Atomic orbital matrix calculation

One should note that (2) requires derivatives of atomic-orbital matrix elements, which can be calculated analytically, but it does not require the derivatives of MO coefficients which are more... 

The calculation proceeds as illustrated in Table 2.2, which shows the variation in the coefficients of the atomic orbitals in the lowest-energy wavefunction and the energy for the first four SCF iterations. The energy is converged to six decimal places after six iterations and the charge density matrix after nine iterations. 

Having the Slater atomic orbitals, the linear combination approximation to molecular orbitals, and the SCF method as applied to the Fock matrix, we are in a position to calculate properties of atoms and molecules ab initio, at the Hartree-Fock level of accuracy. Before doing that, however, we shall continue in the spirit of semiempirical calculations by postponing the ab initio method to Chapter 10 and invoking a rather sophisticated set of approximations and empirical substitutions... 

The technique for this calculation involves two steps. The first step computes the Hamiltonian or energy matrix. The elements of this matrix are integrals involving the atomic orbitals and terms obtained from the Schrodinger equation. The most important con-... 

The second step determines the LCAO coefficients by standard methods for matrix diagonalization. In an Extended Hiickel calculation, this results in molecular orbital coefficients and orbital energies. Ab initio and NDO calculations repeat these two steps iteratively because, in addition to the integrals over atomic orbitals, the elements of the energy matrix depend upon the coefficients of the occupied orbitals. HyperChem ends the iterations when the coefficients or the computed energy no longer change the solution is then self-consistent. The method is known as Self-Consistent Field (SCF) calculation. 

The CPHF equations are linear and can be determined by standard matrix operations. The size of the U matrix is the number of occupied orbitals times the number of virtual orbitals, which in general is quite large, and the CPHF equations are normally solved by iterative methods. Furthermore, as illustrated above, the CPHF equations may be formulated either in an atomic orbital or molecular orbital basis. Although the latter has computational advantages in certain cases, the former is more suitable for use in connection with direct methods (where the atomic integrals are calculated as required), as discussed in Section 3.8.5. 

The calculation of the indices requires the overlap matrix S of atomic orbitals and the first-order density (or population) matrix P (in open-shell systems in addition the spin density matrix Ps). The summations refer to all atomic orbitals /jl centered on atom A, etc. These matrices are all computed during the Hartree-Fock iteration that determines the molecular orbitals. As a result, the three indices can be obtained... 

Fig. 2. This figure shows the electronic energy of the ground state of H2 molecule, calculated in a crude approximation using only one configuration. The benchmark calculation of Kolos and Wolniewicz is exhibited for comparison. Accuracy can be seen to be improved by using more atomic orbitals even when a rough approximation is used for the interelectron repulsion matrix element.

The MCSCF optimization process is only the last step in the computational procedure that leads to the MCSCF wave function. Normally the calculation starts with the selection of an atomic orbital (AO) basis set, in which the molecular orbitals are expanded. The first computational step is then to calculate and save the one- and two-electron integrals. These integrals are commonly processed in different ways. Most MCSCF programs use a supermatrix (as defined in the closed shell HF operator) in order to simplify the evaluation of the energy and different matrix elements. The second step is then the construction of this super-matrix from the list of two-electron integrals. The MCSCF optimization procedure includes a step, where these AO integrals are transformed to MO basis. This transformation is most effectively performed with a symmetry blocked and ordered list of AO integrals. Step... 

Because of the electron interaction terms, the matrix elements in this approximation are themselves a function of the coefficients of the atomic orbitals. Initially, therefore, a reasonable guess is made as to the electronic distribution in the molecule and the calculation carried out until... 

The solution of the secular equation Fy —F5y = 0 requires the evaluation of the constituent matrix terms Fy. The Fy s are, however, themselves functions of the coefficients of the atomic orbitals amt through Pjel and therefore can only be evaluated by solving the secular equation. The Hartree-Fock procedure thus requires that a preliminary guess be made as to the values of the molecular population distribution terms Pici these values are then used to calculate the matrix elements Fy and thence solve the secular determinant. This, in turn, provides a better approximation to the wave function and an. .improved set of values of Pm. The above procedure is repeated with this first improved set and a second improved set evaluated. The process is repeated until no difference is found between successive improved wave functions. Finally, it may be shown that when such a calculation has been iterated to self-consistency the total electronic energy E of a closed shell molecule is given by... 

The implementation of such a model mostly depends on the choice of the atomic orbitals. Linear combinations of Slater Type Orbitals arc natural and moreover allow a good description of one-center matrix elements even at large intemuclear distances. However, a complete analytical calculation of the two-center integrals cannot be performed due to the ETF, and time consuming numerical integrations [6, 7] are required (demanding typically 90% of the total CPU time). 

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