Size-extensivity limited CISD methods

The only generally applicable methods are CISD, MP2, MP3, MP4, CCSD and CCSD(T). CISD is variational, but not size extensive, while MP and CC methods are non-variational but size extensive. CISD and MP are in principle non-iterative methods, although the matrix diagonalization involved in CISD usually is so large that it has to be done iteratively. Solution of the coupled cluster equations must be done by an iterative technique since the parameters enter in a non-linear fashion. In terms of the most expensive step in each of the methods they may be classified according to how they formally scale in the large system limit, as shown in Table 4.5. 

Presently, the widely used post-Hartree-Fock approaches to the correlation problem in molecular electronic structure calculations are basically of two kinds, namely, those of variational and those of perturbative nature. The former are typified by various configuration interaction (Cl) or shell-model methods, and employ the linear Ansatz for the wave function in the spirit of Ritz variation principle (c/, e.g. Ref. [21]). However, since the dimension of the Cl problem rapidly increases with increasing size of the system and size of the atomic orbital (AO) basis set employed (see, e.g. the so-called Paldus-Weyl dimension formula [22,23]), one has to rely in actual applications on truncated Cl expansions (referred to as a limited Cl), despite the fact that these expansions are slowly convergent, even when based on the optimal natural orbitals (NOs). Unfortunately, such limited Cl expansions (usually truncated at the doubly excited level relative to the IPM reference, resulting in the CISD method) are unable to properly describe the so-called dynamic correlation, which requires that higher than doubly excited configurations be taken into account. Moreover, the energies obtained with the limited Cl method are not size-extensive. 

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