Implications of the unitary invariance and symmetry restrictions on the development of proper approximate one-body reduced-density-matrix functionals

Abstract

In many of the approximate functionals in one-body reduced density matrix (1RDM) functional theory, the approximate two-body reduced density matrix (2RDM) in the natural orbital representation only depends on the natural occupation numbers. In Phys. Rev. A 92, 012520 (2015) Wang and Knowles initialised a discussion of to what extent this simplification is valid, by introducing two different H$_4$ geometries with identical natural occupation numbers, but different 2RDMs. Gritsenko has argued that this feature is due symmetry [Phys. Rev. A 97, 026501 (2018)]. This work aims to contribute to the discussion on the following points: 1) one should rather speak of symmetry-restricted variants of the universal functional, than saying that the universal functional is symmetry dependent; 2) the unitary invariance of degenerate NOs can lead to large deviations in the 2RDM elements, especially the phase of the NOs; 3) symmetry-restricted functionals are constructed for the H$_4$ geometries considered by Wang and Knowles, whose structure could serve as guide in the construction of approximate 1RDM functionals.