A multireference perturbation theory study on the Fe2molecule: in quest of the ground state

Benchmarking CASPT3 Vertical Excitation Energies

Based on 280 reference vertical transition energies of various natures (singlet, triplet, valence, Rydberg, n → π∗, π → π∗, and double excitations) extracted from the QUEST database, we assess the accuracy of third-order multireference perturbation theory, CASPT3, in the context of molecular excited states. When one applies the disputable ionization- potential-electron-affinity (IPEA) shift, we show that CASPT3 provides a similar accuracy as its second-order counterpart, CASPT2, with the same mean absolute error of 0.11 eV. However, as already reported, we also observe that the accuracy of CASPT3 is almost insensitive to the IPEA shift, irrespective of the transition type and system size, with a small reduction of the mean absolute error to 0.09 eV when the IPEA shift is switched off.

Theoretical study of the low-lying electronic states of iron hydride cation

Both FeH and FeH⁺ are predicted to be abundant in cool stellar atmospheres and proposed to be molecular components of the gas phase interstellar medium (ISM). However, experimental and simulated data for both species are lacking, which have hindered astronomical detection. There are no published laboratory data for the spectroscopy of FeH⁺ in any frequency regime. It is also not established if FeH⁺ possesses salient multireference character, which would pose significant challenges for ab initio modeling of geometric and spectroscopic properties. With a set of high-level coupled cluster and multireference configuration interaction computations, a study of the electronic structure of the ground state and seven excited states of FeH⁺ was carried out. An X⁵Δ_i electronic ground state of FeH⁺ is found, in agreement with previous theoretical studies. Including corrections for spin-orbit coupling and anharmonic vibrational effects, the Ω = 3, ν = 0 spin ladder of the A⁵Π_i electronic state lies 872 cm^-1 higher in energy than the Ω = 4, ν = 0 spin ladder of the ground state. Combined with previous work in our laboratory, the ionization energy of FeH is computed to be 7.4851 eV. With modern multireference configuration interaction and coupled cluster methods, spectroscopic constants (r_e, B_e, ω_e, ω_ex_e, α_e, and D¯_e) for several bound excited states (A⁵Π_i, B ⁵Σ_i ⁺, a ³Σ_r ^-, b³Φ_i, c³Π_i, d³Δ_r, and ⁷Σ⁺) were characterized. This study will lead efforts to identify FeH⁺ in the ISM and help solve important remaining questions in quantifying metal-hydride bonding.

Comment on "Fe2: As simple as a Herculean labour. Neutral (Fe2), cationic (Fe2(+)), and anionic (Fe2(-)) species" [J. Chem. Phys. 142, 244304 (2015)]

A recent paper on Fe2 [A. Kalemos, J. Chem. Phys. 142, 244304 (2015)] critiqued our previous work on the system [Hoyer et al., J. Chem. Phys. 141, 204309 (2014)]. In this comment, we explain the nature of our previously reported potential energy curve for Fe2 and we discuss our computed properties for Fe2. Additionally, we fix a labeling error that was present in our previous work, although this error is unrelated to the main point of discussion.

Magnetic anisotropy of heteronuclear dimers in the gas phase and supported on graphene: relativistic density-functional calculations

The structural and magnetic properties of mixed PtCo, PtFe, and IrCo dimers in the gas phase and supported on a free-standing graphene layer have been calculated using density-functional theory, both in the scalar-relativistic limit and self-consistently including spin-orbit coupling. The influence of the strong magnetic moments of the 3d atoms on the spin and orbital moments of the 5d atoms, and the influence of the strong spin-orbit coupling contributed by the 5d atom on the orbital moments of the 3d atoms have been studied in detail. The magnetic anisotropy energy is found to depend very sensitively on the nature of the eigenstates in the vicinity of the Fermi level, as determined by band filling, exchange splitting and spin-orbit coupling. The large magnetic anisotropy energy of free PtCo and IrCo dimers relative to the easy direction parallel to the dimer axis is coupled to a strong anisotropy of the orbital magnetic moments of the Co atom for both dimers, and also on the Ir atom in IrCo. In contrast the PtFe dimer shows a weak perpendicular anisotropy and only small spin and orbital anisotropies of opposite sign on the two atoms. For dimers supported on graphene, the strong binding within the dimer and the stronger interaction of the 3d atom with the substrate stabilizes an upright geometry. Spin and orbital moments on the 3d atom are strongly quenched, but due to the weaker binding within the dimer the properties of the 5d atom are more free-atom-like with increased spin and orbital moments. The changes in the magnetic moment are reflected in the structure of the electronic eigenstates near the Fermi level, for all three dimers the easy magnetic direction is now parallel to the dimer axis and perpendicular to the graphene layer. The already very large magnetic anisotropy energy (MAE) of IrCo is further enhanced by the interaction with the support, the MAE of PtFe changes sign, and that of the PtCo dimer is reduced. These changes are discussed in relation to the relativistic electronic structure of free and supported dimers and it is demonstrated that the existence of a partially occupied quasi-degenerate state at the Fermi level favors the formation of a large magnetic anisotropy.