Orbital linear response

The orbitals t//(l) and the density represent the reaction of the electronic system to the external perturbation. Because, in both cases, the correction due to the perturbation is limited to the linear terms y/(1) and this approach is also called linear response theory. Consequently, y/ and /Z1 are called linear response orbitals and density, respectively. 

The concerns we have expressed are bound to get even more acute if the problem under study demands that we are able to adequately describe distortion effects induced in the electron distribution by external fields. The evaluation of linear (and, still more, non linear) response funetions [1] by perturbation theory then forces one to take care also of the nonoccupied portion of the complete orbital spectrum, which is entrusted with the role of representing the polarization caused by the external fields in the unperturbed electron distribution [4], ... 

There are several possible ways of deriving the equations for TDDFT. The most natural way departs from density-functional perturbation theory as outlined above. Initially it is assumed that an external perturbation is applied, which oscillates at a frequency co. The linear response of the system is then computed, which will be oscillating with the same imposed frequency co. In contrast with the standard static formulation of DFPT, there will be special frequencies cov for which the solutions of the perturbation theory equations will persist even when the external field vanishes. These particular solutions for orbitals and frequencies describe excited electronic states and energies with very good accuracy. 

The actual form of the Hamiltonian operator hp does not have to be defined at this moment. As in standard perturbation theory, it is assumed that the solution of the electronic structure problem of the combined Hamiltonian HKS +HP can be described as the solution y/(0) of HKS, corrected by a small additional linear-response wavefunction /b//(,). Only these response orbitals will explicitly depend on time - they will follow the oscillations of the external perturbation and adopt its time dependency. Thus, the following Ansatz is made for the solution of the perturbed Hamiltonian HKS +HP ... 

Time-dependent response theory concerns the response of a system initially in a stationary state, generally taken to be the ground state, to a perturbation turned on slowly, beginning some time in the distant past. The assumption that the perturbation is turned on slowly, i.e. the adiabatic approximation, enables us to consider the perturbation to be of first order. In TD-DFT the density response dp, i.e. the density change which results from the perturbation dveff, enables direct determination of the excitation energies as the poles of the response function dP (the linear response of the KS density matrix in the basis of the unperturbed molecular orbitals) without formally having to calculate a(co). 

In what follows, we present in this short review, the basic formalism of TDDFT of many-electron systems (1) for periodic TD scalar potentials, and also (2) for arbitrary TD electric and magnetic fields in a generalized manner. Practical schemes within the framework of quantum hydrodynamical approach as well as the orbital-based TD single-particle Schrodinger-like equations are presented. Also discussed is the linear response formalism within the framework of TDDFT along with a few miscellaneous aspects. 

In this chapter, we therefore consider whether it is possible to eliminate spin-orbit coupling from four-component relativistic calculations. This is a situation quite different from that of more approximate relativistic methods where a considerable effort is required for the inclusion of spin-orbit coupling. We have previously shown that it is indeed possible to eliminate spin-orbit coupling from the calculation of spectroscopic constants [12,13]. In this chapter, we consider the extension of the previous result to the calculation of second-order electric and magnetic properties, i.e., linear response functions. Although the central question of this article may seem somewhat technical, it will be seen that its consideration throws considerable light on the fundamental interactions in molecular systems. We will even claim that four-component relativistic theory is the optimal framework for the understanding of such interactions since they are inherently relativistic. 

In the self-consistent field linear response method [25,46,48] also known as random phase approximation (RPA) [49] or first order polarization propagator approximation [25,46], which is equivalent to the coupled Hartree-Fock theory [50], the reference state is approximated by the Hartree-Fock self-consistent field wavefunction < scf) and the set of operators /i j consists of single excitation and de-excitation operators with respect to orbital rotation operators [51],... 

In the absence of dynamic and static disorder, all partially filled band systems would exhibit coherent transport over long distances. With static and dynamic disorder, the modulation of the simple molecular orbital or band structure by nuclear effects entirely dominates transport. This is clear both in the Kubo linear response formulation of conductivity and in the Marcus-Hush-Jortner formulation of ET rates. The DNA systems are remarkable for the different kinds of disorder they exhibit in addition to the ordinary static and dynamic disorder expected in any soft material, DNA has the covalent disorder arising from the choice of A, T, G, or C at each substitution base site along the backbone. Additionally, DNA has the characteristic orientational and metric (helicoidal) disorder parameters arising from the fundamental motif of electron motion along the r-stack. 

Continuum solvation models consider the solvent as a homogeneous, isotropic, linear dielectric medium [104], The solute is considered to occupy a cavity in this medium. The ability of a bulk dielectric medium to be polarized and hence to exert an electric field back on the solute (this field is called the reaction field) is determined by the dielectric constant. The dielectric constant depends on the frequency of the applied field, and for equilibrium solvation we use the static dielectric constant that corresponds to a slowly changing field. In order to obtain accurate results, the solute charge distribution should be optimized in the presence of the field (the reaction field) exerted back on the solute by the dielectric medium. This is usually done by a quantum mechanical molecular orbital calculation called a self-consistent reaction field (SCRF) calculation, which is iterative since the reaction field depends on the distortion of the solute wave function and vice versa. While the assumption of linear homogeneous response is adequate for the solvent molecules at distant positions, it is a poor representation for the solute-solvent interaction in the first solvation shell. In this case, the solute sees the atomic-scale charge distribution of the solvent molecules and polarizes nonlinearly and system specifically on an atomic scale (see Figure 3.9). More generally, one could say that the breakdown of the linear response approximation is connected with the fact that the liquid medium is structured [105],... 

The time-dependent KS Eq. 3 can be used to simulate the full time evolution of the density. However, in this review article we shall exclusively consider the linear response TDDF(R)T approach. Its starting point is Eq. 3 with the time-independent potential vSCT(ri). In this case, the orbitals phase factor that oscillates in time... 

Nesbet, R.K. (2001). Orbital functional theory of linear response and excitation, Int. 

The fermion creation and destruction operators are defined such that apa +a ap = Spq. In analogy to relativistic theory, and more appropriate to the linear response theory to be considered here, the elementary fermion operators ap can be treated as algebraic objects fixed in time, while the orbital functions are solutions of a time-dependent Schrodinger equation... 

V-clcctron state T, correlation energy can be defined for any stationary state by Ec = E — / o, where Eo = ( //1) and E = ( // 4 ). Conventional normalization ) = ( ) = 1 is assumed. A formally exact functional Fc[4>] exists for stationary states, for which a mapping — F is established by the Schrodinger equation [292], Because both and p are defined by the occupied orbital functions occupation numbers nt, /i 4>, E[p and E[ (p, ] are equivalent functionals. Since E0 is an explicit orbital functional, any approximation to Ec as an orbital functional defines a TOFT theory. Because a formally exact functional Ec exists for stationary states, linear response of such a state can also be described by a formally exact TOFT theory. In nonperturbative time-dependent theory, total energy is defined only as a mean value E(t), which lies outside the range of definition of the exact orbital functional Ec [ ] for stationary states. Although this may preclude a formally exact TOFT theory, the formalism remains valid for any model based on an approximate functional Ec. 

When extended to include electronic correlation, for which an exact but implicit orbital functional was derived above, the TDHF formalism becomes a formally exact theory of linear response. In practice, some simplified orbital functional Ec[ 4>i ] must be used, and the accuracy of results is limited by this choice. The Hartree-Fock operator Ti is replaced by G = Ti + vc. Dirac defines an idempo-tent density operator p whose kernel is JA i(r) i (r/)- The Did. equations are equivalent to [0, p] = 0. The corresponding time-dependent equations are itijtP = [Q(t), p(t)]. Dirac proved, for Hermitian G, (hat the time-dependent equation ih i(rt) implies that p(l) is idempotent. Hence pit) corresponds to a normalized time-dependent reference state. 

Also in response theory the summation over excited states is effectively replaced by solving a system of linear equations. Spin-orbit matrix elements are obtained from linear response functions, whereas quadratic response functions can most elegantly be utilized to compute spin-forbidden radiative transition probabilities. We refrain from going into details here, because an excellent review on this subject has been published by Agren et al.118 While these authors focus on response theory and its application in the framework of Cl and multiconfiguration self-consistent field (MCSCF) procedures, an analogous scheme using coupled-cluster electronic structure methods was presented lately by Christiansen et al.124... 

Spin-Orbit Coupling Constants in a Multiconfiguration Linear Response Approach. 

A large number of spin-orbit properties can now be derived from the response functions. From the linear response function we can deduce the second-order energy correction due to SOC (see section 4.1),... 

This section summarizes the TDDFT linear response approach to compute optical rotation and circular dichroism. For reasons of brevity, assume a closed shell system, real orbitals, and a complete basis set (see Sect. 2.4 for comments regarding basis set incompleteness issues). From solving the canonical ground state Kohn-Sham (KS) equations,... 

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