Correlation energy approximations

Although it is now somewhat dated, this book provides one of the best treatments of the Hartree-Fock approximation and the basic ideas involved in evaluating the correlation energy. An especially valuable feature of this book is that much attention is given to how these methods are actually implemented. 

Krishnan R and Pople J A 1978 Approximate fourth-order perturbation theory of the electron correlation energy Int. J. Quantum Chem. 14 91-100... 

HyperChem supports MP2 (second order Mdllcr-l Icsset) correlation energy calcu latiou s u sin g any available basis set. lu order to save main memory and disk space, the HyperChem MP2 electron correlation calculation normally uses a so called frozen-core approximation, i.e. th e in n er sh el I (core) orbitals are omitted. A sett in g in CHHM.IX I allows excitation s from th e core orbitals to be include if necessary (melted core). Only the single poin t calcula-tion is available for this option. 

Size-extensivity is of importance when one wishes to compare several similar systems with different numbers of atoms (i.e., methanol, ethanol, etc.). In all cases, the amount of correlation energy will increase as the number of atoms increases. However, methods that are not size-extensive will give less correlation energy for the larger system when considered in proportion to the number of electrons. Size-extensive methods should be used in order to compare the results of calculations on different-size systems. Methods can be approximately size-extensive. The size-extensivity and size-consistency of various methods are summarized in Table 26.1. 

Configuration interaction (Cl) is a systematic procedure for going beyond the Hartree-Fock approximation. A different systematic approach for finding the correlation energy is perturbation theory... 

The tetramethylammonium salt [Me4N][NSO] is obtained by cation exchange between M[NSO] (M = Rb, Cs) and tetramethylammonium chloride in liquid ammonia. An X-ray structural determination reveals approximately equal bond lengths of 1.43 and 1.44 A for the S-N and S-O bonds, respectively, and a bond angle characteristic bands in the IR spectrum at ca. 1270-1280, 985-1000 and 505-530 cm , corresponding to o(S-N), o(S-O) and (5(NSO), respectively. Ab initio molecular orbital calculations, including a correlation energy correction, indicate that the [NSO] anion is more stable than the isomer [SNO] by at least 9.1 kcal mol . ... 

The principal deficiency of CISD is the lack of the TI term, which is the main reason for CISD not being size extensive. Furthermore, this term becomes more and more important as the number of electrons increases, and CISD therefore recovers a smaller and smaller percentage of the correlation energy as the system increases. There are various approximate corrections for this lack of size extensivity which can be added to standard CISD. The most widely known of these is the Davidson correction, sometimes denoted CISD - - Q(Davidson), where the quadruples contribution is approximated as... 

The LSDA approximation in general underestimates the exchange energy by 10%, thereby creating errors which are larger tlian the whole correlation energy. Electron correlation is furthermore overestimated, often by a factor close to 2, and bond strengths are as a consequence overestimated. Despite the simplicity of the fundamental assumptions, LSDA methods are often found to provide results with an accuracy similar to that obtained by wave mechanics HE methods. 

We have used the basis set of the Linear-Muffin-Tin-Orbital (LMTO) method in the atomic sphere approximation (ASA). The LMTO-ASA is based on the work of Andersen and co-workers and the combined technique allows us to treat all phases on equal footing. To treat itinerant magnetism we have employed the Vosko-Wilk-Nusair parametrization for the exchange-correlation energy density and potential. In conjunction with this we have treated the alloying effects for random and partially ordered phases with a multisublattice generalization of the coherent potential approximation (CPA). 

According to Eq. 11.67, the correlation energy is simply defined as the difference between the exact energy and the energy of the Hartree-Fock approximation. Let us repeat this definition in a more precise form ... 

The correlation energy for a certain state with respect to a specified Hamiltonian is the difference between the exact eigenvalue of the Hamiltonian and its expectation value in the Hartree-Fock approximation for the state under consideration. 

In molecular applications the calculation of the HF energy is a still more difficult problem. It should be observed that, in the SCF-MO-LCAO now commonly in use, one does not determine the exact HF functions but only the best approximation to these functions obtainable within the framework given by the ordinarily occupied AO s. Since the set of these atomic orbitals is usually very far from being complete, the approximation may come out rather poor, and the correlation energy estimated from such a calculation may then turn out to be much too large in absolute order of magnitude. The best calculation so far is perhaps Coulson s treatment of... 

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