Nonempirical construction of current-density functionals from conventional density-functional approximations

Spin Currents via the Gauge Principle for Meta-Generalized Gradient Exchange-Correlation Functionals

The prominence of density functional theory in the field of electronic structure computation stems from its ability to usefully balance accuracy and computational effort. At the base of this ability is a functional of the electron density: the exchange-correlation energy. This functional satisfies known exact conditions that guide the derivation of approximations. The strongly constrained and appropriately normed (SCAN) approximation stands out as a successful, modern, example. In this Letter, we demonstrate how the SU(2) gauge invariance of the exchange-correlation functional in spin current density functional theory allows us to add an explicit dependence on spin currents in the SCAN functional (here called JSCAN)-and similar meta-generalized-gradient functional approximations-solely invoking first principles. In passing, a spin-current dependent generalization of the electron localization function (here called JELF) is also derived. The extended forms are implemented in a developer's version of the crystal23 program. Applications on molecules and materials confirm the practical relevance of the extensions.

Gauge-Invariant Excited-State Linear and Quadratic Response Properties within the Meta-Generalized Gradient Approximation

Gauge invariance is a fundamental symmetry connected to charge conservation and is widely accepted as indispensable for any electronic structure method. Hence, the gauge variance of the time-dependent kinetic energy density τ used in many meta-generalized gradient approximations (MGGAs) to the exchange-correlation (XC) functional presents a major obstacle for applying MGGAs within time-dependent density functional theory (TDDFT). Replacing τ by the gauge-invariant generalized kinetic energy density τ̂ significantly improves the accuracy of various functionals for vertical excitation energies [R. Grotjahn, F. Furche, and M. Kaupp. J. Chem. Phys. 2022, 157, 111102]. However, the dependence of the resulting current-MGGAs (cMGGAs) on the paramagnetic current density gives rise to new exchange-correlation kernels and hyper-kernels ignored in previous implementations of quadratic and higher-order response properties. Here we report the first implementation of cMGGAs and hybrid cMGGAs for excited-state gradients and dipole moments, as well as an extension to quadratic response properties including dynamic hyperpolarizabilities and two-photon absorption cross sections. In the first comprehensive benchmark study of MGGAs and cMGGAs for two-photon absorption cross sections, the M06-2X functional is found to be superior to the GGA hybrid PBE0. Additionally, two case studies from the literature for the practical prediction of nonlinear optical properties are revisited and potential advantages of hybrid (c)MGGAs compared to hybrid GGAs are discussed. The effect of restoring gauge invariance varies depending on the employed MGGA functional, the type of excitation, and the property under investigation: While some individual excited-state equilibrium structures are significantly affected, on average, these changes result in marginal improvements when compared against high-level reference data. Although the gauge-variant MGGA quadratic response properties are generally close to their gauge-invariant counterparts, the resulting errors are not bounded and significantly exceed typical method errors in some of the cases studied. Despite the limited effects seen in benchmark studies, gauge-invariant implementations of cMGGAs for excited-state properties are desirable from a fundamental perspective, entail little additional computational cost, and are necessary for response properties consistent with cMGGA linear response calculations such as excitation energies.

DFT exchange: sharing perspectives on the workhorse of quantum chemistry and materials science

In this paper, the history, present status, and future of density-functional theory (DFT) is informally reviewed and discussed by 70 workers in the field, including molecular scientists, materials scientists, method developers and practitioners. The format of the paper is that of a roundtable discussion, in which the participants express and exchange views on DFT in the form of 302 individual contributions, formulated as responses to a preset list of 26 questions. Supported by a bibliography of 777 entries, the paper represents a broad snapshot of DFT, anno 2022.

Linear Response of Current-Dependent Density Functional Approximations in Magnetic Fields

This Letter outlines the steps and derivations that are necessary to apply density functional approximations that depend on the current and kinetic energy density rigorously within the framework of linear-response methods, including adiabatic time-dependent current density functional theory. This includes systems with a non-zero current density in the ground state. The necessary exchange-correlation kernel for these density functional approximations is derived, and the matrix elements are given explicitly. Due to the gauge variance of the kinetic energy density in an external magnetic field, having access to the proper current-dependent exchange-correlation kernel is necessary to recover gauge invariance for excited states. As a proof of principle application, the excited states of two small molecules in strong external magnetic fields are calculated using linear-response time-dependent current density functional theory. Finally, the implications of the derived current density-dependent exchange-correlation kernel for systems with strong spin-orbit coupling are discussed.

Spherical vs non-spherical and symmetry-preserving vs symmetry-breaking densities of open-shell atoms in density functional theory

The atomization energies of molecules from first-principles density functional approximations improve from the local spin-density approximation to the Perdew-Burke-Ernzerhof (PBE) generalized gradient approximation (GGA) to the strongly constrained and appropriately normed (SCAN) meta-GGA, and their sensitivities to non-spherical components of the density increase in the same order. Thus, these functional advances increase density sensitivity and imitate the exact constrained search over correlated wavefunctions better than that over ensembles. The diatomic molecules studied here, singlet C₂ and F₂ plus triplet B₂ and O₂, have cylindrically symmetric densities. Because the densities of the corresponding atoms are non-spherical, the approximate Kohn-Sham potentials for the atoms have a lower symmetry than that of the external (nuclear) potential so that the non-interacting wavefunctions are not eigenstates of the square of total orbital angular momentum, breaking a symmetry that yields a feature of the exact ground-state density. That spatial symmetry can be preserved by a non-self-consistent approach in which a self-consistent equilibrium-ensemble calculation is followed by integer re-occupation of the Kohn-Sham orbitals as the first of several steps. The symmetry-preserving approach is different from symmetry restoration based on projection. First-step space- (and space-spin-) symmetry preservation in atoms is shown to have a small effect on the atomization energies of molecules, quantifying earlier observations by Fertig and Kohn. Thus, the standard Kohn-Sham way of calculating atomization energies, with self-consistent symmetry breaking to minimize the energy, is justified at least for the common cases where the molecules cannot break symmetry. Unless symmetry breaking is allowed in the molecule, SCAN strongly underestimates the atomization energy of strongly correlated singlet C₂.

Lower Semicontinuity of the Universal Functional in Paramagnetic Current-Density Functional Theory

A cornerstone of current-density functional theory (CDFT) in its paramagnetic formulation is proven. After a brief outline of the mathematical structure of CDFT, the lower semicontinuity and expectation-valuedness of the CDFT constrained-search functional is proven, meaning that there is always a minimizing density matrix in the CDFT constrained-search universal density functional. These results place the mathematical framework of CDFT on the same footing as that of standard DFT.

Fundamental Role of Fock Exchange in Relativistic Density Functional Theory

We perform a formal analysis of relativistic density functional theory for the treatment of spin-orbit coupling (SOC), noncollinear magnetization (NCM), and orbital current density (OCD). We identify specific components of the spinors (namely, those mapped onto imaginary diagonal spin-blocks of the density matrix) that arise from the SOC operator and define the OCD. We show that these pieces of the spinors only enter in the bielectronic part of the potential through the exact Fock exchange (FE) operator. The lack of FE therefore leads to a correspondingly incorrect physical description of SOC, NCM, and OCD. This analysis is complemented with an illustrative example, where we show that, while in the absence of FE, the theory fails even at reproducing the expected right-hand relationship between the NCM and OCD, its inclusion provides results that match those from a reference SOC configuration-interaction calculation.

Strongly Constrained and Appropriately Normed Semilocal Density Functional

The ground-state energy, electron density, and related properties of ordinary matter can be computed efficiently when the exchange-correlation energy as a functional of the density is approximated semilocally. We propose the first meta-generalized-gradient approximation (meta-GGA) that is fully constrained, obeying all 17 known exact constraints that a meta-GGA can. It is also exact or nearly exact for a set of "appropriate norms," including rare-gas atoms and nonbonded interactions. This strongly constrained and appropriately normed meta-GGA achieves remarkable accuracy for systems where the exact exchange-correlation hole is localized near its electron, and especially for lattice constants and weak interactions.

Optimizing calculations of electronic excitations and relative hyperpolarizabilities of electrooptic chromophores

CONSPECTUS: Organic glasses containing chromophores with large first hyperpolarizabilities (β) are promising for compact, high-bandwidth, and energy-efficient electro-optic devices. Systematic optimization of device performance requires development of materials with high acentric order and enhanced hyperpolarizability at operating wavelengths. One essential component of the design process is the accurate calculation of optical transition frequencies and hyperpolarizability. These properties can be computed with a wide range of electronic structure methods implemented within commercial and open-source software packages. A wide variety of methods, especially hybrid density-functional theory (DFT) variants have been used for this purpose. However, in order to provide predictions useful to chromophore designers, a method must be able to consistently predict the relative ordering of standard and novel materials. Moreover, it is important to distinguish between the resonant and nonresonant contribution to the hyperpolarizabiliy and be able to estimate the trade-off between improved β and unwanted absorbance (optical loss) at the target device's operating wavelength. Therefore, we have surveyed a large variety of common methods for computing the properties of modern high-performance chromophores and compared these results with prior experimental hyper-Rayleigh scattering (HRS) and absorbance data. We focused on hybrid DFT methods, supplemented by more computationally intensive Møller-Plesset (MP2) calculations, to determine the relative accuracy of these methods. Our work compares computed hyperpolarizabilities in chloroform relative to standard chromophore EZ-FTC against HRS data versus the same reference. We categorized DFT methods used by the amount of Hartree-Fock (HF) exchange energy incorporated into each functional. Our results suggest that the relationship between percentage of long-range HF exchange and both βHRS and λmax is nearly linear, decreasing as the fraction of long-range HF exchange increases. Mild hybrid DFT methods are satisfactory for prediction of λmax. However, mild hybrid methods provided qualitatively incorrect predictions of the relative hyperpolarizabilities of three high-performance chromophores. DFT methods with approximately 50% HF exchange, and especially the Truhlar M062X functional, provide superior predictions of relative βHRS values but poorer predictions of λmax. The observed trends for these functionals, as well as range-separated hybrids, are similar to MP2, though predicting smaller absolute magnitudes for βHRS. Frequency dependence for βHRS can be calculated using time-dependent DFT and HF methods. However, calculation quality is sensitive not only to a method's ability to predict static hyperpolarizability but also to its prediction of optical resonances. Due to the apparent trade-off in accuracy of prediction of these two properties and the need to use static finite-field methods for MP2 and higher-level hyperpolarizability calculations in most codes, we suggest that composite methods could greatly improve the accuracy of calculations of β and λmax.

Benchmarking density-functional theory calculations of NMR shielding constants and spin-rotation constants using accurate coupled-cluster calculations

Accurate sets of benchmark nuclear-magnetic-resonance shielding constants and spin-rotation constants are calculated using coupled-cluster singles-doubles (CCSD) theory and coupled-cluster singles-doubles-perturbative-triples [CCSD(T)] theory, in a variety of basis sets consisting of (rotational) London atomic orbitals. The accuracy of the calculated coupled-cluster constants is established by a careful comparison with experimental data, taking into account zero-point vibrational corrections. Coupled-cluster basis-set convergence is analyzed and extrapolation techniques are employed to estimate basis-set-limit quantities, thereby establishing an accurate benchmark data set. Together with the set provided for rotational g-tensors and magnetizabilities in our previous work [O. B. Lutnæs, A. M. Teale, T. Helgaker, D. J. Tozer, K. Ruud, and J. Gauss, J. Chem. Phys. 131, 144104 (2009)], it provides a substantial source of consistently calculated high-accuracy data on second-order magnetic response properties. The utility of this benchmark data set is demonstrated by examining a wide variety of Kohn-Sham exchange-correlation functionals for the calculation of these properties. None of the existing approximate functionals provide an accuracy competitive with that provided by CCSD or CCSD(T) theory. The need for a careful consideration of vibrational effects is clearly illustrated. Finally, the pure coupled-cluster results are compared with the results of Kohn-Sham calculations constrained to give the same electronic density. Routes to future improvements are discussed in light of this comparison.

Properties of the nuclear medium

We review our knowledge on the properties of the nuclear medium that have been studied, over many years, on the basis of many-body theory, laboratory experiments and astrophysical observations. Throughout the presentation particular emphasis is placed on the possible relationship and links between the nuclear medium and the structure of nuclei, including the limitations of such an approach. First we consider the realm of phenomenological laboratory data and astrophysical observations and the hints they can give on the characteristics that the nuclear medium should possess. The analysis is based on phenomenological models, that however have a strong basis on physical intuition and an impressive success. More microscopic models are also considered, and it is shown that they are able to give invaluable information on the nuclear medium, in particular on its equation of state. The interplay between laboratory experiments and astrophysical observations is particularly stressed, and it is shown how their complementarity enormously enriches our insights into the structure of the nuclear medium. We then introduce the nucleon-nucleon interaction and the microscopic many-body theory of nuclear matter, with a critical discussion about the different approaches and their results. The Landau-Fermi liquid theory is introduced and briefly discussed, and it is shown how fruitful it can be in discussing the macroscopic and low-energy properties of the nuclear medium. As an illustrative example, we discuss neutron matter at very low density, and it is shown how it can be treated within the many-body theory. The general bulk properties of the nuclear medium are reviewed to indicate at which stage of our knowledge we stand, taking into account the most recent developments both in theory and experiments. A section is dedicated to the pairing problem. The connection with nuclear structure is then discussed, on the basis of the energy density functional method. The possibility of linking the physics of exotic nuclei and the astrophysics of neutron stars is particularly stressed. Finally, we discuss the thermal properties of the nuclear medium, in particular the liquid-gas phase transition and its connection with the phenomenology on heavy ion reactions and the cooling evolution of neutron stars. The presentation has been taken for non-specialists and possibly for non-nuclear physicists.

He 2++ molecular ion in a strong time-dependent magnetic field: a current-density functional study

The He 2++ molecular ion exposed to a strong ultrashort time-dependent (TD) magnetic field of the order of 10(9) G is investigated through a quantum fluid dynamics (QFD) and current-density functional theory (CDFT) based approach using vector exchange-correlation (XC) potential and energy density functional that depend not only on the electronic charge-density but also on the current density. The TD-QFD-CDFT computations are performed in a parallel internuclear-axis and magnetic field-axis configuration at the field-free equilibrium internuclear separation R = 1.3 au with the field-strength varying between 0 and 10(11) G. The TD behavior of the exchange- and correlation energy of the He 2++ is analyzed and compared with that obtained using a [B-TD-QFD-density functional theory (DFT)] approach based on the conventional TD-DFT under similar computational constraints but using only scalar XC potential and energy density functional dependent on the electronic charge-density alone. The CDFT based approach yields TD exchange- and correlation energy and TD electronic charge-density significantly different from that obtained using the conventional TD-DFT based approach, particularly, at typical magnetic field strengths and during a typical time period of the TD field. This peculiar behavior of the CDFT-based approach is traced to the TD current-density dependent vector XC potential, which can induce nonadiabatic effects causing retardation of the oscillating electronic charge density. Such dissipative electron dynamics of the He 2++ molecular ion is elucidated by treating electronic charge density as an electron-"fluid" in the terminology of QFD.

Analytic derivatives for perturbatively corrected "double hybrid" density functionals: theory, implementation, and applications

A recently proposed new family of density functionals [S. Grimme, J. Chem. Phys. 124, 34108 (2006)] adds a fraction of nonlocal correlation as a new ingredient to density functional theory (DFT). This fractional correlation energy is calculated at the level of second-order many-body perturbation theory (PT2) and replaces some of the semilocal DFT correlation of standard hybrid DFT methods. The new "double hybrid" functionals (termed, e.g., B2-PLYP) contain only two empirical parameters that have been adjusted in thermochemical calculations on parts of the G2/3 benchmark set. The methods have provided the lowest errors ever obtained by any DFT method for the full G3 set of molecules. In this work, the applicability of the new functionals is extended to the exploration of potential energy surfaces with analytic gradients. The theory of the analytic gradient largely follows the standard theory of PT2 gradients with some additional subtleties due to the presence of the exchange-correlation terms in the self-consistent field operator. An implementation is reported for closed-shell as well as spin-unrestricted reference determinants. Furthermore, the implementation includes external point charge fields and also accommodates continuum solvation models at the level of the conductor like screening model. The density fitting resolution of the identity (RI) approximation can be applied to the evaluation of the PT2 part with large gains in computational efficiency. For systems with approximately 500-600 basis functions the evaluation of the double hybrid gradient is approximately four times more expensive than the calculation of the standard hybrid DFT gradient. Extensive test calculations are provided for main group elements and transition metal containing species. The results reveal that the B2-PLYP functional provides excellent molecular geometries that are superior compared to those from standard DFT and MP2.

Orbital currents in the Colle-Salvetti correlation energy functional and the degeneracy problem

Popular density functionals for the exchange-correlation energy typically fail to reproduce the degeneracy of different ground states of open-shell atoms. As a remedy, functionals which explicitly depend on the current density have been suggested. We present an analysis of this problem by investigating functionals that explicitly depend on the Kohn-Sham orbitals. Going beyond the exact-exchange approximation by adding correlation in the form of the Colle-Salvetti functional, we show how current-dependent terms enter the Colle-Salvetti expression and their relevance is evaluated. A very good description of the degeneracy of ground states for atoms of the first and second rows of the Periodic Table is obtained.

On the degeneracy of atomic states within exact-exchange (spin-) density functional theory

The problem of degenerate ground states of open-shell atoms is investigated in spin-restricted and spin-unrestricted density functional theories using the exact-exchange energy functional. For the spin-unrestricted case, spurious energy splittings of the order of 2-3 kcal/mol are found for atoms of the second and third periods which are larger than the splittings obtained from recently proposed approximate exchange functionals depending explicitly on the current density. In remarkable contrast, for spin-restricted calculations the degeneracy of different atomic ground states is recovered to within less than 0.6 kcal/mol.

Time-dependent density-functional theory beyond the local-density approximation

Approximations for the ground-state exchange-correlation potential of density-functional theory have reached a high level of sophistication. By contrast, time- or frequency-dependent exchange-correlation potentials are still being treated in a local approximation. Here we propose a novel approximation scheme, which effectively brings the power of the generalized gradient approximation (GGA) and meta-GGA to time-dependent density-functional theory. The theory should allow a more accurate treatment of strongly inhomogeneous electronic systems (e.g. molecular junctions) while remaining essentially exact for slowly varying densities and slowly varying external potentials.

The performance of semilocal and hybrid density functionals in 3d transition-metal chemistry

We investigate the performance of contemporary semilocal and hybrid density functionals for bond energetics, structures, dipole moments, and harmonic frequencies of 3d transition-metal (TM) compounds by comparison with gas-phase experiments. Special attention is given to the nonempirical metageneralized gradient approximation (meta-GGA) of Tao, Perdew, Staroverov, and Scuseria (TPSS) [Phys. Rev. Lett. 91, 146401 (2003)], which has been implemented in TURBOMOLE for the present work. Trends and error patterns for classes of homologous compounds are analyzed, including dimers, monohydrides, mononitrides, monoxides, monofluorides, polyatomic oxides and halogenides, carbonyls, and complexes with organic pi ligands such as benzene and cyclopentadienyl. Weakly bound systems such as Ca(2), Mn(2), and Zn(2) are discussed. We propose a reference set of reaction energies for benchmark purposes. Our all-electron results with quadruple zeta valence basis sets validate semilocal density-functional theory as the workhorse of computational TM chemistry. Typical errors in bond energies are substantially larger than in (organic) main group chemistry, however. The Becke-Perdew'86 [Phys. Rev. A 38, 3098 (1988); Phys. Rev. B 33, 8822 (1986)] GGA and the TPSS meta-GGA have the best price/performance ratio, while the TPSS hybrid functional achieves a slightly lower mean absolute error in bond energies. The popular Becke three-parameter hybrid B3LYP underbinds significantly and tends to overestimate bond distances; we give a possible explanation for this. We further show that hybrid mixing does not reduce the width of the error distribution on our reference set. The error of a functional for the s-d transfer energy of a TM atom does not predict its error for TM bond energies and bond lengths. For semilocal functionals, self-interaction error in one- and three-electron bonds appears to be a major source of error in TM reaction energies. Nevertheless, TPSS predicts the correct ground-state symmetry in the vast majority of cases and rarely fails qualitatively. This further confirms TPSS as a general purpose functional that works throughout the periodic table. We also give workstation timing comparisons for the 645-atom protein crambin.