arXiv subjects

Alexander Yu. Sokolov

Publications and source records attributed to Alexander Yu. Sokolov.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Decoding Transient X-ray Absorption Spectra of Acetylacetone With Multireference Algebraic Diagrammatic Construction Theory

Time-resolved X-ray absorption spectroscopy (TR-XAS) offers an element- and site-specific probe of coupled electronic and nuclear dynamics, but its interpretation requires methods that can treat multiconfigurational excited states across nonequilibrium nuclear ensembles. Here, we report time-resolved simulations of the acetylacetone (AcAc) transient X-ray absorption spectra by combining surface-hopping dynamics from complete active space second-order perturbation theory with multireference algebraic diagrammatic construction (MR-ADC). The simulated 20-200 fs spectra show a good agreement with experimental measurements and reveal that the TR-XAS response is governed by continuously evolving distributions of molecular geometries on the singlet potential energy surfaces (S2 and S1). In particular, absorption at 279.5-281.5 eV is enhanced for transient, nearly symmetric proton-sharing configurations, whereas the 284-286 eV profile reflects geometry-dependent C1s excitations modulated by proton transfer, bond alternation, and ring opening. For the long-time T_1 spectrum (7-10 ps), the principal features near 281.4 and 283.8 eV are assigned to central C 1s excitations into low-lying triplet pi-orbitals. Together, our simulations provide a more complete mechanistic picture of AcAc photorelaxation by directly linking ultrafast carbon K-edge signals to proton transfer, skeletal reorganization, internal conversion, and triplet formation.

physics.chem-ph↗

arXiv2026

Molecular g-Tensors From Spin-Orbit Quasidegenerate N-electron Valence Perturbation Theory: Benchmarks, Intruder-State Mitigation, and Practical Guidelines

Accurate prediction of molecular g-tensors for open-shell systems requires a balanced treatment of multireference electron correlation and relativistic spin-orbit coupling. Here, we develop and benchmark spin-orbit quasidegenerate second-order N-electron valence perturbation theory (SO-QDNEVPT2) for g-tensor calculations, treating dynamical correlation and spin-orbit effects consistently within a multistate effective Hamiltonian framework. Two g-tensor approaches are implemented: a spin-free effective Hamiltonian (EH) approach based on second-order response and a Kramers (K) approach that extracts g from spin-mixed SO-QDNEVPT2 states. We assess their performance on a benchmark set of 23 molecules spanning diatomics and small polyatomics, low- to high-spin species, and weak to strong spin-orbit coupling. Across the dataset, SO-QDNEVPT2 improves agreement with experiment relative to state-averaged complete active-space self-consistent field. The EH and K formalisms agree for modest g-shifts but the Kramers approach becomes essential when the shifts become large. We demonstrate that QDNEVPT2 results can be sensitive to intruder-state instabilities that can be effectively mitigated with level-shift or renormalization techniques. We then analyze the dependence of SO-QDNEVPT2 results on key computational parameters, including active space, number of states, state-averaging weights, gauge origin, and basis set. These results establish SO-QDNEVPT2 as a robust framework for computing g-tensors in correlated, relativistic open-shell molecules, offering practical guidelines for its applications.

physics.chem-ph↗

arXiv2025

Core-Ionized States and X-ray Photoelectron Spectra of Solids From Periodic Algebraic Diagrammatic Construction Theory

We present the first-ever implementation and benchmark of periodic algebraic diagrammatic construction theory (ADC) for core-ionized states and X-ray photoelectron spectra (XPS) in crystalline materials. Using a triple-zeta Gaussian basis set and accounting for finite-size and scalar relativistic effects, the strict and extended second-order ADC approximations (ADC(2) and ADC(2)-X) predict the core ionization energies of weakly correlated solids within ~ 1.5 and 0.5 eV of experimental measurements, respectively. We further demonstrate that the ADC(2)-X method can capture the satellite features in XPS spectra of graphite, cubic and hexagonal boron nitride, and TiO2, albeit significantly overestimating their energies. The ADC(2)-X calculations reveal that the satellite transitions display strong configuration interaction with excitations involving several frontier orbitals delocalized in phase space. Our work demonstrates that ADC is a promising first-principles approach for simulating the core-excited states and X-ray spectra of materials, highlighting its potential and motivating further development.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2025

Algebraic Diagrammatic Construction Theory of Charged Excitations With Consistent Treatment of Spin-Orbit Coupling and Dynamic Correlation

We present algebraic diagrammatic construction theory for simulating spin-orbit coupling and electron correlation in charged electronic states and photoelectron spectra. Our implementation supports Hartree-Fock and multiconfigurational reference wavefunctions, enabling efficient correlated calculations of relativistic effects using single-reference (SR-) and multireference (MR-) ADC. We combine the SR- and MR-ADC methods with three flavors of spin-orbit two-component Hamiltonians and benchmark their performance for a variety of atoms and small molecules. When multireference effects are not important, the SR-ADC approximations are competitive in accuracy to MR-ADC, often showing closer agreement with experimental results. However, for electronic states with multiconfigurational character and in non-equilibrium regions of potential energy surfaces, the MR-ADC methods are more reliable, predicting accurate excitation energies and zero-field splittings. Our results demonstrate that the spin-orbit ADC methods are promising approaches for interpreting and predicting the results of modern spectroscopies.

physics.chem-ph↗

arXiv2025

Simulating Ionized States in Realistic Chemical Environments With Algebraic Diagrammatic Construction Theory and Polarizable Embedding

Theoretical simulations of electron detachment processes are vital for understanding chemical redox reactions, semiconductor and electrochemical properties, and high-energy radiation damage. However, accurate calculations of ionized electronic states are very challenging due to their open-shell nature, importance of electron correlation effects, and strong interactions with chemical environment. In this work, we present an efficient approach based on algebraic diagrammatic construction theory with polarizable embedding that allows to accurately simulate ionized electronic states in condensed-phase or biochemical environments (PE-IP-ADC). We showcase the capabilities of PE-IP-ADC by computing the vertical ionization energy (VIE) of thymine molecule solvated in bulk water. Our results show that the second- and third-order PE-IP-ADC methods combined with the basis of set of triple-zeta quality yield a solvent-induced shift in VIE of -0.92 and -0.93 eV, respectively, in an excellent agreement with experimental estimate of -0.9 eV. This work demonstrates the power of PE-IP-ADC approach for simulating charged electronic states in realistic chemical environments and motivates its further development.

physics.chem-ph↗

arXiv2024

Efficient Spin-Adapted Implementation of Multireference Algebraic Diagrammatic Construction Theory. I. Core-Ionized States and X-Ray Photoelectron Spectra

We present an efficient implementation of multireference algebraic diagrammatic construction theory (MR-ADC) for simulating core-ionized states and X-ray photoelectron spectra (XPS). Taking advantage of spin adaptation, automatic code generation, and density fitting, our implementation can perform calculations for molecules with more than 1500 molecular orbitals, incorporating static and dynamic correlation in the ground and excited electronic states. We demonstrate the capabilities of MR-ADC methods by simulating the XPS spectra of substituted ferrocene complexes and azobenzene isomers. For the ground electronic states of these molecules, the XPS spectra computed using the extended second-order MR-ADC method (MR-ADC(2)-X) are in a very good agreement with available experimental results. We further show that MR-ADC can be used as a tool for interpreting or predicting the results of time-resolved XPS measurements by simulating the core ionization spectra of azobenzene along its photoisomerization, including the XPS signatures of excited states and the minimum energy conical intersection. This work is the first in a series of publications reporting the efficient implementations of MR-ADC methods.

physics.chem-ph↗

arXiv2024

Consistent Second-Order Treatment of Spin-Orbit Coupling and Dynamic Correlation in Quasidegenerate N-Electron Valence Perturbation Theory

We present a formulation and implementation of second-order quasidegenerate N-electron valence perturbation theory (QDNEVPT2) that provides a balanced and accurate description of spin-orbit coupling and dynamic correlation effects in multiconfigurational electronic states. In our approach, the energies and wavefunctions of electronic states are computed by treating electron repulsion and spin-orbit coupling operators as equal perturbations to the non-relativistic complete active-space wavefunctions and their contributions are incorporated fully up to the second order. The spin-orbit effects are described using the Breit-Pauli (BP) or exact two-component Douglas-Kroll-Hess (DKH) Hamiltonians within spin-orbit mean-field approximation. The resulting second-order methods (BP2- and DKH2-QDNEVPT2) are capable of treating spin-orbit coupling effects in nearly degenerate electronic states by diagonalizing an effective Hamiltonian expanded in a compact non-relativistic basis. For a variety of atoms and small molecules across the entire periodic table, we demonstrate that DKH2-QDNEVPT2 is competitive in accuracy with variational two-component relativistic theories. BP2-QDNEVPT2 shows high accuracy for the second- and third-period elements, but its performance deteriorates for heavier atoms and molecules. We also consider the first-order spin-orbit QDNEVPT2 approximations (BP1- and DKH1-QDNEVPT2), among which DKH1-QDNEVPT2 is reliable but less accurate than DKH2-QDNEVPT2. Both DKH1- and DKH2-QDNEVPT2 hold promise as efficient and accurate electronic structure methods for treating electron correlation and spin-orbit coupling in a variety of applications.

physics.chem-ph↗

arXiv2024

Simulating Transient X-ray Photoelectron Spectra of Fe(CO)5 and Its Photodissociation Products With Multireference Algebraic Diagrammatic Construction Theory

Accurate simulations of transient X-ray photoelectron spectra (XPS) provide unique opportunities to bridge the gap between theory and experiment in understanding the photoactivated dynamics in molecules and materials. However, simulating X-ray photoelectron spectra along a photochemical reaction pathway is challenging as it requires accurate description of electronic structure incorporating core-hole screening, orbital relaxation, electron correlation, and spin-orbit coupling in excited states or at nonequilibrium ground-state geometries. In this work, we employ the recently developed multireference algebraic diagrammatic construction theory (MR-ADC) to investigate the core-ionized states and X-ray photoelectron spectra of Fe(CO)5 and its photodissociation products (Fe(CO)4, Fe(CO)3) following excitation with 266 nm light. The simulated transient Fe 3p and CO 3σ XPS spectra incorporating spin-orbit coupling and high-order electron correlation effects are shown to be in a good agreement with the experimental measurements by Leitner et al. [J. Chem. Phys. 149, 044307 (2018)]. Our calculations suggest that core-hole screening, spin-orbit coupling, and ligand-field splitting effects are similarly important in reproducing the experimentally observed chemical shifts in transient Fe 3p XPS spectra of iron carbonyl complexes. Our results also demonstrate that the MR-ADC methods can be very useful in interpreting the transient XPS spectra of transition metal compounds.

physics.chem-ph↗

arXiv2024

Quantifying spin contamination in algebraic diagrammatic construction theory of electronic excitations

Algebraic diagrammatic construction (ADC) is a computationally efficient approach for simulating excited electronic states, absorption spectra, and electron correlation. Due to their origin in perturbation theory, the single-reference ADC methods may be susceptible to spin contamination when applied to molecules with unpaired electrons. In this work, we develop an approach to quantify spin contamination in the ADC calculations of electronic excitations and apply it to a variety of open-shell molecules starting with either the unrestricted (UHF) or restricted open-shell (ROHF) Hartree-Fock reference wavefunctions. Our results show that the accuracy of low-order ADC approximations (ADC(2), ADC(3)) significantly decreases when the UHF reference spin contamination exceeds 0.05 a.u. Such strongly spin-contaminated molecules exhibit severe excited-state spin symmetry breaking that contributes to decreasing the quality of computed excitation energies and oscillator strengths. In a case study of phenyl radical, we demonstrate that spin contamination can significantly affect the simulated UV/Vis spectra, altering the relative energies, intensities, and order of electronic transitions. The results presented here motivate the development of spin-adapted ADC methods for open-shell molecules.

physics.chem-ph↗

arXiv2024

Multireference Perturbation Theories Based on the Dyall Hamiltonian

The concept of Dyall zeroth-order Hamiltonian [Dyall, K. G. J. Chem. Phys., 102, 4909-4918 (1995)] has been instrumental in the development of intruder- and parameter-free multireference perturbation theories for the efficient treatment of static and dynamic correlation in molecular systems. In this review, we discuss two theoretical approaches based on the Dyall Hamiltonian: (i) N-electron valence perturbation theory and (ii) multireference algebraic diagrammatic construction theory. We briefly cover the technical aspects behind these theories and discuss their relationship. We conclude with a short description of alternative approaches based on the Dyall Hamiltonian, a summary, and an outlook on future developments.

physics.chem-ph↗

arXiv2023

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 an 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 core-excited nitrogen potential energy curve, in a 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.

physics.chem-ph↗

arXiv2023

Algebraic Diagrammatic Construction Theory for Simulating Charged Excited States and Photoelectron Spectra

Charged excitations are electronic transitions that involve a change in the total charge of a molecule or material. Understanding the properties and reactivity of charged species requires insights from theoretical calculations that can accurately describe orbital relaxation and electron correlation effects in open-shell electronic states. In this perspective, we review the current state of algebraic diagrammatic construction (ADC) theory for simulating charged excitations and its recent developments. We start with a short overview of ADC formalism for the one-particle Green's function, including its single- and multireference formulations and extension to periodic systems. Next, we focus on the capabilities of ADC methods and discuss recent findings about their accuracy for calculating a wide range of excited-state properties. We conclude our perspective by outlining possible directions for future developments of this theoretical approach.

physics.chem-ph↗

arXiv2023

Simulating Spin-Orbit Coupling With Quasidegenerate N-Electron Valence Perturbation Theory

We present the first implementation of spin-orbit coupling effects in fully internally contracted second-order quasidegenerate N-electron valence perturbation theory (SO-QDNEVPT2). The SO-QDNEVPT2 approach enables the computations of ground- and excited-state energies and oscillator strengths combining the description of static electron correlation with an efficient treatment of dynamic correlation and spin-orbit coupling. In addition to SO-QDNEVPT2 with the full description of one- and two-body spin-orbit interactions at the level of two-component Breit-Pauli Hamiltonian, our implementation also features a simplified approach that takes advantage of spin-orbit mean-field approximation (SOMF-QDNEVPT2). The accuracy of these methods is tested for the group 14 and 16 hydrides, 3d and 4d transition metal ions, and two actinide dioxides (neptunyl and plutonyl dications). The zero-field splittings of group 14 and 16 molecules computed using SO-QDNEVPT2 and SOMF-QDNEVPT2 are in a good agreement with the available experimental data. For the 3d transition metal ions, the SO-QDNEVPT2 method is significantly more accurate than SOMF-QDNEVPT2, while no substantial difference in the performance of two methods is observed for the 4d ions. Finally, we demonstrate that for the actinide dioxides the results of SO-QDNEVPT2 and SOMF-QDNEVPT2 are in a good agreement with the data from previous theoretical studies of these systems. Overall, our results demonstrate that SO-QDNEVPT2 and SOMF-QDNEVPT2 are promising multireference methods for treating spin-orbit coupling with a relatively low computational cost.

physics.chem-ph↗

arXiv2022

Non-Dyson Algebraic Diagrammatic Construction Theory for Charged Excitations in Solids

We present the first implementation and applications of non-Dyson algebraic diagrammatic construction theory for charged excitations in three-dimensional periodic solids (EA/IP-ADC). The EA/IP-ADC approach has a computational cost similar to the ground-state Møller-Plesset perturbation theory, enabling efficient calculations of a variety of crystalline excited-state properties (e.g., band structure, band gap, density of states) sampled in the Brillouin zone. We use EA/IP-ADC to compute the quasiparticle band structures and band gaps of several materials (from large-gap atomic and ionic solids to small-gap semiconductors) and analyze the errors of EA/IP-ADC approximations up to the third order in perturbation theory. Our work also reports the first-ever calculations of ground-state properties (equation-of-state and lattice constants) of three-dimensional crystalline systems using a periodic implementation of third-order Møller-Plesset perturbation theory (MP3).

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2022

Quantifying and reducing spin contamination in algebraic diagrammatic construction theory of charged excitations

Algebraic diagrammatic construction (ADC) theory is a computationally efficient and accurate approach for simulating electronic excitations in chemical systems. However, for the simulations of excited states in molecules with unpaired electrons the performance of ADC methods can be affected by the spin contamination in unrestricted Hartree-Fock (UHF) reference wavefunctions. In this work, we benchmark the accuracy of ADC methods for electron attachment and ionization of open-shell molecules with the UHF reference orbitals (EA/IP-ADC/UHF) and develop an approach to quantify the spin contamination in the charged excited states. Following this assessment, we demonstrate that the spin contamination can be reduced by combining EA/IP-ADC with the reference orbitals from restricted open-shell Hartree-Fock (ROHF) or orbital-optimized Møller-Plesset perturbation (OMP) theories. Our numerical results demonstrate that for open-shell systems with strong spin contamination in the UHF reference the third-order EA/IP-ADC methods with the ROHF or OMP reference orbitals are similar in accuracy to equation-of-motion coupled cluster theory with single and double excitations.

physics.chem-ph↗

arXiv2022

Simulating X-ray Photoelectron Spectra With Strong Electron Correlation Using Multireference Algebraic Diagrammatic Construction Theory

We present a new theoretical approach for the simulations of X-ray photoelectron spectra of strongly correlated molecular systems that combines multireference algebraic diagrammatic construction theory (MR-ADC) [J. Chem. Phys., 2018, 149, 204113] with core-valence separation (CVS) technique. The resulting CVS-MR-ADC approach has a low computational cost while overcoming many challenges of the conventional multireference theories associated with the calculations of excitations from inner-shell and core molecular orbitals. Our results demonstrate that the CVS-MR-ADC methods are as accurate as single-reference ADC approximations for predicting core ionization energies of weakly-correlated molecules, but are more accurate and reliable for systems with multireference character, such as stretched nitrogen molecule, ozone, and isomers of benzyne diradical. We also highlight the importance of multireference effects for the description of core-hole screening that determines the relative spacing and order of peaks in the XPS spectra of strongly correlated systems.

physics.chem-ph↗

arXiv2021

Multireference Algebraic Diagrammatic Construction Theory for Excited States: Extended Second-Order Implementation and Benchmark

We present an implementation and benchmark of new approximations in multireference algebraic diagrammatic construction theory for simulations of neutral electronic excitations and UV/Vis spectra of strongly correlated molecular systems (MR-ADC). Following our work on the first-order MR-ADC approximation [J. Chem. Phys. 2018, 149, 204113], we report the strict and extended second-order MR-ADC methods (MR-ADC(2) and MR-ADC(2)-X) that combine the description of static and dynamic electron correlation in the ground and excited electronic states without relying on state-averaged reference wavefunctions. We present an extensive benchmark of the new MR-ADC methods for excited states in several small molecules, including the carbon dimer, ethylene, and butadiene. Our results demonstrate that for weakly-correlated electronic states the MR-ADC(2) and MR-ADC(2)-X methods outperform the third-order single-reference ADC approximation and are competitive with the results from equation-of-motion coupled cluster theory. For states with multireference character, the performance of the MR-ADC methods is similar to that of an N-electron valence perturbation theory. In contrast to conventional multireference perturbation theories, the MR-ADC methods have a number of attractive features, such as a straightforward and efficient calculation of excited-state properties and a direct access to excitations outside of the frontier (active) orbitals.

physics.chem-ph↗

arXiv2021

Efficient implementation of the single-reference algebraic diagrammatic construction theory for charged excitations: Applications to the TEMPO radical and DNA base pairs

We present an efficient implementation of the second- and third-order single-reference algebraic diagrammatic construction theory for electron attachment (EA) and ionization (IP) energies and spectra (EA/IP-ADC(n), n = 2, 3). Our new EA/IP-ADC program features spin adaptation for closed-shell systems, density fitting for efficient handling of the two-electron integral tensors, as well as vectorized and parallel implementation of tensor contractions. We demonstrate capabilities of our efficient implementation by applying the EA/IP-ADC(n) (n = 2, 3) methods to compute the photoelectron spectrum of the TEMPO radical, as well as the vertical and adiabatic electron affinities of TEMPO and two DNA base pairs (guanine-cytosine and adenine-thymine). The spectra and electron affinities computed using large diffuse basis sets with up to 1028 molecular orbitals are found to be in a good agreement with the best available results from the experiment and theoretical simulations.

physics.chem-ph↗