Hartree-Fock method description

While the equations of the Hartree-Fock approach can he rigorously derived, we present them post hoc and give a physical description of the approximations leading to them. The Hartree-Fock method introduces an effective one-electron Hamiltonian. as in equation (47) on page 194 ... 

The Hartree-Fock description of the hydrogen molecule requires two spinorbitals, which are used to build the single-determinant two-electron wave function. In the Restricted Hartree-Fock method (RHF) these two spinorbitals are created from the same spatial... 

One of the simplest chemical reactions involving a barrier, H2 + H —> [H—H—H] —> II + H2, has been investigated in some detail in a number of publications. The theoretical description of this hydrogen abstraction sequence turns out to be quite involved for post-Hartree-Fock methods and is anything but a trivial task for density functional theory approaches. Table 13-7 shows results reported by Johnson et al., 1994, and Csonka and Johnson, 1998, for computed classical barrier heights (without consideration of zero-point vibrational corrections or tunneling effects) obtained with various methods. The CCSD(T) result of 9.9 kcal/mol is probably very accurate and serves as a reference (the experimental barrier, which of course includes zero-point energy contributions, amounts to 9.7 kcal/mol). 

It is important to realize that each of the electronic-structure methods discussed above displays certain shortcomings in reproducing the correct band structure of the host crystal and consequently the positions of defect levels. Hartree-Fock methods severely overestimate the semiconductor band gap, sometimes by several electron volts (Estreicher, 1988). In semi-empirical methods, the situation is usually even worse, and the band structure may not be reliably represented (Deak and Snyder, 1987 Besson et al., 1988). Density-functional theory, on the other hand, provides a quite accurate description of the band structure, except for an underestimation of the band gap (by up to 50%). Indeed, density-functional theory predicts conduction bands and hence conduction-band-derived energy levels to be too low. This problem has been studied in great detail, and its origins are well understood (see, e.g., Hybertsen and Louie, 1986). To solve it, however, requires techniques of many-body theory and carrying out a quasi-particle calculation. Such calculational schemes are presently prohibitively complex and too computationally demanding to apply to defect calculations. 

The description above may seem a little unhelpful since we know that in any interesting system the electrons interact with one another. The many different wave-function-based approaches to solving the Schrodinger equation differ in how these interactions are approximated. To understand the types of approximations that can be used, it is worth looking at the simplest approach, the Hartree-Fock method, in some detail. There are also many similarities between Hartree-Fock calculations and the DFT calculations we have described in the previous sections, so understanding this method is a useful way to view these ideas from a slightly different perspective. 

Although HF theory is useful in its own right for many kinds of investigations, there are some applications for which the neglect of electron correlation or the assumption that the error is constant (and so will cancel) is not warranted. Post-Hartree-Fock methods seek to improve the description of the electron-electron interactions using HF theory as a reference point. Improvements to HF theory can be made in a variety of ways, including the method of configuration interaction (Cl) and by use of many-body perturbation theory (MBPT). It is beyond the scope of this text to treat Cl and MBPT methods in any but the most cursory manner. However, both methods can be introduced from aspects of the theory already discussed. 

Accordingly, dipole moment and polarizability calculations are sensitive to both the quantum chemistry method and the basis set used. Accurate calculations typically require the use of D FTor Hartree-Fock methods with the inclusion of M P2 treatment of electron correlation [53, 54]. Furthermore, Gaussian basis sets should be augmented with diffuse polarization functions to provide an adequate description of the tail regions of density (the most easily polarized regions of the molecule). 

D. Pines examined the collective description of electron interaction in metals Lowdin, an extension of the Hartree-Fock method to include... 

The dissociation of difluorine is a demanding test case used traditionally to benchmark new computational methods. In this regard, the complete failure of the Hartree-Fock method to account for the F2 bond has already been mentioned. Table 1 displays the calculated energies of F2 at a fixed distance of 1.43 A, relative to the separated atoms. Note that at infinite distance, the ionic structures disappear, so that one is left with a pair of singlet-coupled neutral atoms which just corresponds to the Hartree-Fock description of the separated atoms. 

The motion of each electron in the Hartree-Fock approximation is solved for in the presence of the average potential of all the remaining electrons in the system. Because of this, the Hartree-Fock approximation, as discussed earlier, does not provide an adequate description of the repulsion between pairs of electrons. If the electrons have parallel spin, they are effectively kept apart in the Hartree-Fock method by the antisymmetric nature of the wavefunction, producing what is commonly known as the Fermi hole. Electrons of opposite spin, on the other hand, should also avoid each other, but this is not adequately allowed for in the Hartree-Fock method. The avoidance in this latter case is called the Coulomb hole. 

An excellent description of the Hartree and Hartree-Fock method is given by Slater, J. C. Quantum theory of atomic structure, Vol. I, II. New York McGraw-Hill 1960. 

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