More Like this

1. Multiconfiguration Pair-Density Functional Theory

   Prachi Sharma, Jie J. (April 2021, Annual review of physical chemistry)

   Kohn-Sham density functional theory with the available exchange–correlation functionals is less accurate for strongly correlated systems, which require a multiconfigurational description as a zero-order function, than for weakly correlated systems, and available functionals of the spin densities do not accurately predict energies for many strongly correlated systems when one uses multiconfigurational wave functions with spin symmetry. Furthermore, adding a correlation functional to a multiconfigurational reference energy can lead to double counting of electron correlation. Multiconfiguration pair-density functional theory (MC-PDFT) overcomes both obstacles, the second by calculating the quantum mechanical part of the electronic energy entirely by a functional, and the first by using a functional of the total density and the on-top pair density rather than the spin densities. This allows one to calculate the energy of strongly correlated systems efficiently with a pair-density functional and a suitable multiconfigurational reference function. This article reviews MC-PDFT and related background information. 

   more » « less
2. State-interaction pair density functional theory for locally avoided crossings of potential energy surfaces in methylamine

   https://doi.org/10.1039/C9CP02240F  

   Zhou, Chen; Gagliardi, Laura; Truhlar, Donald G. (June 2019, Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics)

   The strong couplings between electronic states in conical intersection regions are among the most challenging problems in quantum chemistry. XMS-CASPT2, a second-order multireference quasidegenerate perturbation theory, has been successful in describing potential energy surfaces near the conical intersections. We have recently proposed a less expensive method for this problem, namely state-interaction pair-density functional theory (SI-PDFT), which considers the coupling between electronic states described by multiconfiguration pair-density functional theory (MC-PDFT). Here we test the accuracy of SI-PDFT for closely coupled potential energy surfaces of methylamine along five different reaction paths for N–H bond fission. We choose paths that pass close to a conical intersection of the ground and first excited states. We find that SI-PDFT predicts potential energy curves and energy splittings near the locally avoided crossing in close proximity to those obtained by XMS-CASPT2. This validates the method for application to photochemical simulations. 

   more » « less
3. Strong electron correlation from partition density functional theory

   https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0175538  

   Shi, Yi; Shi, Yuming; Wasserman, Adam (December 2023, The Journal of Chemical Physics)

   Standard approximations for the exchange–correlation functional in Kohn–Sham density functional theory (KS-DFT) typically lead to unacceptably large errors when applied to strongly correlated electronic systems. Partition-DFT (PDFT) is a formally exact reformulation of KS-DFT in which the ground-state density and energy of a system are obtained through self-consistent calculations on isolated fragments, with a partition energy representing inter-fragment interactions. Here, we show how typical errors of the local density approximation (LDA) in KS-DFT can be largely suppressed through a simple approximation, the multi-fragment overlap approximation (MFOA), for the partition energy in PDFT. Our method is illustrated on simple models of one-dimensional strongly correlated linear hydrogen chains. The MFOA, when used in combination with the LDA for the fragments, improves LDA dissociation curves of hydrogen chains and produces results that are comparable to those of spin-unrestricted LDA, but without breaking the spin symmetry. MFOA also induces a correction to the LDA electron density that partially captures the correct density dimerization in strongly correlated hydrogen chains. Moreover, with an additional correction to the partition energy that is specific to the one-dimensional LDA, the approximation is shown to produce dissociation energies in quantitative agreement with calculations based on the density matrix renormalization group method. 

   more » « less
4. The valence and Rydberg states of dienes

   https://doi.org/10.1039/c9cp06952f  

   Ning, Jiaxin; Truhlar, Donald G. (March 2020, Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics)

   The molecules 1,4-cyclohexadiene (unconjugated 1,4-CHD) and 1,3-cyclohexadiene (conjugated 1,3-CHD) both have two double bonds, but these bonds interact in different ways. These molecules have long served as examples of through-bond and through-space interactions, respectively, and their electronic structures have been studied in detail both experimentally and theoretically, with the experimental assignments being especially complete. The existence of Rydberg states interspersed with the valence states makes the quantum mechanical calculation of their spectra a challenging task. In this work, we explore the electronic excitation energies of 1,4-CHD and 1,3-CHD for both valence and Rydberg states by means of complete active space second-order perturbation theory (CASPT2), extended multi-state CASPT2 (XMS-CASPT2), and multiconfiguration pair-density functional theory (MC-PDFT); it is shown by comparison to experiment that MC-PDFT yields the most accurate results. We found that the inclusion of Rydberg orbitals in the active space not only enables the calculation of Rydberg excitation energies but also improves the accuracy of the valence ones. A special characteristic of the present analysis is the calculation of the second moments of the excited-state orbitals. Because we find that the CASPT2 densities agree well with the CASSCF ones and since the MC-PDFT methods gets accurate excitation energies based on the CASSCF densities, we believe that we can trust these moments as far as giving a more accurate picture of the diffuseness of the excited-state orbitals in these prototype molecules than has previously been available. 

   more » « less
5. The Predictive Power of Exact Constraints and Appropriate Norms in Density Functional Theory

   https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-physchem-062422-013259  

   Kaplan, Aaron D.; Levy, Mel; Perdew, John P. (April 2023, Annual Review of Physical Chemistry)

   Ground-state Kohn-Sham density functional theory provides, in principle, the exact ground-state energy and electronic spin densities of real interacting electrons in a static external potential. In practice, the exact density functional for the exchange-correlation (xc) energy must be approximated in a computationally efficient way. About 20 mathematical properties of the exact xc functional are known. In this work, we review and discuss these known constraints on the xc energy and hole. By analyzing a sequence of increasingly sophisticated density functional approximations (DFAs), we argue that ( a) the satisfaction of more exact constraints and appropriate norms makes a functional more predictive over the immense space of many-electron systems and ( b) fitting to bonded systems yields an interpolative DFA that may not extrapolate well to systems unlike those in the fitting set. We discuss both how the class of well-described systems has grown along with constraint satisfaction and the possibilities for future functional development. 

   more » « less