New-generation electron-propagator methods for vertical electron detachment energies of molecular anions: benchmarks and applications to model green-fluorescent-protein chromophores.

Ab initio electron-propagator calculations continue to be useful companions to experimental investigations of electronic structure in molecular anions. A new generation of electron-propagator methods recently has surpassed its antecedents' predictive accuracy and computational efficiency. Interpretive clarity has been conserved, for no adjustable parameters have been introduced in the preparation of molecular orbitals or in the formulation of approximate self-energies. These methods have employed the diagonal self-energy approximation wherein each Dyson orbital equals a canonical Hartree-Fock orbital times the square root of a probability factor. Numerical tests indicate that explicitly renormalized, diagonal self-energies are needed when Dyson orbitals have large valence nitrogen, oxygen or fluorine components. They also demonstrate that even greater accuracy can be realized with generalizations that do not employ the diagonal self-energy approximation in the canonical Hartree-Fock basis. Whereas the diagonal methods have fifth-power arithmetic scaling factors, the non-diagonal generalizations introduce only non-iterative sixth-power contractions. Composite models conserve the accuracy of the most demanding combinations of self-energy approximations and flexible basis sets with drastically reduced computational effort. Composite-model results on anions that resemble the chromophore of the green fluorescent protein illustrate the interpretive capabilities of explicitly renormalized self-energies. Accurate predictions on the lowest vertical electron detachment energy of each anion confirm experimental data and the utility of the diagonal self-energy approximation.

New-Generation Electron-Propagator Methods for Molecular Electron-Binding Energies.

A new generation of electron-propagator methods for the calculation of electron binding energies has surpassed its antecedents with respect to accuracy, efficiency, and interpretability. No adjustable parameters are introduced in these fully ab initio procedures. Numerical tests versus several databases of valence, vertical electron binding energies of closed-shell molecules and atoms have been performed. Easily interpreted self-energy approximations with cubic arithmetic scaling produce mean absolute errors (MAEs) of 0.2 and 0.3 eV for electron detachments and attachments, respectively. The most accurate explicitly renormalized methods with fifth-power arithmetic scaling yield MAEs below 0.1 eV for detachments and attachments. Approximate renormalization leads to more efficient fifth-power alternatives for electron detachments that achieve similar accuracy with fewer bottleneck operations. Composite protocols generate excellent predictions versus highly accurate basis-extrapolated standards and experiments. The validity of the diagonal self-energy approximation and the accuracy of the approximate renormalizations are confirmed. The success of these perturbative methods based on canonical Hartree-Fock orbitals rests on a Hermitized, intermediately normalized superoperator metric. The results of all of the new-generation calculations may be analyzed in terms of final-state orbital relaxation and differential correlation effects.

New-Generation Electron-Propagator Methods for Calculations of Electron Affinities and Ionization Energies: Tests on Organic Photovoltaic Molecules.

A new generation of ab initio electron-propagator self-energies recently superseded its antecedents' accuracy and computational efficiency in calculating vertical ionization energies (VIEs) of closed-shell molecules. (See J. Chem. Phys. 2021, 155, 204107, J. Chem. Theory Comput. 2022, 18, 4927, J. Chem. Phys. 2023, 159, 124109.) No adjustable parameters were introduced in the generation of reference orbitals or in the construction of self-energies. The same approach has been extended in this work to vertical electron affinities (VEAs). Calculations were performed on 24 conjugated, organic photovoltaic molecules with diverse functional groups. These molecules are considerably larger than those studied in previous tests on VIEs. Several new-generation self-energies produce mean absolute errors (MAEs) below 0.1 eV versus ΔCCSD(T) (i.e., total energy differences from the coupled-cluster singles, doubles, and perturbative triples method) VIEs and VEAs obtained with identical basis sets. A composite model employs cubically and quintically scaling algorithms and power-law basis-set extrapolations based on augmented double-triple or triple-quadruple ζ data. Its MAEs are near 0.05 eV versus benchmark values, with 0.03 eV error bars for the lowest VIE and the highest VEA of each molecule. A more efficient and equally accurate composite model for calculating VIEs avoids full transformations of electron repulsion integrals to the molecular orbital basis. High probability factors support the diagonal self-energy approximation, wherein Dyson orbitals are proportional to canonical, Hartree-Fock orbitals.

A new generation of non-diagonal, renormalized self-energies for calculation of electron removal energies.

A new generation of diagonal self-energies for the calculation of electron removal energies of molecules and molecular ions that has superseded its predecessors with respect to accuracy, efficiency, and interpretability is extended to include non-diagonal self-energies that permit Dyson orbitals to be expressed as linear combinations of canonical Hartree-Fock orbitals. In addition, an improved algorithm for renormalized methods eliminates the convergence difficulties encountered in the first studies of the new, diagonal self-energies. A dataset of outer-valence, vertical ionization energies with almost full-configuration-interaction quality serves as a standard of comparison in numerical tests. The new non-diagonal, renormalized methods are slightly more accurate than their diagonal counterparts, with mean absolute errors between 0.10 and 0.06 eV for outer-valence final states. This advantage is procured at the cost of an increase in the scaling of arithmetic bottlenecks that accompany the inclusion of non-diagonal self-energy terms. The new, non-diagonal, renormalized self-energies are also more accurate and efficient than their non-diagonal predecessors.

Corrigendum: Coupled cluster theory on modern heterogeneous supercomputers.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fchem.2023.1154526.].

Coupled cluster theory on modern heterogeneous supercomputers.

This study examines the computational challenges in elucidating intricate chemical systems, particularly through ab-initio methodologies. This work highlights the Divide-Expand-Consolidate (DEC) approach for coupled cluster (CC) theory-a linear-scaling, massively parallel framework-as a viable solution. Detailed scrutiny of the DEC framework reveals its extensive applicability for large chemical systems, yet it also acknowledges inherent limitations. To mitigate these constraints, the cluster perturbation theory is presented as an effective remedy. Attention is then directed towards the CPS (D-3) model, explicitly derived from a CC singles parent and a doubles auxiliary excitation space, for computing excitation energies. The reviewed new algorithms for the CPS (D-3) method efficiently capitalize on multiple nodes and graphical processing units, expediting heavy tensor contractions. As a result, CPS (D-3) emerges as a scalable, rapid, and precise solution for computing molecular properties in large molecular systems, marking it an efficient contender to conventional CC models.

Electron Propagator Theory of Vertical Electron Detachment Energies of Anions: Benchmarks and Applications to Nucleotides.

A new generation of ab initio electron-propagator self-energy approximations that are free of adjustable parameters is tested on a benchmark set of 55 vertical electron detachment energies of closed-shell anions. Comparisons with older self-energy approximations indicate that several new methods that make the diagonal self-energy approximation in the canonical Hartree-Fock orbital basis provide superior accuracy and computational efficiency. These methods and their acronyms, mean absolute errors (in eV), and arithmetic bottlenecks expressed in terms of occupied (O) and virtual (V) orbitals are the opposite-spin, non-Dyson, diagonal second-order method (os-nD-D2, 0.2, OV2), the approximately renormalized quasiparticle third-order method (Q3+, 0.15, O2V3) and the approximately renormalized, non-Dyson, linear, third-order method (nD-L3+, 0.1, OV4). The Brueckner doubles with triple field operators (BD-T1) nondiagonal electron-propagator method provides such close agreement with coupled-cluster single, double, and perturbative triple replacement total energy differences that it may be used as an alternative means of obtaining standard data. The new methods with diagonal self-energy matrices are the foundation of a composite procedure for estimating basis-set effects. This model produces accurate predictions and clear interpretations based on Dyson orbitals for the photoelectron spectra of the nucleotides found in DNA.

Electron Propagator Self-Energies versus Improved GW100 Vertical Ionization Energies.

Ab initio electron propagator (EP) methods that are free of adjustable parameters in their self-energy formulae and in the generation of their orbital bases have been applied to the calculation of the lowest vertical ionization energies (VIEs) of the GW100 set. An improved set of standard results accompanied by irreducible representation assignments has been produced indirectly with coupled-cluster singles and doubles plus perturbative triples, i.e., CCSD(T), total energy differences at initial-state geometries reoptimized (in 28 cases) with the largest applicable point groups. The best compromises of accuracy and efficiency belong to a new generation of EP self-energies, several members of which may be derived from an intermediately normalized, Hermitized super-operator metric. The following diagonal self-energy methods are optimal: opposite-spin non-Dyson second order (os-nD-D2), approximately renormalized partial third order (P3+), approximately renormalized quasiparticle third order (Q3+), and non-Dyson approximately renormalized linear third order version B (nD-L3+B). Their mean absolute errors (MAEs) in electron volts and arithmetic scaling factors expressed in terms of occupied (O) and virtual (V) orbital dimensions are, respectively, (0.18, OV2), (0.14, O2V3), (0.15, O2V3), and (0.11, OV4). The 0.06 eV MAE for the non-diagonal, sixth-power (O2V4) Brueckner doubles, triple-field operator (BD-T1) EP method is exceeded by the 0.1 eV MAE with respect to experiments in seventh-power, ΔCCSD(T) calculations and indicates that BD-T1 may serve as a direct, spin-symmetry-conserving alternative in the generation of standard results for VIEs of larger, closed-shell molecules.

Double Rydberg anions, Rydberg radicals and micro-solvated cations with ammonium-water kernels.

Highly accurate ab initio electron-propagator and coupled-cluster methods are employed to predict the vertical electron attachment energies (VEAEs) of NH4+(H2O)n (n = 1-4) cationic clusters. The VEAEs decrease with increasing n and the corresponding Dyson orbitals are diffused over peripheral, non-hydrogen bonded protons. Clusters formed from NH4- double Rydberg anions (DRAs) and stabilized by hydrogen bonding or electrostatic interactions are studied through calculations on NH4-(H2O)n complexes and are compared with more stable H-(NH3)(H2O)n isomers. Structures that have cationic and anionic congeners have notable changes in geometry. For all values of n, the hydride-molecule complex H-(NH3)(H2O)n is always the most stable, with large vertical electron detachment energies (VEDEs). NH4-(H2O)n DRA isomers are predicted to have VEDEs that correspond to energetically well-separated peaks in an anion photoelectron spectrum. Less stable DRA isomers display proton donation from the tetrahedral NH4- fragment to water molecules and VEDEs close to those of previously discovered DRAs. The most stable DRA isomers feature tetrahedral NH4- fragments without H bridges to water molecules and VEDEs that increase with n. Dyson orbitals of NH4-(H2O)n DRAs occupy regions beyond the exterior non-bridging O-H and N-H bonds. Thus, the Rydberg electrons in the uncharged Rydberg radicals and DRAs are held near the outer protons of the water and ammonia molecules. Several bound low-lying excited states of the doublet Rydberg radicals have single electrons occupying delocalized Dyson orbitals of s-like, p-like, d-like, or f-like nodal patterns with the following Aufbau principle: 1s, 1p, 1d, 2s, 2p, 1f.

A new generation of diagonal self-energies for the calculation of electron removal energies.

A new generation of diagonal self-energy approximations in ab initio electron propagator theory for the calculation of electron removal energies of molecules and molecular ions has been derived from an intermediately normalized, Hermitized super-operator metric. These methods and widely used antecedents such as the outer valence Green's function and the approximately renormalized partial third order method are tested with respect to a dataset of vertical ionization energies generated with a valence, triple-ζ, correlation-consistent basis set and a converged series of many-body calculations whose accuracy approaches that of full configuration interaction. Several modifications of the diagonal second-order self-energy, a version of G0W0 theory based on Tamm-Dancoff excitations and several non-diagonal self-energies are also included in the tests. All new methods employ canonical Hartree-Fock orbitals. No adjustable or empirical parameters appear. A hierarchy of methods with optimal accuracy for a given level of computational efficiency is established. Several widely used diagonal self-energy methods are rendered obsolete by the new hierarchy whose members, in order of increasing accuracy, are (1) the opposite-spin non-Dyson diagonal second-order or os-nD-D2, (2) the approximately renormalized third-order quasiparticle or Q3+, (3) the renormalized third-order quasiparticle or RQ3, (4) the approximately renormalized linear third-order or L3+, and (5) the renormalized linear third-order or RL3 self-energies.

Electron binding energies and Dyson orbitals of OnH2n+1 +,0,- clusters: Double Rydberg anions, Rydberg radicals, and micro-solvated hydronium cations.

Ab initio electron propagator methods are employed to predict the vertical electron attachment energies (VEAEs) of OH3 +(H2O)n clusters. The VEAEs decrease with increasing n, and the corresponding Dyson orbitals are diffused over exterior, non-hydrogen bonded protons. Clusters formed from OH3 - double Rydberg anions (DRAs) and stabilized by hydrogen bonding or electrostatic interactions between ions and polar molecules are studied through calculations on OH3 -(H2O)n complexes and are compared with more stable H-(H2O)n+1 isomers. Remarkable changes in the geometry of the anionic hydronium-water clusters with respect to their cationic counterparts occur. Rydberg electrons in the uncharged and anionic clusters are held near the exterior protons of the water network. For all values of n, the anion-water complex H-(H2O)n+1 is always the most stable, with large vertical electron detachment energies (VEDEs). OH3 -(H2O)n DRA isomers have well separated VEDEs and may be visible in anion photoelectron spectra. Corresponding Dyson orbitals occupy regions beyond the peripheral O-H bonds and differ significantly from those obtained for the VEAEs of the cations.

Ionization Energies and Dyson Orbitals of the Iso-electronic SO2, O3, and S3 Molecules from Electron Propagator Calculations.

Adiabatic and vertical ionization energies corresponding to the X̃ A12, à B22, and B̃ A22 final states of SO2+, O3+, and S3+ have been calculated with a variety of electron-propagator and coupled-cluster methods. The BD-T1 electron-propagator method for vertical ionization energies and coupled-cluster adiabatic and zero-point corrections yield agreement with experiment to within 0.1 eV in all cases but one. The remaining discrepancies for the à B22 state of SO2+ indicate a need for higher levels of theory in determining cationic minima and their accompanying vibrational frequencies. Predictions for the still unobserved à B22 and B̃ A22 final states of S3+ are included. To account for increased biradical character in O3 and S3, highly correlated reference states are required to produce the correct order of final states. Electron correlation plays a subtle role in determining the contours of the Dyson orbitals obtained with BD-T1 and NR2 electron-propagator calculations.

Aufbau Principle for Diffuse Electrons of Double-Shell Metal Ammonia Complexes: The Case of M(NH3)4@12NH3, M = Li, Be+, B2.

Positively charged or neutral metal ammonia complexes can form molecular species called solvated electron precursors (SEPs) that accommodate peripheral electrons in approximately hydrogenic diffuse orbitals. This work expands the notion of SEPs to metal ammonia complexes wherein a second coordination shell with 12 ammonia molecules is attached to M(NH3)4 (M = Li, Be+, B2+) SEPs via hydrogen bonding. In such complexes, denoted M(NH3)4@12NH3, the 12 outer ammonia molecules displace the peripheral electrons even further away from the first shell of ammonia molecules. We have benchmarked several density functional methods against CCSD(T) results and found that CAM-B3LYP provides the best M(NH3)4@12NH3 structures. The electron attachment energies of the closed-shell cores calculated with electron-propagator methods and the corresponding Dyson orbitals reveal the Aufbau principle for the ground and excited states of M(NH3)4@12NH3 to be 1s, 1p, 1d, 1f, 2s, 2p, 1g, 2d. These orbitals are diffuse and delocalized over the periphery of the second solvation shell.

Cluster perturbation theory. II. Excitation energies for a coupled cluster target state.

In cluster perturbation (CP) theory, we consider a target excitation space relative to a Hartree-Fock state and partition the target excitation space into a parent excitation space and an auxiliary excitation space. The zeroth-order state is in CP theory a coupled cluster (CC) state in the parent excitation space, and the target state is a CC state in the target excitation space. In this paper, we derive CP series for excitation energies in orders of the CC parent-state similarity-transformed fluctuation potential where the zeroth-order term in the series is an excitation energy for the CC parent state response eigenvalue equation and where the series formally converge to an excitation energy for the CC target state response eigenvalue equation. We give explicit expressions for the lowest-order excitation energy corrections. We also report calculations for CP excitation energy series for various parent and target excitation spaces and examine how well the lower-order corrections can reproduce the total excitation energies. Considering the fast local convergence we have observed for the CP excitation energy series, it becomes computationally attractive to use low-order corrections in CP series to obtain excitation energies of CC target state quality. For the CPS(D-n) series, the first-order correction vanishes, the second-order correction becomes the CIS(D) model, and for the CPS(D-3) model, our calculations suggest that excitation energies of CCSD quality are obtained. The numerical results also suggest that a similar behavior can be seen for the low-order excitation energy corrections for CP series where the parent state contains more than a singles excitation space, e.g., for the CPSD(T) model. We therefore expect the low-order excitation energy corrections in CP series soon to become state-of-the-art models for determining excitation energies of CC target state quality.

Cluster perturbation theory. I. Theoretical foundation for a coupled cluster target state and ground-state energies.

We introduce a new class of perturbation models-the cluster perturbation (CP) models-where the major drawbacks of Møller-Plesset perturbation theory and coupled cluster perturbation theory have been eliminated. In CP theory, we consider a target excitation space relative to the Hartree-Fock state and partition the target excitation space into a parent and an auxiliary excitation space. The zeroth-order state is a coupled cluster (CC) state in the parent excitation space, and the target state is either a cluster linear or a CC state in the target excitation space. In CP theory, perturbation series are determined in orders of the CC parent state similarity-transformed fluctuation potential for the energy and for a molecular property, where the zeroth-order term in the series is the energy or a molecular property for the CC parent state and where the series formally converge to the energy or a molecular property for the target state. In CP theory, we use a generalized order concept, where the zeroth-order component of the extended parent-state Jacobian contains a fluctuation potential contribution, and use this new generalized order to treat internal relaxation in the parent excitation space at zeroth order and hence remove it from the perturbation calculation. Even more importantly, using this new generalized order concept, CP series can be determined for molecular properties of ground and excited states and for transition properties between these states, including excitation energies and energies of the excited states. The applicability of CP theory to both the energy and molecular properties and numerical results for the CP energy and molecular property series demonstrate the superiority of CP theory compared to previous perturbation models. Low-order corrections in the CP perturbation series can be expected soon to become state-of-the-art electronic structure models for the determination of energies and molecular properties of target-state quality for single-configuration dominated molecular systems.

Cluster perturbation theory. IV. Convergence of cluster perturbation series for energies and molecular properties.

The theoretical foundation has been developed for establishing whether cluster perturbation (CP) series for the energy, molecular properties, and excitation energies are convergent or divergent and for using a two-state model to describe the convergence rate and convergence patterns of the higher-order terms in the CP series. To establish whether the perturbation series are convergent or divergent, a fictitious system is introduced, for which the perturbation is multiplied by a complex scaling parameter z. The requirement for convergent perturbation series becomes that the energy or molecular property, including an excitation energy, for the fictitious system is an analytic, algebraic function of z that has no singularities when the norm |z| is smaller than one. Examples of CP series for the energy and molecular properties, including excitation energies, are also presented, and the two-state model is used for the interpretation of the convergence rate and the convergence patterns of the higher-order terms in these series. The calculations show that the perturbation series effectively become a two-state model at higher orders.

Cluster perturbation theory. III. Perturbation series for coupled cluster singles and doubles excitation energies.

The cluster perturbation series, CPS(D), for coupled cluster singles and doubles excitation energies is considered. It is demonstrated that the second-order model CPS(D-2) is identical to the configuration interaction singles with perturbative doubles, CIS(D) model. The third-order model, CPS(D-3), provides excitation energies of coupled cluster singles and doubles (CCSD) quality in the sense that the difference between CPS(D-3) and CCSD excitation energies is of the same size or smaller than the effect of adding triples corrections to CCSD excitation energies. We further show that the third-order corrections can be efficiently implemented, in particular, when the resolution of the identity approximation is used for integrals. We also show that the CPS(D-3) excitation energies can be determined for system sizes that are far beyond what can be considered in conventional CCSD excitation energy calculations.

Cluster perturbation theory. V. Theoretical foundation for cluster linear target states.

Cluster perturbation (CP) theory was developed in Paper I [F. Pawlowski et al., J. Chem. Phys. 150, 134108 (2019)] for a coupled cluster (CC) target state and is extended in this paper to comprehend a cluster linear (CL) target state, for which the embedding of a CC parent state in the target excitation space is described using a linear parametrization. The theory is developed for determining the energy and molecular properties for a CL state. When CP theory is applied to a CL target state, a series of corrections is determined in orders of the CC parent-state similarity-transformed fluctuation potential, where the zeroth-order term is the energy or molecular property of the CC parent state and where the series formally converges to the energy or molecular property of the CL target state. The determination of energies and molecular properties is simpler for a CL state than for a CC state because the CL state is linearly parametrized. The amplitude equations are quadratic for a CL target state, while quartic for a CC target state, and molecular property expressions for a CL target state have the same simple structure as for a configuration interaction state. The linear parametrization introduces non-size-extensive contributions in the energy and molecular property expressions. However, since the linear parametrization describes the embedding of the CC parent state in the target excitation space, the energy and molecular properties for a CL state are weakly size-extensive. For the energy, weak size-extensivity means that non-size-extensive contributions enter in sixth and higher orders in the CP energy series, whereas for molecular properties, weak size-extensivity means that non-size-extensive contributions enter in second and higher orders. Weak size-extensivity therefore has a little or vanishing effect on calculated energies or molecular properties. The determination of the CP energy and molecular property corrections does not require that amplitude or response equations are solved explicitly for the target state and it becomes computationally tractable to use low-order corrections from these series to obtain energies and molecular properties of CL target state quality. For three simple molecules, HF, N2, and CH2, the accuracy of the CL approach for ground-state energies is tested using a parent state including single and double excitations (i.e., the CC singles-and-doubles state, CCSD) and a target state that includes triple excitations. It is found that the size-extensive fifth-order CL energies deviate by less than 0.0001 hartree from the energies of a target CC that includes triple excitations (i.e., the CC singles-doubles-and-triples state, CCSDT). CP theory with a CL target state therefore becomes a very attractive replacement of standard CC theory for high-accuracy energy and molecular property calculations, in which triple and higher excitation levels are considered.