Robert van Meer | Searcharxiv

arXiv2020

Combining density based dynamical correlation with a reduced density matrix strong correlation description

A combined density and first-order reduced-density-matrix (1RDM) functional method is proposed for the calculation of potential energy curves (PECs) of molecular multibond dissociation. Its 1RDM functional part, a pair density functional, efficiently approximates the ab initio pair density of the complete active space self-consistent-field (CASSCF) method. The corresponding approximate on top pair density Π is employed to correct for double counting a correlation functional of density functional theory (DFT). The proposed ELS-DMΠDFT method with the extended Löwdin-Shull (ELS) 1RDM functional with dispersion and multibond (DM) corrections augmented with the ΠDFT functional closely reproduces PECs of multibond dissociation in the paradigmatic N_2 , H_2O, and H_2CO molecules calculated with the recently proposed CASΠDFT (CASSCF augmented with a Π based scaled DFT correlation correction) method. Furthermore, with the additional M-correction, ELS-DMΠDFT+M reproduces well the benchmark PEC of the N_2 molecule by Lie and Clementi.

physics.chem-ph↗

arXiv2020

Approximate density matrix functionals applied to hetero-atomic bond dissociation

A two-orbital two-electron diatomic model resembling LiH is used to investigate the differences between the exact Löwdin-Shull and approximate Hartree-Fock-Bogoliubov and Baerends-Buijse density matrix functionals in the medium- to long-distance dissociation region. In case of homolytic dissociation (one electron on each atom), the approximate functionals fail to generate the correct energy due to a compromise between the Hartree-Fock component (which favors partial charge transfer) and the strong correlation component (which hampers charge transfer). The exact functional is able to generate the physically correct answer by enforcing the equi-charge distribution of the bonding and antibonding orbitals. Besides, the approximate functionals also have issues in correctly describing heterolytic dissociation (two electrons on one atom) due to the strong correlation component hampering charge transfer. In this work, we propose a new scheme in which the homolytic dissociation problem for approximate functionals is avoided by adding a Lagrange multiplier that enforces equi-charge distribution of the bonding and antibonding orbitals. The symmety based nature of the findings implies that they are most likely transferable to other cases in which one uses an approximate one-particle method in conjunction with a symmetrical particle-hole correction factor.

physics.chem-ph↗