arXiv subjects

L. A. Constantin

Publications and source records attributed to L. A. Constantin.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Restoring the Point-and-Charge Gradient Expansion for the Strong Interaction Density Functionals

The strong-interaction functionals $W_\infty[n]$ and ${W'}_\infty[n]$ play an important role in the adiabatic-connection method of Density Functional Theory. The strictly-correlated electron approach can be used to exactly compute these functionals, yet calculations are computationally very expensive even for small electronic systems, and thus semilocal approximations have been proposed. In this work we develop a meta-generalized gradient approximation (meta-GGA) model for the strong-interaction functionals, enhanced point-and-charge (ePC), constructed from exact constraints. In particular, the ePC restores the second-order gradient expansion of the PC model, that is relevant for the equilibrium properties of Wigner crystals, and ensures the non-negativity of ${W'}_\infty[n]$. We assess the ePC model for atoms and various model systems: Hooke's atoms, two-electron exponential densities, s- and p-hydrogenic shells, quasi-two-dimensional infinite barrier model, perturbed uniform electron gas and H$_2$ dissociation. We prove a good overall accuracy of the ePC model, that achieves a broader applicability than any previous semilocal models.

cond-mat.other↗

arXiv2018

Semilocal Pauli-Gaussian Kinetic Functionals for Orbital-Free Density Functional Theory Calculations of Solids

Kinetic energy (KE) approximations are key elements in orbital-free density functional theory. To date, the use of non-local functionals, possibly employing system dependent parameters, has been considered mandatory in order to obtain satisfactory accuracy for different solid-state systems, whereas semilocal approximations are generally regarded as unfit to this aim. Here, we show that instead properly constructed semilocal approximations, the Pauli-Gaussian (PG) KE functionals, especially at the Laplacian-level of theory, can indeed achieve similar accuracy as non-local functionals and can be accurate for both metals and semiconductors, without the need of system-dependent parameters.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2018

Non-local kinetic energy functional from the Jellium-with-gap model: applications to Orbital-Free Density Functional Theory

Orbital-Free Density Functional Theory (OF-DFT) promises to describe the electronic structure of very large quantum systems, being its computational cost linear with the system size. However, the OF-DFT accuracy strongly depends on the approximation made for the kinetic energy (KE) functional. To date, the most accurate KE functionals are non-local functionals based on the linear-response kernel of the homogeneous electron gas, i.e. the jellium model. Here, we use the linear-response kernel of the jellium-with-gap model, to construct a simple non-local KE functional (named KGAP) which depends on the band gap energy. In the limit of vanishing energy-gap (i.e. in the case of metals), the KGAP is equivalent to the Smargiassi-Madden (SM) functional, which is accurate for metals. For a series of semiconductors (with different energy-gaps), the KGAP performs much better than SM, and results are close to the state-of-the-art functionals with complicated density-dependent kernels.

physics.chem-ph↗

arXiv2017

Jellium-with-gap model applied to semilocal kinetic functionals

We investigate a highly-nonlocal generalization of the Lindhard function, given by the jellium-with-gap model. We find a band-gap-dependent gradient expansion of the kinetic energy, which performs noticeably well for large atoms. Using the static linear response theory and the simplest semilocal model for the local band gap, we derive a non-empirical generalized gradient approximation (GGA) of the kinetic energy. This GGA kinetic energy functional is remarkably accurate for the description of weakly interacting molecular systems within the subsystem formulation of Density Functional Theory.

cond-mat.other↗

arXiv2017

Laplacian-dependent models of the kinetic energy density: Applications in subsystem density functional theory with meta-generalized gradient approximation functionals

The development of semilocal models for the kinetic energy density (KED) is an important topic in density functional theory (DFT). This is especially true for subsystem DFT, where these models are necessary to construct the required non-additive embedding contributions. In particular, these models can also be efficiently employed to replace the exact KED in meta-Generalized Gradient Approximation (meta-GGA) exchange-correlation functionals allowing to extend the subsystem DFT applicability to the meta-GGA level of theory. Here, we present a two-dimensional scan of semilocal KED models as linear functionals of the reduced gradient and of the reduced Laplacian, for atoms and weakly-bound molecular systems. We find that several models can perform well but in any case the Laplacian contribution is extremely important to model the local features of the KED. Indeed a simple model constructed as the sum of Thomas-Fermi KED and 1/6 of the Laplacian of the density yields the best accuracy for atoms and weakly-bound molecular systems. These KED models are tested within subsystem DFT with various meta-GGA exchange-correlation functionals for non-bonded systems, showing a good accuracy of the method.

cond-mat.other↗

arXiv2016

Hartree potential dependent exchange functional

We introduce a novel non-local ingredient for the construction of exchange density functionals: the reduced Hartree parameter, which is invariant under the uniform scaling of the density and represents the exact exchange enhancement factor for one- and two-electron systems. The reduced Hartree parameter is used together with the conventional meta-generalized gradient approximation (meta-GGA) semilocal ingredients (i.e. the electron density, its gradient and the kinetic energy density) to construct a new generation exchange functional, termed u-meta-GGA. This u-meta-GGA functional is exact for {the exchange of} any one- and two-electron systems, is size-consistent and non-empirical, satisfies the uniform density scaling relation, and recovers the modified gradient expansion derived from the semiclassical atom theory. For atoms, ions, jellium spheres, and molecules, it shows a good accuracy, being often better than meta-GGA exchange functionals. Our construction validates the use of the reduced Hartree ingredient in exchange-correlation functional development, opening the way to an additional rung in the Jacob's ladder classification of non-empirical density functionals.

cond-mat.other↗

arXiv2016

Kinetic and Exchange Energy Densities near the Nucleus

We investigate the behavior of the kinetic and the exchange energy densities near the nuclear cusp of atomic systems. Considering hydrogenic orbitals, we derive analytical expressions near the nucleus, for single shells, as well as in the semiclassical limit of large non-relativistic neutral atoms. We show that a model based on the helium iso-electronic series is very accurate, as also confirmed by numerical calculations on real atoms up to two thousands electrons. Based on this model, we propose non-local density-dependent ingredients that are suitable for the description of the kinetic and exchange energy densities in the region close to the nucleus. These non-local ingredients are invariant under the uniform scaling of the density, and they can be used in the construction of non-local exchange-correlation and kinetic functionals.

cond-mat.other↗

arXiv2016

Semilocal density functional theory with correct surface asymptotics

Semilocal density functional theory is the most used computational method for electronic structure calculations in theoretical solid-state physics and quantum chemistry of large systems, providing good accuracy with a very attractive computational cost. Nevertheless, because of the non-locality of the exchange-correlation hole outside a metal surface, it was always considered inappropriate to describe the correct surface asymptotics. Here, we derive, within the semilocal density functional theory formalism, an exact condition for the image-like surface asymptotics of both the exchange-correlation energy per particle and potential. We show that this condition can be easily incorporated into a practical computational tool, at the simple meta-generalized-gradient approximation level of theory. Using this tool, we also show that the Airy-gas model exhibits asymptotic properties that are closely related to the ones at metal surfaces. This result highlights the relevance of the linear effective potential model to the metal surface asymptotics.

cond-mat.other↗

arXiv2016

Semiclassical atom theory applied to solid-state physics

Using the semiclassical neutral atom theory, we extend to fourth order the modified gradient expansion of the exchange energy of density functional theory. This expansion can be applied both to large atoms and solid-state problems. Moreover, we show that it can be employed to construct a simple and non-empirical generalized gradient approximation (GGA) exchange-correlation functional competitive with state-of-the-art GGAs for solids, but also reasonably accurate for large atoms and ordinary chemistry.

cond-mat.other↗

arXiv2015

Assessment of the TCA functional in computational chemistry and solid-state physics

We assess the Tognetti-Cortona-Adamo (TCA) generalized gradient approximation correlation functional [J. Chem. Phys. 128:034101 (2008)] for a variety of electronic systems. We find that, even if the TCA functional is not exact for the uniform electron gas, it is very accurate for the jellium surface correlation energies and it gives a realistic description of the quantum oscillations and surface effects of various jellium clusters, that are important model systems in computational chemistry and solid-state physics. When the TCA correlation is combined with the non-empirical PBEint, Wu-Cohen, and PBEsol$_b$ exchange functionals, the resulting exchange-correlation approximations provide good performances for a broad palette of systems and properties, being reasonably accurate for thermochemistry and geometry of molecules, transition metal complexes, non-covalent interactions,equilibrium lattice constants, bulk moduli, and cohesive energies of solids.

physics.chem-ph↗

arXiv2015

Subsystem density functional theory with meta generalized gradient approximation exchange-correlation functionals

We analyze the methodology and the performance of subsystem density functional theory (DFT) with meta-generalized gradient approximation (meta-GGA) exchange-correlation functionals for non-bonded systems. Meta-GGA functionals depend on the Kohn-Sham kinetic energy density (KED), which is not known as an explicit functional of the density. Therefore, they cannot be directly applied in subsystem DFT calculations. We propose a Laplacian-level approximation to the KED which overcomes the problem and provides a simple and accurate way to apply meta-GGA exchange-correlation functionals in subsystem DFT calculations. The so obtained density and energy errors, with respect to the corresponding supermolecular calculations, are comparable with conventional approaches, depending almost exclusively on the approximations in the non-additive kinetic embedding term. An embedding energy error decomposition explains the accuracy of our method.

cond-mat.other↗

arXiv2015

Gradient-dependent upper bound for the exchange-correlation energy and application to density functional theory

We propose a simple gradient-dependent bound for the exchange-correlation energy (sLL), based on the recent non-local bound derived by Lewin and Lieb. We show that sLL is equivalent to the original Lieb-Oxford bound in rapidly-varying density cases but it is tighter for slowly-varying density systems. To show the utility of the sLL bound we apply it to the construction of simple semilocal and non-local exchange and correlation functionals. In both cases improved results, with respect to the use of Lieb-Oxford bound, are obtained showing the power of the sLL bound.

cond-mat.other↗

arXiv2015

Global hybrids from the semiclassical atom theory satisfying the local density linear response

We propose global hybrid approximations of the exchange-correlation (XC) energy functional which reproduce well the modified fourth-order gradient expansion of the exchange energy in the semiclassical limit of many-electron neutral atoms and recover the full local density approximation (LDA) linear response. These XC functionals represent the hybrid versions of the APBE functional [Phys. Rev. Lett. 106, 186406, (2011)] yet employing an additional correlation functional which uses the localization concept of the correlation energy density to improve the compatibility with the Hartree-Fock exchange as well as the coupling-constant-resolved XC potential energy. Broad energetical and structural testings, including thermochemistry and geometry, transition metal complexes, non-covalent interactions, gold clusters and small gold-molecule interfaces, as well as an analysis of the hybrid parameters, show that our construction is quite robust. In particular, our testing shows that the resulting hybrid, including 20\% of Hartree-Fock exchange and named hAPBE, performs remarkably well for a broad palette of systems and properties, being generally better than popular hybrids (PBE0 and B3LYP). Semi-empirical dispersion corrections are also provided.

physics.chem-ph↗

arXiv2014

Kohn-Sham Kinetic Energy Density in the Nuclear and Asymptotic Regions: Deviations from the Von Weizsäcker Behavior and Applications to Density Functionals

We show that the Kohn-Sham positive-definite kinetic energy (KE) density significantly differs from the von Weizsäcker (VW) one at the nuclear cusp as well as in the asymptotic region. At the nuclear cusp, the VW functional is shown to be linear and the contribution of p-type orbitals to the KE density is theoretically derived and numerically demonstrated in the limit of infinite nuclear charge, as well in the semiclassical limit of neutral large atoms. In the latter case, it reaches 12 of the KE density. In the asymptotic region we find new exact constraints for meta Generalized Gradient Approximation (meta-GGA) exchange functionals: with an exchange enhancement factor proportional to $\sqrtα$, where $α$ is the common meta-GGA ingredient, both the exchange energy density and the potential are proportional to the exact ones. In addition, this describes exactly the large-gradient limit of quasi-two dimensional systems.

physics.chem-ph↗

arXiv2014

Wave-function and density functional theory studies of dihydrogen complexes

We performed a benchmark study on a series of dihydrogen bond complexes and constructed a set of reference bond distances and interaction energies. The test set was employed to assess the performance of several wave-function correlated and density functional theory methods. We found that second-order correlation methods describe relatively well the dihydrogen complexes. However, for high accuracy inclusion of triple contributions is important. On the other hand, none of the considered density functional methods can simultaneously yield accurate bond lengths and interaction energies. However, we found that improved results can be obtained by the inclusion of non-local exchange contributions.

physics.chem-ph↗

arXiv2014

Generalized gradient approximation correlation energy functionals based on the uniform electron gas with gap model

We study the uniform electron gas with a gap model in the context of density functional theory. Based on this analysis, we construct two local gap models that realize generalized gradient approximation (GGA) correlation functionals satisfying numerous exact constraints for the correlation energy. The first one, named GAPc, fulfills the full second-order correlation gradient expansion at any density regime, is very accurate for jellium surfaces, comparable to state-of-the-art GGAs for atomic systems and molecular systems, and well compatible with known semilocal exchange. The second functional, named GAPloc, is satisfying the same exact conditions, except that the second-order gradient expansion is sacrificed for a better behavior under the Thomas-Fermi scaling and a more realistic correlation energy density of the hellium atom. The GAPloc functional displays a high accuracy for atomic correlation energies, still preserving a reasonable behavior for jellium surfaces. Moreover, it shows a higher compatibility with the Hartree-Fock exchange than other semilocal correlation functionals. This feature is explained in terms of the real-space analysis of the GAPloc correlation energy.

cond-mat.other↗

arXiv2014

Laplacian-level kinetic energy approximations based on the fourth-order gradient expansion: Global assessment and application to the subsystem formulation of density functional theory

We test Laplacian-level meta-generalized gradient approximation (meta-GGA) non-interacting kinetic energy functionals based on the fourth-order gradient expansion (GE4). We consider several well known Laplacian-level meta-GGAs from literature (bare GE4, modified GE4, and the MGGA functional of Perdew and Constantin [Phys. Rev. B \textbf{75},155109 (2007)]), as well as two newly designed Laplacian-level kinetic energy functionals (named L0.4 and L0.6). First, a general assessment of the different functionals is performed, testing them for model systems (one-electron densities, Hooke's atom and different jellium systems), atomic and molecular kinetic energies as well as for their behavior with respect to density-scaling transformations. Finally, we assess, for the first time, the performance of the different functionals for Subsystem Density Functional Theory (DFT) calculations on non-covalently interacting systems. We find that the different Laplacian-level meta-GGA kinetic functionals may improve the description of different properties of electronic systems but no clear overall advantage is found over the best GGA functionals. Concerning Subsystem DFT calculations, the here proposed L0.4 kinetic energy functional is competitive with state-of-the-art GGAs, whereas all other Laplacian-level functionals fail badly. The performance of the Laplacian-level functionals is rationalized thanks to a two-dimensional reduced-gradient and reduced-Laplacian decomposition of the non-additive kinetic energy density.

physics.chem-ph↗

arXiv2013

Construction of a general semilocal exchange-correlation hole model: Application to nonempirical meta-GGA functionals

Using a reverse-engineering method we construct a meta-generalized gradient approximation (meta-GGA) angle-averaged exchange-correlation hole model which has a general applicability. It satisfies known exact hole constraints and can exactly recover the exchange-correlation energy density of any reasonable meta-GGA exchange-correlation energy functional satisfying a minimal set of exact properties. The hole model is applied to several non-empirical meta-GGA functionals: the Tao-Perdew-Staroverov-Scuseria (TPSS), the revised TPSS (revTPSS) and the recently Balanced LOCalization (BLOC) meta-GGA of L.A. Constantin, E. Fabiano, and F. Della Sala, (J. Chem. Theory Comput. 9, 2256 (2013)). The empirical M06-L meta-GGA functional is also considered. Real-space analyses of atoms and ions as well as wave-vector analyses of jellium surface energies, show that the meta-GGA hole models, in particular the BLOC one, are very realistic and can reproduce many features of benchmark XC holes. In addition, the BLOC hole model can be used to estimate with good accuracy the Coulomb hole radius of small atoms and ions. Thus, the proposed meta-GGA hole models provide a valuable tool to validate in detail existing meta-GGA functionals, and can be further used in the development of DFT methods beyond the semilocal level of theory.

physics.chem-ph↗