Short-range density functional correlation within the restricted active space CI method.

Abstract

In the present work, I introduce a hybrid wave function-density functional theory electronic structure method based on the range separation of the electron-electron Coulomb operator in order to recover dynamic electron correlations missed in the restricted active space configuration interaction (RASCI) methodology. The working equations and the computational algorithm for the implementation of the new approach, i.e., RAS-srDFT, are presented, and the method is tested in the calculation of excitation energies of organic molecules. The good performance of the RASCI wave function in combination with different short-range exchange-correlation functionals in the computation of relative energies represents a quantitative improvement with respect to the RASCI results and paves the path for the development of RAS-srDFT as a promising scheme in the computation of the ground and excited states where nondynamic and dynamic electron correlations are important.