Multireference Coupled Cluster Method Research Articles

An Intruder-Free Fock Space Coupled-Cluster Study of the Potential Energy Curves of LiMg+ within the (2,0) Sector.

The potential energy curves (PECs) and spectroscopic constants of the ground and excited states of a LiMg+ molecular cation were investigated. We obtained accurate results for the fifteen lowest-lying states of the LiMg+ cation using the Intermediate Hamiltonian Fock Space Multireference Coupled Cluster (IH-FS-CC) method applied to the (2,0) sector. Relativistic corrections were accounted for using the third-order Douglas-Kroll method. In each instance, smooth PECs were successfully computed across the entire range of interatomic distances from equilibrium to the dissociation limit. The results are in good accordance with previous studies of this molecular cation. Notably, this study marks the first application of IH-FS-CC in investigating a mixed alkali and alkaline earth molecular cation, proving its usability in determining accurate PECs of such diatomics and their spectroscopic constants.

Hilbert space multireference coupled cluster tailored by matrix product states

In the past decade, the quantum chemical version of the density matrix renormalization group method has established itself as the method of choice for strongly correlated molecular systems. However, despite its favorable scaling, in practice, it is not suitable for computations of dynamic correlation. Several approaches to include that in post-DMRG methods exist; in our group, we focused on the tailored coupled cluster (TCC) approach. This method works well in many situations; however, in exactly degenerate cases (with two or more determinants of equal weight), it exhibits a bias toward the reference determinant representing the Fermi vacuum. Although sometimes it is possible to use a compensation scheme to avoid this bias for energy differences, it is certainly a drawback. In order to overcome this bias of the TCC method, we have developed a Hilbert-space multireference version of tailored CC, which can treat several determinants on an equal footing. We have implemented and compared the performance of three Hilbert-space multireference coupled cluster (MRCC) variants—the state universal one and the Brillouin–Wigner and Mukherjee’s state specific ones. We have assessed these approaches on the cyclobutadiene and tetramethyleneethane molecules, which are both diradicals with exactly degenerate determinants at a certain geometry. We have also investigated the sensitivity of the results on the orbital rotation of the highest occupied and lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (HOMO–LUMO) pair, as it is well known that Hilbert-space MRCC methods are not invariant to such transformations.

Performance Tests of the Second-Order Approximate Internally Contracted Multireference Coupled-Cluster Singles and Doubles Method icMRCC2.

Benchmark results are presented for the second-order approximation of the internally contracted multireference coupled-cluster method with single and double excitations, icMRCC2 [Köhn, Bargholz, J. Chem. Phys. 2019, 151, 041106], which was designed as a multireference analogue of the single-reference second-order approximate coupled-cluster method CC2 [Christiansen, Koch, Jørgensen, Chem. Phys. Lett. 1995, 243, 409-418]. Vertical excitation energies of various small to medium-sized organic molecules are investigated based on established test sets from the literature. Additionally, the spectroscopic constants of ground and excited states of diatomics and the geometric parameters of excited triatomic molecules were determined and compared to the experimental data. The results show that the method clearly extends the applicability of single-reference CC2, including doubly excited states, and also artifacts of CC2 like too low Rydberg excitations and too weak multiple bonds are eliminated. The method is computationally more demanding than standard multireference second-order perturbation theories but improves significantly in accuracy, as shown by the benchmark results. In addition, it is demonstrated that small active spaces are often sufficient to obtain accurate energies with icMRCC2. Example applications like the automerization of cyclobutadiene, the deactivation pathway of ethylene, and the excited states of an iron complex with a noninnocent nitrosyl ligand demonstrate the potential of icMRCC2 in cases with strong multireference character.

Core-Excited States and X-ray Absorption Spectra from Multireference Algebraic Diagrammatic Construction Theory.

We report the development and benchmark of multireference algebraic diagrammatic construction theory (MR-ADC) for the simulations of core-excited states and X-ray absorption spectra (XAS). Our work features an implementation that incorporates core-valence separation into the strict and extended second-order MR-ADC approximations (MR-ADC(2) and MR-ADC(2)-X), providing efficient access to high-energy excited states without including inner-shell orbitals in the active space. Benchmark results on a set of small molecules indicate that at equilibrium geometries, the accuracy of MR-ADC is similar to that of single-reference ADC theory when static correlation effects are not important. In this case, MR-ADC(2)-X performs similarly to single- and multireference coupled cluster methods in reproducing the experimental XAS peak spacings. We demonstrate the potential of MR-ADC for chemical systems with multiconfigurational electronic structure by calculating the K-edge XAS spectrum of the ozone molecule with a multireference character in its ground electronic state and the dissociation curve of core-excited molecular nitrogen. For ozone, the MR-ADC results agree well with the data from experimental and previous multireference studies of ozone XAS, in contrast to the results of single-reference methods, which underestimate relative peak energies and intensities. The MR-ADC methods also predict the correct shape of the core-excited nitrogen potential energy curve, and are in good agreement with accurate calculations using driven similarity renormalization group approaches. These findings suggest that MR-ADC(2) and MR-ADC(2)-X are promising methods for the XAS simulations of multireference systems and pave the way for their efficient computer implementation and applications.

Toward an efficient implementation of internally contracted coupled-cluster methods.

A new implementation of the internally contracted multireference coupled-cluster with singles and doubles (icMRCCSD) method is presented. The new code employs an efficient tensor contraction kernel and can also avoid full four-external integral transformations, which significantly extends the scope of the applicability of icMRCCSD. The new implementation is currently restricted to the simple case of two active electrons in two orbitals and also supports the computation of spin-adapted doublet and triplet coupled-cluster wavefunctions. This contribution describes the basic approach for the automated derivation of working equations and benchmarks the current code against efficient implementations of standard methods, such as single-reference coupled-cluster singles and doubles (CCSD) and internally contracted multireference configuration interaction (icMRCI). Run times for linearized variants of icMRCCSD are only twice as long as comparable CCSD runs and similar to those of the icMRCI implementation, while non-linear terms of more complete variants of icMRCCSD lead to an order of magnitude longer computation times. Nevertheless, the new code allows for computations at larger scales than it was possible previously, with less demands on memory and disk-space resources. This is exemplified by numerical structure optimizations and harmonic force field determinations of NC2H5 isomers and the singlet and triplet states of m-benzyne. In addition, the exchange coupling of a dinuclear copper complex is determined. This work also defines a new commutator approximation for icMRCCSD, which includes all terms that are also present in the single-reference CCSD method, thus yielding a consistent pair of single-reference and multireference coupled-cluster methods.

Potential energy curves for electronic states of the sodium dimer with multireference coupled cluster calculations

Accurate potential energy curves (PECs) were obtained for the 26 lowest lying electronic states of the sodium dimer. The current approach is based on the first principle size-extensive multireference coupled cluster method formulated in the (2,0) sector of the Fock space (FS). The (2,0) sector of FS provides the description of the states obtained by the attachment of two electrons to the reference system. This makes it possible to adopt the doubly ionised sodium dimer as a reference with its very concrete advantage in the calculations of the PECs, i.e. it dissociates into closed shell fragments (i.e. sodium cations) hence the restricted Hartree–Fock reference can be used in the whole range of interatomic distances. This results in the correct description of the interatomic potentials for all bond lengths. The theoretical PECs stay very close to the experimental curves wherever the latter are available and the computed spectroscopic parameters reproduce the experiment with very good accuracy. Relativistic corrections included at the second-order Douglass–Kroll level have a non-negligible effect on the accuracy of computed excitation and dissociation energies.

Three-Body Excitations in Fock-Space Coupled-Cluster: Fourth Order Perturbation Correction to Electron Affinity and Its Relation to Bondonic Formalism.

In this paper, we present a formulation of highly correlated Fock-space multi-reference coupled-cluster (FSMRCC) methods, including approximate triples on top of the FSMRCC with singles and doubles, which correct the electron affinities by at least at third and up to the fourth order in perturbation. We discuss various partial fourth-order schemes, which are reliable and yet computationally more efficient than the full fourth-order triples scheme. The third-order scheme is called MRCCSD+T*(3). We present two approximate fourth-order schemes, MRCCSD+T*−a(4) and MRCCSD+T*(4). The results that are presented allow one to choose an appropriate fourth-order scheme, which is less expensive and right for the problem. All these schemes are based on the effective Hamiltonian scheme, and provide a direct calculation of the vertical electron affinities. We apply these schemes to a prototype Li2 molecule, using four different basis sets, as well as BeO and CH+. We have calculated the vertical electron affinities of Li2 at the geometry of the neutral Li2 molecule. We also present the vertical ionization potentials of the Li2 anion at the geometry of the anion ground state. We have also shown how to calculate adiabatic electron affinity, though in that case we lose the advantages of direct calculation. BeO has been examined in two basis sets. For CH+, four different basis sets have been used. We have presented the partial fourth-order schemes to the EA in all the basis sets. The results are analyzed to illustrate the importance of triples, as well as highlight computationally efficient partial fourth-order schemes. The choice of the basis set on the electron affinity calculation is also emphasized. Comparisons with available experimental and theoretical results are presented. The general fourth-order schemes, which are conceptually equivalent with the Fock-space multi-reference coupled-cluster singles, doubles, and triplets (MRCCSD+T) methods, based on bondonic formalism, are also presented here in a composed way, for quantum electronic affinity.

An efficient Fock space multi-reference coupled cluster method based on natural orbitals: Theory, implementation, and benchmark.

We present a natural orbital-based implementation of the intermediate Hamiltonian Fock space coupled-cluster method for the (1, 1) sector of Fock space. The use of natural orbitals significantly reduces the computational cost and can automatically choose an appropriate set of active orbitals. The new method retains the charge transfer separability of the original intermediate Hamiltonian Fock space coupled-cluster method and gives excellent performance for valence, Rydberg, and charge-transfer excited states. It offers significant computational advantages over the popular equation of motion coupled cluster method for excited states dominated by single excitations.

A state-specific multireference coupled-cluster method based on the bivariational principle.

A state-specific multireference coupled-cluster (MRCC) method based on Arponen's bivariational principle is presented, the bivar-MRCC method. The method is based on single-reference theory and therefore has a relatively straightforward formulation and modest computational complexity. The main difference from established methods is the bivariational formulation, in which independent parameterizations of the wave function (ket) and its complex conjugate (bra) are made. Importantly, this allows manifest multiplicative separability of the state (exact in the extended bivar-MRECC version of the method and approximate otherwise), and additive separability of the energy, while preserving polynomial scaling of the working equations. A feature of the bivariational principle is that the formal bra and ket references can be included as bivariational parameters, which eliminates much of the bias toward the formal reference. A pilot implementation is described, and extensive benchmark calculations on several standard problems are performed. The results from the bivar-MRCC method are comparable to established state-specific multireference methods. Considering the relative affordability of the bivar-MRCC method, it may become a practical tool for non-experts.

Improved and simplified orthogonalisation scheme and connected triples correction within the internally contracted multireference coupled-cluster method

The internally contracted multireference coupled-cluster theory (icMRCC) is reviewed, providing additional insights that we have gained over recent years. In addition, several modifications are presented that lead to an overall improvement in the method. These include a simpler and size extensive way to generate the excitation manifold and therefore determine the cluster amplitudes. Modifications and approximations are also introduced to the perturbative triples correction, icMRCCSD(T), which lead to a small improvement over the previous manifestation, at a reduced computational cost. With these reformulated methods, we can approach sub-chemical accuracy results.

Reaction Profiles and Kinetics for Radical-Radical Hydrogen Abstraction via Multireference Coupled Cluster Theory.

Radical-radical abstractions in hydrocarbon oxidation chemistry are disproportionation reactions that are generally exothermic with little or no barrier yet are underappreciated and poorly studied. Such challenging multireference electronic structure problems are tackled here using the recently developed state-specific multireference coupled cluster methods Mk-MRCCSD and Mk-MRCCSD(T), as well as the companion perturbation theory Mk-MRPT2 and the established MRCISD, MRCISD+Q, and CASPT2 approaches. Reaction paths are investigated for five prototypes involving radical-radical hydrogen abstraction: H + BeH → H2+ Be, H + NH2 → H2 + NH, CH3 + C2H5 → CH4 + C2H4, H + C2H5 → H2 + C2H4, and H + HCO → H2 + CO. Full configuration interaction (FCI) benchmark computations for the H + BeH, H + NH2, and H + HCO reactions prove that Mk-MRCCSD(T) provides superior accuracy for the interaction energies in the entrance channel, with mean absolute errors less than 0.3 kcal mol-1 and percentage deviations less than 10% over the fragment separations of relevance to kinetics. To facilitate combustion studies, energetics for the CH3 + C2H5, H + C2H5, and H + HCO reactions were computed at each level of theory with correlation-consistent basis sets (cc-pVXZ, X = T, Q, 5) and extrapolated to the complete basis set (CBS) limit. These CBS energies were coupled with CASPT2 projected vibrational frequencies along a minimum energy path to obtain rate constants for these three reactions. The rigorous Mk-MRCCSD(T)/CBS results demonstrate unequivocally that these three reactions proceed with no barrier in the entrance channel, contrary to some earlier predictions. Mk-MRCCSD(T) also reveals that the economical CASPT2 method performs well for large interfragment separations but may deteriorate substantially at shorter distances.

The intermediate Hamiltonian Fock-space coupled-cluster method with approximate evaluation of the three-body effects.

The exponential parametrization of the wave function used in the coupled-cluster approaches has proven very successful in the ab initio description of atomic and molecular systems. This concerns first of all the single-reference version of the method that is designed for states dominated by a single Slater determinant. Usually, the coupled-cluster methods with one- and two-body excitation operators in the exponent form the basic computational schemes. The inclusion of three-body effects in the cluster operator to increase the accuracy of the results is numerically expensive, so their approximate evaluation is rather used in practice. In the case of the single-reference coupled-cluster approach, the problem of approximate evaluation of three-body effects in the cluster operator has been well studied, and computational schemes of both noniterative and iterative nature have been proposed. The situation is different in the case of multireference coupled-cluster methods which are required to describe open shell and quasidegenerate states. The multireference approaches in their standard effective Hamiltonian formulations are more complicated and less frequently used in routine calculations; however, one of them, the so-called Fock-space coupled-cluster method, becomes very effective if reformulated within the intermediate Hamiltonian framework. Both the basic version of the method with one- and two-body clusters and the extended one that includes up to three-body operators in the exponent are implemented. The latter approach provides more accurate results, but its relatively high numerical cost limits its applicability. For this reason, going beyond the basic scheme with one- and two-body clusters through an approximate evaluation of the impact of three-body clusters is of great interest. In the paper, we investigate different ways of approximate inclusion of the three-body effects in the Fock-space coupled-cluster method designated for excitation energy calculations.

Study of atomic spectroscopy and hyperfine structure of francium (Fr) isotopes using relativistic Fock space multireference coupled-cluster method

The electronic structure and properties of 210Fr, 212Fr, 221Fr and 223Fr isotopes have been studied using the relativistic Fock space multireference coupled-cluster method. By employing this method, we have determined the magnetic hyperfine constants for the loweset multiplets of francium (Fr) isotopes with Dirac–Fock orbitals. We have provided the data for the ionization potentials and excitation energies for the Fr isotopes. The discrepancies between our calculated values and the corresponding measured experimental values are less than 2% (for energy). In addition, we also report the transition probabilities and oscillator strengths for the various allowed E1 transitions of Fr. The estimated properties are in very good agreement with the available experimental values.

Analytical dipole moments and dipole polarizabilities of doublet radicals using Cholesky representation of constrained variational linear response to Fock-space multi-reference coupled-cluster method with single and double substitutions

We present dipole moments and dipole polarizabilities of doublet radicals computed analytically using constrained variational approach (CVA) based Fock-space (FS) multi-reference (MR) coupled-cluster (CC) method with single and double substitutions (SD) after Cholesky decomposition (CD) of electron repulsion integrals (ERI’s) in molecular orbital (MO) basis. We present our results computed with CD tolerance of 10-1,10-2 and 10-3 and test their accuracy by comparing them with the ones obtained by the conventional CVA-FSMRCCSD.

Linear and quadratic internally contracted multireference coupled-cluster approximations.

Linear and quadratic approximations to the internally contracted multireference coupled-cluster (icMRCC) method are implemented and analyzed by using the linked and unlinked coupled-cluster formalisms. This includes methods based on perturbation theory as well as the coupled-electron pair approximation, CEPA(0). The similarities and differences between all the approximations serve to highlight and provoke discussion about methodological peculiarities of the icMRCC ansatz. When calculating potential energy curves (PECs), discontinuities are observed for the linear icMRCC energies. Using a diagrammatic representation, the terms that cause but also reduce these discontinuities are identified. For benchmarking test cases such as calculating PECs, singlet-triplet splittings, and barrier heights, the multireference CEPA(0) approximation performs well; however, it suffers from a lack of size consistency and so cannot represent a step forward to the goal of developing a computationally cheap and accurate icMRCC method.

Perturbation Expansion of Internally Contracted Coupled-Cluster Theory up to Third Order.

The internally contracted multireference coupled-cluster (icMRCC) method is analyzed through third order in perturbation theory. Up to second order, the icMRCC perturbation expansion is equivalent to that of the standard Rayleigh-Schrödinger perturbation theory, which is based on a linear ansatz for the wave function, and the resulting theory is, depending on the employed zeroth-order Hamiltonian, equivalent to either second-order complete active space perturbation theory (CASPT2), N-electron valence perturbation theory (NEVPT2), or Fink's retention of the excitation degree perturbation theory (REPT2). At third order, the icMRCC perturbation expansion features additional terms in comparison to the Rayleigh-Schrödinger perturbation theory, but these are shown to be nearly negligibly small by both analytic arguments and numerical examples. Considering these systematic cancellations, however, may be important in future work on approximations to icMRCC theory. In addition, we provide an extensive set of tests of the second and third-order perturbation theories based on three different zeroth-order Hamiltonians, namely, the projected effective Fock operator as used for CASPT, the Dyall Hamiltonian as used for NEVPT, and the Fink Hamiltonian used for REPT. While the third-order variant of REPT often gives absolute energies that are rather close to values from higher level calculations, the results for relative energies and spectroscopic constants such as harmonic frequencies, give a less clear picture and a general conclusion about any best zeroth-order Hamiltonian does not emerge from our data. For small active spaces, REPT is rather prone to intruder state problems.

Perturbative triples correction to domain-based local pair natural orbital variants of Mukherjee's state specific coupled cluster method.

In this article we report an implementation of the perturbative triples correction to Mukherjee's state-specific multireference coupled cluster method based on the domain-based pair natural orbital approach (DLPNO-MkCC). We tested the performance of DLPNO-MkCCSD(T) in calculations involving tetramethyleneethane and isomers of naphthynes. These tests show that more than 97% of triples energy was recovered with respect to the canonical MkCCSD(T) method, which together with the DLPNO-MkCCSD part accounts for about 99.70-99.85% of the total correlation energy. The applicability of the method was demonstrated on calculations of singlet-triplet gaps for several large systems: triangulene, dynemicin A, and a beryllium complex.

Equation-of-motion coupled-cluster theory based on the 4-component Dirac-Coulomb(-Gaunt) Hamiltonian. Energies for single electron detachment, attachment, and electronically excited states.

We report in this paper an implementation of a 4-component relativistic Hamiltonian based Equation-of-Motion Coupled-Cluster with singles and doubles (EOM-CCSD) theory for the calculation of ionization potential, electron affinity, and excitation energy. In this work, we utilize the previously developed double group symmetry-based generalized tensor contraction scheme and also extend it in order to carry out tensor contractions involving non-totally symmetric and odd-ranked tensors. Several approximated spin-free and two-component Hamiltonians can also be accessed in this implementation. We have applied this method to the halogen monoxide (XO, X = Cl, Br, I, At, Ts) species, in order to assess the quality of a few other recent EOM-CCSD implementations, where spin-orbit coupling contribution has been approximated in different degrees. Besides, we have also studied various excited states of CH2IBr, CH2I2, and (as well as single electron attachment and detachment electronic states of the same species) where comparison has been made with a closely related multi-reference coupled-cluster method, namely, Intermediate Hamiltonian Fock Space Coupled-Cluster singles and doubles theory.

Padé extrapolated effective Hamiltonians in the Fock space relativistic coupled cluster method

AbstractThe application of the conventional multiroot multireference coupled cluster methods to the description of molecular excited electronic states in wide areas of molecular geometries are frequently prevented by numerical instabilities due to the presence of intruder states. An efficient solution of this problem can consist in the intruder state avoidance through appropriate modification of energy denominators in coupled cluster equations followed by the suppression of the errors caused by this modification by the operator (matrix) Padé extrapolation of the sequences of resulting approximate effective Hamiltonians. Simple numerical illustrations of the efficiency of the extrapolation procedure are provided on examples of implementations within the Fock space relativistic coupled cluster approach.

Domain-Based Local Pair Natural Orbital Version of Mukherjee's State-Specific Coupled Cluster Method.

This article reports development of a local variant of Mukherjee's state-specific multireference coupled cluster method based on the domain-based pair natural orbital approach (DLPNO-MkCC). The current implementation is restricted to connected single and double excitations and model space with up to biexcited references. The performance of the DLPNO-MkCCSD was tested on calculations of tetramethyleneethane. The results show that above 99.9% of the correlation energy was recovered, with respect to the conventional MkCC method. To demonstrate the applicability of the method to large systems, singlet-triplet gaps of triangulene and bis(1-(2,6-diisopropylphenyl)-3,3,5,5-tetramethylpyrrolidine-2-ylidene)beryllium complex were studied. For the last system (105 atoms), we were able to perform a calculation in cc-pVTZ with 2158 basis functions on a single CPU in less than 9 days.