference coupled-cluster energies

A systematic improvement to UGA-SSMRCCSD equations and its implication for potential energy curves

The Unitary Group Adaptation (UGA) offers a very compact and efficient spin adaptation strategy for any spin-free Hamiltonian in a many body framework. Our use of UGA in the context of state-specific (SS) Jeziorski-Monkhorst Ansatz based multireference coupled cluster (MRCC) theory obviates the non-commutativity between the spin-free cluster operators via a normal ordered exponential parametrization in the wave operator. A previous formulation of UGA-SSMRCC by us [R. Maitra, D. Sinha, and D. Mukherjee, J. Chem. Phys. 137, 024105 (2012)], using the same ansatz, employed certain sufficiency conditions to reach the final working equations, which cannot be improved systematically. In this article, we will present a more rigorous formulation that follows from an exact factorization of the unlinked terms of the Bloch equation, resulting in equations on which a hierarchy of approximations can be systematically performed on the emergent additional terms. This derivation was shown in our recent article [D. Chakravarti, S. Sen, and D. Mukherjee, Mol. Phys. 119, e1979676 (2021)] in the context of a single open shell CC formalism and was applied to spectroscopic energy differences where the contribution of the new terms was found to be of the order of ∼0.001 eV for ionization potential, electron affinity, and excitation energy. In the current work, we will present a comparison between the earlier and current formulations via both a theoretical analysis and a numerical demonstration of the dramatic effect of the additional terms brought in by the factorization on potential energy curves. The contribution of such terms was found to gain importance with an increase in the number of singly occupied active orbitals in the model space functions.

Extent of Spin Contamination Errors in DFT/Plane-wave Calculation of Surfaces: A Case of Au Atom Aggregation on a MgO Surface

The aggregation of Au atoms onto a Au dimer (Au₂) on a MgO (001) surface was calculated by restricted (spin-un-polarized) and unrestricted (spin-polarized) density functional theory calculations with a plane-wave basis and the approximate spin projection (AP) method. The unrestricted calculations included spin contamination errors of 0.0⁻0.1 eV, and the errors were removed using the AP method. The potential energy curves for the aggregation reaction estimated by the restricted and unrestricted calculations were different owing to the estimation of the open-shell structure by the unrestricted calculations. These results show the importance of the open-shell structure and correction of the spin contamination error for the calculation of small-cluster-aggregations and molecule dimerization on surfaces.

Perturbative universal state-selective correction for state-specific multi-reference coupled cluster methods

In this work, we report an extension of our previous development of the universal state-selective (USS) multireference coupled-cluster (MRCC) formalism. It was shown [Brabec et al., J. Chem. Phys. 136, 124102 (2012)] and [Banik et al., J. Chem. Phys. 142, 114106 (2015)] that the USS(2) approach significantly improves the accuracy of Brillouin-Wigner and Mukherjee MRCC formulations, however, the numerical and storage costs associated with calculating highly excited intermediates pose a significant challenge, which can restrict the applicability of the USS(2) method. Therefore, we introduce a perturbative variant of the USS(2) approach (USS(pt)), which substantially reduces numerical overhead of the full USS(2) correction while preserving its accuracy. Since the new USS(pt) implementation calculates the triple and quadruple projections in on-the-fly manner, the memory bottleneck associated with the need of storing expensive recursive intermediates is entirely eliminated. On the example of several benchmark systems, we demonstrate accuracies of USS(pt) and USS(2) approaches and their efficiency in describing quasidegenerate electronic states. It is also shown that the USS(pt) method significantly alleviates problems associated with the lack of invariance of MRCC theories upon the rotation of active orbitals.

Iterative universal state selective correction for the Brillouin-Wigner multireference coupled-cluster theory

As a further development of the previously introduced a posteriori Universal State-Selective (USS) corrections [K. Kowalski, J. Chem. Phys. 134, 194107 (2011); J. Brabec et al., ibid. 136, 124102 (2012)], we suggest an iterative form of the USS correction by means of correcting effective Hamiltonian matrix elements. We also formulate USS corrections via the left Bloch equations. The convergence of the USS corrections with excitation level towards the full configuration interaction (FCI) limit is also investigated. Various forms of the USS and simplified diagonal USS corrections at the singles and doubles and perturbative triple levels are numerically assessed on several model systems and on the ozone and tetramethyleneethane molecules. It is shown that the iterative USS correction can successfully replace the previously developed a posteriori Brillouin-Wigner coupled cluster size-extensivity correction, while it is not sensitive to intruder states and performs well also in other cases when the a posteriori one fails, like, e.g., for the asymmetric vibration mode of ozone.

Combining active-space coupled-cluster methods with moment energy corrections via the CC(P;Q) methodology, with benchmark calculations for biradical transition states

We have recently suggested the CC(P;Q) methodology that can correct energies obtained in the active-space coupled-cluster (CC) or equation-of-motion (EOM) CC calculations, which recover much of the nondynamical and some dynamical electron correlation effects, for the higher-order, mostly dynamical, correlations missing in the active-space CC/EOMCC considerations. It is shown that one can greatly improve the description of biradical transition states, both in terms of the resulting energy barriers and total energies, by combining the CC approach with singles, doubles, and active-space triples, termed CCSDt, with the CC(P;Q)-style correction due to missing triple excitations defining the CC(t;3) approximation.

Diagnosis of the performance of the state-specific multireference coupled-cluster method with different truncation schemes

We have tested the linked version of a iterative (partial) triples correction for the Jeziorski-Monkhorst ansatz based state-specific multireference coupled cluster (SS-MRCC) approach with singles and doubles (SD) excitations [abbreviated as SS-MRCCSDT-1a and SS-MRCCSDT-1a+d]. The assessments of SS-MRCCSDT-1a and SS-MRCCSDT-1a+d schemes have been performed on the ground potential energy surface (PES) of P4, Li(2),Be(2) systems which demand the MR description, and on study of the excitation energy between the ground and first excited state for P4 system. Illustrations in the isomerization of cyclobutadiene also show the power of the schemes. One of the designed features of the SS-MRCCSDT-n methods introduced here is that they do not require storage of the triples amplitudes. In the entire range of geometries, we found a definite improvement provided by SS-MRCC with SDT-1a and SDT-1a+d schemes over the standard SD one. In the nondegenerate regions of PES, the closeness of the performance of the single-reference CC to the SS-MRCC methods increases after inclusion of even partial triple excitations. Generally, the performance of the SS-MRCCSDT-1a+d approach is closer to the corresponding full configuration interaction (FCI) one than to the SS-MRCCSDT-1a specially in the degenerate geometries (as is evident from nonparallelism error). The deviation from FCI for the first excited state of the P4 model using various SS-MRCC theories with different truncation schemes obtained by converging on the second root of the effective Hamiltonian has also been reported. We also compare our results with the current generation state-of-the-art single and multireference CC calculations to envisage the usefulness of the present approach. Initial implementation indicates that the SS-MRCCSDT-n formalism can provide not only reliable excitation energies and barrier height even when used in a relatively small model space, but also offers a considerable promise in generating the entire energy surface with low nonparallelity error.

Extensive regularization of the coupled cluster methods based on the generating functional formalism: application to gas-phase benchmarks and to the SN2 reaction of CHCl3 and OH- in water

The recently introduced energy expansion based on the use of generating functional (GF) [K. Kowalski and P. D. Fan, J. Chem. Phys. 130, 084112 (2009)] provides a way of constructing size-consistent noniterative coupled cluster (CC) corrections in terms of moments of the CC equations. To take advantage of this expansion in a strongly interacting regime, the regularization of the cluster amplitudes is required in order to counteract the effect of excessive growth of the norm of the CC wave function. Although proven to be efficient, the previously discussed form of the regularization does not lead to rigorously size-consistent corrections. In this paper we address the issue of size-consistent regularization of the GF expansion by redefining the equations for the cluster amplitudes. The performance and basic features of proposed methodology are illustrated on several gas-phase benchmark systems. Moreover, the regularized GF approaches are combined with quantum mechanical molecular mechanics module and applied to describe the S(N)2 reaction of CHCl(3) and OH(-) in aqueous solution.

Active-space symmetry-adapted-cluster configuration-interaction and equation-of-motion coupled-cluster methods for high accuracy calculations of potential energy surfaces of radicals

The electron-attached (EA) and ionized (IP) symmetry-adapted-cluster configuration-interaction (SAC-CI) methods and their equation-of-motion coupled-cluster (EOMCC) analogs provide an elegant framework for studying open-shell systems. As shown in this study, these schemes require the presence of higher-order excitations, such as the four-particle-three-hole (4p-3h) or four-hole-three-particle (4h-3p) terms, in the electron attaching or ionizing operator R in order to produce accurate ground- and excited-state potential energy surfaces of radicals along bond breaking coordinates. The full inclusion of the 4p-3h/4h-3p excitations in the EA/IP SAC-CI and EOMCC methods leads to schemes which are far too expensive for calculations involving larger radicals and realistic basis sets. In order to reduce the large costs of such schemes without sacrificing accuracy, the active-space EA/IP EOMCC methodology [J. R. Gour et al., J. Chem. Phys. 123, 134113 (2005)] is extended to the EA/IP SAC-CI approaches with 4p-3h/4h-3p excitations. The resulting methods, which use a physically motivated set of active orbitals to pick out the most important 3p-2h/3h-2p and 4p-3h/4h-3p excitations, represent practical computational approaches for high-accuracy calculations of potential energy surfaces of radicals. To illustrate the potential offered by the active-space EA/IP SAC-CI approaches with up to 4p-3h/4h-3p excitations, the results of benchmark calculations for the potential energy surfaces of the low-lying doublet states of CH and OH are presented and compared with other SAC-CI and EOMCC methods, and full CI results.

Efficient formulation and computer implementation of the active-space electron-attached and ionized equation-of-motion coupled-cluster methods

The efficient, general-purpose implementations of the active-space electron-attached (EA) and ionized (IP) equation-of-motion coupled-cluster (EOMCC) methods including up to 3p-2h and 3h-2p excitations, called EA-EOMCCSDt and IP-EOMCCSDt, respectively, are discussed. The details of the algorithm that enables one to achieve a high degree of code vectorization for the active-space methods and the factorized forms of the EA- and IP-EOMCCSDt equations that maximize the benefits of using active orbitals in the process of selecting the dominant 3p-2h and 3h-2p excitations are presented. The results of benchmark calculations for the low-lying doublet and quartet states of the CH and SH radicals reveal that the active-space EA-EOMCCSDt and IP-EOMCCSDt methods are capable of producing results for the electronic excitations in open-shell systems that match the high accuracy of EA- and IP-EOMCC calculations with a full treatment of 3p-2h and 3h-2p excitations, even when the excited states of interest display a manifestly multideterminantal nature, with the costs that can be on the same order of those characterizing the basic EOMCC singles and doubles approach.

Active-space equation-of-motion coupled-cluster methods for excited states of radicals and other open-shell systems: EA-EOMCCSDt and IP-EOMCCSDt

The previously developed active-space coupled-cluster (CC) and equation-of-motion (EOM) CC methods are extended to radicals and other open-shell systems by combining them with the electron attached (EA) and ionized (IP) EOMCC approaches. As illustrated by the calculations for the CH and OH radicals, the resulting EA-EOMCCSDt and IP-EOMCCSDt theories are capable of providing a highly accurate description of the electronic spectra of radical systems, including excited states displaying a manifestly multideterminantal nature, with the low costs that are not much greater that those characterizing the standard EOMCC singles and doubles method.