Theory Of Electron Correlation Research Articles

Theory of Electron Correlation in Disordered Crystals.

This paper presents a new method of describing the electronic spectrum and electrical conductivity of disordered crystals based on the Hamiltonian of electrons and phonons. Electronic states of a system are described by the tight-binding model. Expressions for Green’s functions and electrical conductivity are derived using the diagram method. Equations are obtained for the vertex parts of the mass operators of the electron–electron and electron–phonon interactions. A system of exact equations is obtained for the spectrum of elementary excitations in a crystal. This makes it possible to perform numerical calculations of the energy spectrum and to predict the properties of the system with a predetermined accuracy. In contrast to other approaches, in which electron correlations are taken into account only in the limiting cases of an infinitely large and infinitesimal electron density, in this method, electron correlations are described in the general case of an arbitrary density. The cluster expansion is obtained for the density of states and electrical conductivity of disordered systems. We show that the contribution of the electron scattering processes to clusters is decreasing, along with increasing the number of sites in the cluster, which depends on a small parameter.

New implementation of spin‐orbit coupling calculation on multi‐configuration electron correlation theory

AbstractFor treating both relativistic effect and electron correlation, the spin‐free exact two‐component and spin‐dependent first‐order Douglas–Kroll–Hess Hamiltonian and the state‐interaction (SI) method are combined to calculate the spin‐orbit coupling (SOC) on multi‐configuration electron correlation theory. In this method, SOC is evaluated via SI over electronic states from the complete active space self‐consistent field calculation, and dynamic correlation can be reckoned with the high‐level multi‐reference electron correlation theory. Work equations to calculate SOC matrix elements over Gelfand states in the framework of the graphic unitary group approach are presented. Benchmark calculations have verified the validity of the implementation. As a pilot application, the internally contracted multi‐reference configuration interaction with the inclusion of SOC via the SI approach produces reasonable equilibrium bond length and harmonic vibrational frequency of the ground state of AuO, as well as the transition energy of .

Pure non-local machine-learned density functional theory for electron correlation

Density-functional theory (DFT) is a rigorous and (in principle) exact framework for the description of the ground state properties of atoms, molecules and solids based on their electron density. While computationally efficient density-functional approximations (DFAs) have become essential tools in computational chemistry, their (semi-)local treatment of electron correlation has a number of well-known pathologies, e.g. related to electron self-interaction. Here, we present a type of machine-learning (ML) based DFA (termed Kernel Density Functional Approximation, KDFA) that is pure, non-local and transferable, and can be efficiently trained with fully quantitative reference methods. The functionals retain the mean-field computational cost of common DFAs and are shown to be applicable to non-covalent, ionic and covalent interactions, as well as across different system sizes. We demonstrate their remarkable possibilities by computing the free energy surface for the protonated water dimer at hitherto unfeasible gold-standard coupled cluster quality on a single commodity workstation.

Correlations between conduction electrons in dense plasmas.

Most treatments of electron-electron correlations in dense plasmas either ignore them entirely (random phase approximation) or neglect the role of ions (jellium approximation). In this work, we go beyond both these approximations to derive a formula for the electron-electron static structure factor which properly accounts for the contributions of both ionic structure and quantum-mechanical dynamic response in the electrons. The result can be viewed as a natural extension of the quantum Ornstein-Zernike theory of ionic and electronic correlations, and it is suitable for dense plasmas in which the ions are classical and the conduction electrons are quantum-mechanical. The corresponding electron-electron pair distribution functions are compared with the results of path integral Monte Carlo simulations, showing good agreement whenever no strong electron resonance states are present. We construct approximate potentials of mean force which describe the effective screened interaction between electrons. Significant deviations from Debye-Hückel screening are present at temperatures and densities relevant to high-energy density experiments involving warm and hot dense plasmas. The presence of correlations between conduction electrons is likely to influence the electron-electron contribution to the electrical and thermal conductivity. It is expected that excitation processes involving the conduction electrons (e.g., free-free absorption) will also be affected.

Recent Progress in Lattice Density Functional Theory

Recent developments in the density-functional theory of electron correlations in many-body lattice models are reviewed. The theoretical framework of lattice density-functional theory (LDFT) is briefly recalled, giving emphasis to its universality and to the central role played by the single-particle density-matrix γ . The Hubbard model and the Anderson single-impurity model are considered as relevant explicit problems for the applications. Real-space and reciprocal-space approximations to the fundamental interaction-energy functional W [ γ ] are introduced, in the framework of which the most important ground-state properties are derived. The predictions of LDFT are contrasted with available exact analytical results and state-of-the-art numerical calculations. Thus, the goals and limitations of the method are discussed.

Multireference Theories of Electron Correlation Based on the Driven Similarity Renormalization Group.

The driven similarity renormalization group (DSRG) provides an alternative way to address the intruder state problem in quantum chemistry. In this review, we discuss recent developments of multireference methods based on the DSRG. We provide a pedagogical introduction to the DSRG and its various extensions and discuss its formal properties in great detail. In addition, we report several illustrative applications of the DSRG to molecular systems.

Perspective: Multireference coupled cluster theories of dynamical electron correlation.

Predicting the electronic structure and properties of molecular systems that display strong electron correlation effects continues to remain a fundamental theoretical challenge. This perspective discusses the recent progress and current challenges in multireference wave function methods for dynamical electron correlation, focusing on systematically improvable methods that go beyond the limitations of configuration interaction and perturbation theory.

Particle–hole symmetry in many-body theories of electron correlation

ABSTRACTSecond-quantised creation and annihilation operators for fermionic particles anticommute, but the same is true for the creation and annihilation operators for holes. This introduces a symmetry into the quantum theory of fermions that is absent for bosons. In ab initio electronic structure theory, it is common to classify methods by the number of electrons for which the method returns exact results: for example Hartree–Fock theory is exact for one-electron systems, whereas coupled-cluster theory with single and double excitations is exact for two-electron systems. Here, we discuss the generalisation: methods based on approximate wavefunctions that are exact for n-particle systems are also exact for n-hole systems. Novel electron correlation methods that attempt to improve on the coupled-cluster framework sometimes retain this property, and sometimes lose it. Here, we argue for retaining particle–hole symmetry as a desirable design criterion of approximate electron correlation methods. Dispensing with it might lead to loss of n-representability of density matrices, and this in turn can lead to spurious long-range behaviour in the correlation energy.

Unified band-theoretic description of structural, electronic, and magnetic properties of vanadium dioxide phases

The debate about whether the insulating phases of vanadium dioxide (VO2) can be described by band theory or must be described by a theory of strong electron correlations remains unresolved even after decades of research. Energy-band calculations using hybrid exchange functionals or including self-energy corrections account for the insulating or metallic nature of different phases, but have not yet successfully accounted for the observed magnetic orderings. Strongly-correlated theories have had limited quantitative success. Here we report that, by using hard pseudopotentials and an optimized hybrid exchange functional, the energy gaps and magnetic orderings of both monoclinic VO2 phases and the metallic nature of the high-temperature rutile phase are consistent with available experimental data, obviating an explicit role for strong correlations. We also report a potential candidate for the newly-found metallic monoclinic phase and present a detailed magnetic structure of the M2 monoclinic phase.

The beauty of impurities: Two revivals of Friedel's virtual bound-state concept

Abstract Jacques Friedel pioneered the theoretical study of impurities and magnetic impurities in metals. He discovered Friedel oscillations, introduced the concept of virtual bound-state, and demonstrated that the charge on the impurity is related to the scattering phase-shift at the Fermi level (Friedel sum-rule). After a brief review of some of these concepts, I describe how they proved useful in two new contexts. The first one concerns the Coulomb blockade in quantum dots, and its suppression by the Kondo effect. The second one is the dynamical mean-field theory of strong electronic correlations.

Towards a full ab initio theory of strong electronic correlations in nanoscale devices

In this paper I give a detailed account of an ab initio methodology for describing strong electronic correlations in nanoscale devices hosting transition metal atoms with open d- or f-shells. The method combines Kohn–Sham density functional theory for treating the weakly interacting electrons on a static mean-field level with non-perturbative many-body methods for the strongly interacting electrons in the open d- and f-shells. An effective description of the strongly interacting electrons in terms of a multi-orbital Anderson impurity model is obtained by projection onto the strongly correlated subspace properly taking into account the non-orthogonality of the atomic basis set. A special focus lies on the ab initio calculation of the effective screened interaction matrix U for the Anderson model. Solution of the effective Anderson model with the one-crossing approximation or other impurity solver techniques yields the dynamic correlations within the strongly correlated subspace giving rise e.g. to the Kondo effect. As an example the method is applied to the case of a Co adatom on the Cu(0 0 1) surface. The calculated low-bias tunnel spectra show Fano–Kondo lineshapes similar to those measured in experiments. The exact shape of the Fano–Kondo feature as well as its width depend quite strongly on the filling of the Co 3d-shell. Although this somewhat hampers accurate quantitative predictions regarding lineshapes and Kondo temperatures, the overall physical situation can be predicted quite reliably.

Linear-scaling self-consistent field calculations based on divide-and-conquer method using resolution-of-identity approximation on graphical processing units.

Graphical processing units (GPUs) are emerging in computational chemistry to include Hartree-Fock (HF) methods and electron-correlation theories. However, ab initio calculations of large molecules face technical difficulties such as slow memory access between central processing unit and GPU and other shortfalls of GPU memory. The divide-and-conquer (DC) method, which is a linear-scaling scheme that divides a total system into several fragments, could avoid these bottlenecks by separately solving local equations in individual fragments. In addition, the resolution-of-the-identity (RI) approximation enables an effective reduction in computational cost with respect to the GPU memory. The present study implemented the DC-RI-HF code on GPUs using math libraries, which guarantee compatibility with future development of the GPU architecture. Numerical applications confirmed that the present code using GPUs significantly accelerated the HF calculations while maintaining accuracy.

Double pancake bonds: pushing the limits of strong π-π stacking interactions.

The concept of a double-bonded pancake bonding mechanism is introduced to explain the extremely short π–π stacking contacts in dimers of dithiatriazines. While ordinary single pancake bonds occur between radicals and already display significantly shorter interatomic distances in comparison to van der Waals (vdW) contacts, the double-bonded pancake dimer is based on diradicaloid or antiaromatic molecules and exhibits even shorter and stronger intermolecular bonds that breach into the range of extremely stretched single bonds in terms of bond distances and binding energies. These properties give rise to promising possibilities in the design of new materials with high electrical conductivity and for the field of spintronics. The analysis of the double pancake bond is based on cutting edge electron correlation theory combining multireference (nondynamical) effects and dispersion (dynamical) contributions in a balanced way providing accurate interaction energies and distributions of unpaired spins. It is also shown that the present examples do not stand isolated but that similar mechanisms operate in several analogous nonradical molecular systems to form double-bonded π-stacking pancake dimers. We report on the amazing properties of a new type of stacking interaction mechanism between π conjugated molecules in the form of a “double pancake bond” which breaks the record for short intermolecular distances and provides formidable strength for some π–π stacking interactions.

A driven similarity renormalization group approach to quantum many-body problems.

Applications of the similarity renormalization group (SRG) approach [F. Wegner, Ann. Phys. 506, 77 (1994) and S. D. Głazek and K. G. Wilson, Phys. Rev. D 49, 4214 (1994)] to the formulation of useful many-body theories of electron correlation are considered. In addition to presenting a production-level implementation of the SRG based on a single-reference formalism, a novel integral version of the SRG is reported, in which the flow of the Hamiltonian is driven by a source operator. It is shown that this driven SRG (DSRG) produces a Hamiltonian flow that is analogous to that of the SRG. Compared to the SRG, which requires propagating a set of ordinary differential equations, the DSRG is computationally advantageous since it consists of a set of polynomial equations. The equilibrium distances, harmonic vibrational frequencies, and vibrational anharmonicities of a series of diatomic molecules computed with the SRG and DSRG approximated with one- and two-body normal ordered operators are in good agreement with benchmark values from coupled cluster with singles, doubles, and perturbative triples. Particularly surprising results are found when the SRG and DSRG methods are applied to C2 and F2. In the former case, both methods fail to converge, while in the latter case an unbound potential energy curve is obtained. A modified commutator approximation is shown to correct these problems in the case of the DSRG method.

Communication: A Jastrow factor coupled cluster theory for weak and strong electron correlation

We present a Jastrow-factor-inspired variant of coupled cluster theory that accurately describes both weak and strong electron correlation. Compatibility with quantum Monte Carlo allows for variational energy evaluations and an antisymmetric geminal power reference, two features not present in traditional coupled cluster that facilitate a nearly exact description of the strong electron correlations in minimal-basis N2 bond breaking. In double-ζ treatments of the HF and H2O bond dissociations, where both weak and strong correlations are important, this polynomial cost method proves more accurate than either traditional coupled cluster or complete active space perturbation theory. These preliminary successes suggest a deep connection between the ways in which cluster operators and Jastrow factors encode correlation.

Reprint of: A fifth-order perturbation comparison of electron correlation theories

Electron correlation theories such as configuration interaction (CI), coupled-cluster theory (CC), and quadratic configuration interaction (QCI) are assessed by means of a Møller–Plesset perturbation expansion of the correlation energy up to fifth order. The computational efficiencies and relative merits of the different techniques are outlined. A new augmented version of coupled-cluster theory, denoted as CCSD (T), is proposed to remedy some of the deficiencies of previous augmented coupled-cluster models.

Historical perspective on: A fifth-order perturbation comparison of electron correlation theories [Volume 157, Issue 6, 26 May 1989, Pages 479–483

Historical perspective on: A fifth-order perturbation comparison of electron correlation theories [Volume 157, Issue 6, 26 May 1989, Pages 479–483

Calculation of fundamental frequencies for small polyatomic molecules: a comparison between correlation consistent and atomic natural orbital basis sets

The performance of the NASA Ames atomic natural orbital (ANO) basis sets for calculating fundamental vibrational frequencies is examined, using the CCSD(T) treatment of electron correlation and second-order vibrational perturbation theory. Particular attention is paid to the performance of the small, cost-effective truncations ([3s 2p 1d] and [4s 3p 2d 1f] on second-row atoms) known as ANO0 and ANO1, as similarly sized basis sets must necessarily be used for high-level correlation treatment of ‘large’ molecules. It is found that the ANO0 and ANO1 basis sets – particularly the former – outperform comparably sized correlation consistent basis sets for the calculation of vibrational frequencies, suggesting that the ANO0 basis is a useful tool for this area of computational chemistry.

Nuclear magnetic resonance shieldings of water clusters: is it possible to reach the complete basis set limit by extrapolation?

We have explored the possibility of using extrapolation techniques to estimate the complete basis set limit of nuclear shieldings of small water clusters. Several density functionals (Becke-Lee-Yang-Parr (BLYP), Perdew-Burke-Ernzerhof (PBE), OPTX-Perdew-Burke-Ernzerhof (OPBE), Swart-Solà-Bickelhaupt functional with Grimme's Dispersion included (SSB-D) and wavefunction methods (Hartree–Fock, Møller-Plesser perturbation theory for electron correlation up to second order (MP2) and coupled cluster) were used in combination with Dunning's (augmented) correlation-consistent and Jensen's polarisation-consistent basis sets. Although density functionals show larger nuclear shieldings than coupled cluster methods for these water clusters, differences in chemical shifts are much smaller. A new extrapolation scheme based on a Gaussian exponential function is shown to achieve better results for reaching the basis set limiting values, but the exponential needed for it cannot be obtained a priori with good confidence. This renders a two-point extrapolation for prediction of the basis set limiting value impossible.

Stochastic evaluation of second-order many-body perturbation energies

With the aid of the Laplace transform, the canonical expression of the second-order many-body perturbation correction to an electronic energy is converted into the sum of two 13-dimensional integrals, the 12-dimensional parts of which are evaluated by Monte Carlo integration. Weight functions are identified that are analytically normalizable, are finite and non-negative everywhere, and share the same singularities as the integrands. They thus generate appropriate distributions of four-electron walkers via the Metropolis algorithm, yielding correlation energies of small molecules within a few mE(h) of the correct values after 10(8) Monte Carlo steps. This algorithm does away with the integral transformation as the hotspot of the usual algorithms, has a far superior size dependence of cost, does not suffer from the sign problem of some quantum Monte Carlo methods, and potentially easily parallelizable and extensible to other more complex electron-correlation theories.