Hybrid Optimized and Localized Vibrational Coordinates.

Abstract

We present a new type of vibrational coordinates denoted hybrid optimized and localized coordinates (HOLCs) aiming at a good set of rectilinear vibrational coordinates supporting fast convergence in vibrational stucture calculations. The HOLCs are obtained as a compromise between the recently promoted optimized coordinates (OCs) and localized coordinates (LCs). The three sets of coordinates are generally different from each other and differ from standard normal coordinates (NCs) as well. In determining the HOLCs, we optimize the vibrational self-consistent field (VSCF) energy with respect to orthogonal transformation of the coordinates, which is similar to determining OCs but for HOLCs we additionally introduce a penalty for delocalization, by using a measure of localization similar to that employed in determining LCs. The same theory and implementation covers OCs, LCs, and HOLCs. It is shown that varying one penalty parameter allows for connecting OCs and LCs. The HOLCs are compared to NCs, OCs, and LCs in their nature and performance as basis for vibrational coupled cluster (VCC) response calculations of vibrational anharmonic energies for a small set of simple systems comprising water, formaldehyde, and ethylene. It is found that surprisingly good results can be obtained with HOLCs by using potential energy surfaces as simple as quadratic Taylor expansions. Quite similar coordinates are found for the already established OCs but obtaining these OCs requires much more elaborate and expensive potential energy surfaces and localization is generally not guaranteed. The ability to compute HOLCs for somewhat larger systems is demonstrated for coumarin and the alanine quadramer. The good agreement between HOLCs and OCs, together with the much easier applicability of HOLCs for larger systems, suggests that HOLCs may be a pragmatically very interesting option for anharmonic calculations on medium to large molecular systems.