A Cartesian classical second-quantized many-electron Hamiltonian, for use with the semiclassical initial value representation

Abstract

A new classical model for the general second-quantized many-electron Hamiltonian in Cartesian coordinates and momenta is presented; this makes semiclassical (SC) calculations using an initial value representation (IVR) more useful than the classical Hamiltonian in action-angle variables given earlier by Miller and White [J. Chem. Phys. 84, 5059-5066 (1986)]. If only 1-electron terms are included in this Hamiltonian, the classical equations of motion for the Cartesian variables are linear, and the SC-IVR gives exact results for the propagator (and thus for transition probabilities, the energy spectrum, etc.), as confirmed by analytic proof and numerical calculations. Though this new Hamiltonian is not exact when 2-electron interactions are included, we observe good results for the SC-IVR transition probabilities for times that are not too long. Test calculations, for example, show that the SC-IVR is accurate for times long enough to obtain good result for the eigenvalue spectrum (i.e., the energy levels of the electronic system).