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Variational Pair-Density Functional Theory : Dealing with Strong Correlation at the Protein Scale

Scott, Mikael LU ; Rodrigues, Gabriel L.S. LU ; Li, Xin and Delcey, Mickael G. LU orcid (2023) In Journal of Chemical Theory and Computation
Abstract

Multiconfigurational pair-density functional theory (MC-PDFT) offers a promising solution to the challenges faced by traditional density functional theory (DFT) in addressing molecular systems containing transition metals, open-shells, or strong correlations in general. By utilizing both the density and on-top pair-density, MC-PDFT can make use of a more flexible multiconfigurational wave function to capture the necessary static correlation, while the pair-density functional also includes the effect of dynamic correlation. So far, MC-PDFT has been used after a multiconfigurational self-consistent field (MCSCF) step, using the orbitals and configuration interaction coefficients from the converged MCSCF wave function to compute PDFT... (More)

Multiconfigurational pair-density functional theory (MC-PDFT) offers a promising solution to the challenges faced by traditional density functional theory (DFT) in addressing molecular systems containing transition metals, open-shells, or strong correlations in general. By utilizing both the density and on-top pair-density, MC-PDFT can make use of a more flexible multiconfigurational wave function to capture the necessary static correlation, while the pair-density functional also includes the effect of dynamic correlation. So far, MC-PDFT has been used after a multiconfigurational self-consistent field (MCSCF) step, using the orbitals and configuration interaction coefficients from the converged MCSCF wave function to compute PDFT energies and properties. Here, instead, we propose to perform a direct optimization of the wave function using the pair-density functionals, resulting in a variational formulation of MC-PDFT. We derive the expressions for the wave function gradient and illustrate their similarity to standard MCSCF equations. Furthermore, we illustrate the accuracy on a set of singlet-triplet gaps as well as dissociation curves. Our findings highlight one of MC-PDFT’s standout features: a reduced dependency on the active space size compared to conventional multiconfigurational wave function methodologies. Additionally, we show that the computational cost of MC-PDFT is potentially lower than MCSCF and often on-par with standard Kohn-Sham DFT, which is demonstrated by performing a MC-PDFT calculation of the entire ferredoxin protein with 1447 atoms and nearly 12 000 basis functions.

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author
; ; and
organization
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Contribution to journal
publication status
epub
subject
in
Journal of Chemical Theory and Computation
publisher
The American Chemical Society (ACS)
external identifiers
  • pmid:38217859
  • scopus:85182570838
ISSN
1549-9618
DOI
10.1021/acs.jctc.3c01240
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
4b7b1b10-147b-4f87-ad6d-c0cefde59943
date added to LUP
2024-02-15 14:55:06
date last changed
2024-04-30 15:28:24
@article{4b7b1b10-147b-4f87-ad6d-c0cefde59943,
  abstract     = {{<p>Multiconfigurational pair-density functional theory (MC-PDFT) offers a promising solution to the challenges faced by traditional density functional theory (DFT) in addressing molecular systems containing transition metals, open-shells, or strong correlations in general. By utilizing both the density and on-top pair-density, MC-PDFT can make use of a more flexible multiconfigurational wave function to capture the necessary static correlation, while the pair-density functional also includes the effect of dynamic correlation. So far, MC-PDFT has been used after a multiconfigurational self-consistent field (MCSCF) step, using the orbitals and configuration interaction coefficients from the converged MCSCF wave function to compute PDFT energies and properties. Here, instead, we propose to perform a direct optimization of the wave function using the pair-density functionals, resulting in a variational formulation of MC-PDFT. We derive the expressions for the wave function gradient and illustrate their similarity to standard MCSCF equations. Furthermore, we illustrate the accuracy on a set of singlet-triplet gaps as well as dissociation curves. Our findings highlight one of MC-PDFT’s standout features: a reduced dependency on the active space size compared to conventional multiconfigurational wave function methodologies. Additionally, we show that the computational cost of MC-PDFT is potentially lower than MCSCF and often on-par with standard Kohn-Sham DFT, which is demonstrated by performing a MC-PDFT calculation of the entire ferredoxin protein with 1447 atoms and nearly 12 000 basis functions.</p>}},
  author       = {{Scott, Mikael and Rodrigues, Gabriel L.S. and Li, Xin and Delcey, Mickael G.}},
  issn         = {{1549-9618}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  publisher    = {{The American Chemical Society (ACS)}},
  series       = {{Journal of Chemical Theory and Computation}},
  title        = {{Variational Pair-Density Functional Theory : Dealing with Strong Correlation at the Protein Scale}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acs.jctc.3c01240}},
  doi          = {{10.1021/acs.jctc.3c01240}},
  year         = {{2023}},
}