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We present an efficient, open-source formulation for coupled-cluster theory through perturbative triples with domain-based local pair natural orbitals [DLPNO-CCSD(T)]. Similar to the implementation of the DLPNO-CCSD(T) method found in the ORCA package, the most expensive integral generation and contraction steps associated with the CCSD(T) method are linear-scaling. In this work, we show that the t1-transformed Hamiltonian allows for a less complex algorithm when evaluating the local CCSD(T) energy without compromising efficiency or accuracy. Our algorithm yields sub-kJ mol-1 deviations for relative energies when compared with canonical CCSD(T), with typical errors being on the order of 0.1 kcal mol-1, using our TightPNO parameters. We extensively tested and optimized our algorithm and parameters for non-covalent interactions, which have been the most difficult interaction to model for orbital (PNO)-based methods historically. To highlight the capabilities of our code, we tested it on large water clusters, as well as insulin (787 atoms)., (© 2024 Author(s). Published under an exclusive license by AIP Publishing.)

A consideration of the point group symmetry of molecules is often advantageous from a computational efficiency standpoint and sometimes necessary for the correct treatment of chemical physics problems. Many modern electronic structure software packages include a treatment of symmetry, but these are sometimes incomplete or unusable outside of that program's environment. Therefore, we have developed the MolSym package for handling molecular symmetry and its associated functionalities to provide a platform for including symmetry in the implementation and development of other methods. Features include point group detection, molecule symmetrization, arbitrary generation of symmetry element sets and character tables, and symmetry adapted linear combinations of real spherical harmonic basis functions, Cartesian displacement coordinates, and internal coordinates. We present some of the advantages of using molecular symmetry as achieved by MolSym, particularly with respect to Hartree-Fock theory, and the reduction of finite difference displacements in gradient/Hessian computations. This package is designed to be easily integrated into other software development efforts and may be extended to further symmetry applications., (© 2024 Author(s). Published under an exclusive license by AIP Publishing.)

High-level potential energy surfaces for three reactions of hypobromous acid with atomic hydrogen were computed at the CCSDTQ/CBS//CCSDT(Q)/complete basis set level of theory. Focal point analysis was utilized to extrapolate energies and gradients for energetics and optimizations, respectively. The H attack at Br and subsequent Br-O cleavage were found to proceed barrierlessly. The slightly submerged transition state lies -0.2 kcal mol-1 lower in energy than the reactants and produces OH and HBr. The two other studied reaction paths are the radical substitution to produce H2O and Br with a 4.0 kcal mol-1 barrier and the abstraction at hydrogen to produce BrO and H2 with an 11.2 kcal mol-1 barrier. The final product energies lie -37.2, -67.9, and -7.3 kcal mol-1 lower in energy than reactants, HOBr + H, for the sets of products OH + HBr, H2O + Br, and H2 + BrO, respectively. Additive corrections computed for the final energetics, particularly the zero-point vibrational energies and spin-orbit corrections, significantly impacted the final stationary point energies, with corrections up to 6.2 kcal mol-1., (© 2024 Author(s). Published under an exclusive license by AIP Publishing.)

Criegee intermediates, formed from the ozonolysis of alkenes, are known to have a role in atmospheric chemistry, including the modulation of the oxidizing capacity of the troposphere. Although studies have been conducted since their discovery, the synthesis of these species in the laboratory has ushered in a new wave of investigations of these structures, both theoretically and experimentally. In some of these theoretical studies, high-order corrections for correlation energy are included to account for the mid multi-reference character found in these systems. Many of these studies include a focus on kinetics; therefore, the calculated energies should be accurate (<1 kcal/mol in error). In this research, we compute the enthalpies of formation for a small set of Criegee intermediates, including higher-order coupled cluster corrections for correlation energy up to coupled cluster with perturbative quintuple excitations. The enthalpies of formation for formaldehyde oxide, anti-acetaldehyde oxide, syn-acetaldehyde oxide, and acetone oxide are presented at 0 K as 26.5, 15.6, 12.2, and 0.1 kcal mol -1 , respectively. Additionally, we do not recommend the coupled cluster with perturbative quadruple excitations [CCSDT(Q)] energy correction, as it is approximately twice as large as that of the coupled cluster with full quadruple excitations (CCSDTQ). Half of the CCSDT(Q) energy correction may be included as a reliable, cost-effective estimation of CCSDTQ energies for Criegee intermediates.

Butyl radicals (n-, s-, i-, and tert-butyl) are formed from the pyrolysis of stable precursors (1-pentyl nitrite, 2-methyl-1-butyl nitrite, isopentyl nitrite, and azo-tert-butane, respectively). The radicals are doped into a beam of liquid helium droplets and probed with infrared action spectroscopy from 2700 to 3125 cm -1 , allowing for a low temperature measurement of the CH stretching region. The presence of anharmonic resonance polyads in the 2800-3000 cm -1 region complicates its interpretation. To facilitate spectral assignment, the anharmonic resonances are modeled with two model Hamiltonian approaches that explicitly couple CH stretch fundamentals to HCH bend overtones and combinations: a VPT2+K normal mode model based on coupled-cluster with single, double, and perturbative triple excitations [CCSD(T)] quartic force fields and a semi-empirical local mode model. Both of these computational methods provide generally good agreement with the experimental spectra.

We study the combination of orbital-optimized density cumulant theory and a new parameterization of reduced density matrices in which the variables are the particle-hole cumulant elements. We call this combination OλDCT. We find that this new Ansatz solves problems identified in the previous unitary coupled cluster Ansatz for density cumulant theory: the theory is now free of near-zero denominators between occupied and virtual blocks, can correctly describe the dissociation of H 2 , and is rigorously size-extensive. In addition, the new Ansatz has fewer terms than the previous unitary Ansatz, and the optimal orbitals delivered by the exact theory are the natural orbitals. Numerical studies on systems amenable to full configuration interaction show that the amplitudes from the previous ODC-12 method approximate the exact amplitudes predicted by this Ansatz. Studies on equilibrium properties of diatomic molecules show that even with the new Ansatz, it is necessary to include triples to improve the accuracy of the method compared to orbital-optimized linearized coupled cluster doubles. With a simple iterative triples correction, OλDCT outperforms other orbital-optimized methods truncated at comparable levels in the amplitudes, as well as coupled cluster single and doubles with perturbative triples [CCSD(T)]. By adding four more terms to the cumulant parameterization, OλDCT outperforms CCSDT while having the same O(V 5 O 3 ) scaling.

Community efforts in the computational molecular sciences (CMS) are evolving toward modular, open, and interoperable interfaces that work with existing community codes to provide more functionality and composability than could be achieved with a single program. The Quantum Chemistry Common Driver and Databases (QCDB) project provides such capability through an application programming interface (API) that facilitates interoperability across multiple quantum chemistry software packages. In tandem with the Molecular Sciences Software Institute and their Quantum Chemistry Archive ecosystem, the unique functionalities of several CMS programs are integrated, including CFOUR, GAMESS, NWChem, OpenMM, Psi4, Qcore, TeraChem, and Turbomole, to provide common computational functions, i.e., energy, gradient, and Hessian computations as well as molecular properties such as atomic charges and vibrational frequency analysis. Both standard users and power users benefit from adopting these APIs as they lower the language barrier of input styles and enable a standard layout of variables and data. These designs allow end-to-end interoperable programming of complex computations and provide best practices options by default.

The previously proposed Ansatz for density cumulant theory that combines orbital-optimization and a parameterization of the 2-electron reduced density matrix cumulant in terms of unitary coupled cluster amplitudes (OUDCT) is carefully examined. Formally, we elucidate the relationship between OUDCT and orbital-optimized unitary coupled cluster theory and show the existence of near-zero denominators in the stationarity conditions for both the exact and some approximate OUDCT methods. We implement methods of the OUDCT Ansatz restricted to double excitations for numerical study, up to the fifth commutator in the Baker-Campbell-Hausdorff expansion. We find that methods derived from the Ansatz beyond the previously known ODC-12 method tend to be less accurate for equilibrium properties and less reliable when attempting to describe H 2 dissociation. New developments are needed to formulate more accurate density cumulant theory variants.

PSI4 is a free and open-source ab initio electronic structure program providing implementations of Hartree-Fock, density functional theory, many-body perturbation theory, configuration interaction, density cumulant theory, symmetry-adapted perturbation theory, and coupled-cluster theory. Most of the methods are quite efficient, thanks to density fitting and multi-core parallelism. The program is a hybrid of C++ and Python, and calculations may be run with very simple text files or using the Python API, facilitating post-processing and complex workflows; method developers also have access to most of PSI4's core functionalities via Python. Job specification may be passed using The Molecular Sciences Software Institute (MolSSI) QCSCHEMA data format, facilitating interoperability. A rewrite of our top-level computation driver, and concomitant adoption of the MolSSI QCARCHIVE INFRASTRUCTURE project, makes the latest version of PSI4 well suited to distributed computation of large numbers of independent tasks. The project has fostered the development of independent software components that may be reused in other quantum chemistry programs.

The acetonyl radical ( • CH 2 COCH 3 ) is relevant to atmospheric and combustion chemistry due to its prevalence in many important reaction mechanisms. One such reaction mechanism is the decomposition of Criegee intermediates in the atmosphere that can produce acetonyl radical and OH. In order to understand the fate of the acetonyl radical in these environments and to create more accurate kinetics models, we have examined the reaction system of the acetonyl radical with O 2 using highly reliable theoretical methods. Structures were optimized using coupled cluster theory with singles, doubles, and perturbative triples [CCSD(T)] with an atomic natural orbital (ANO0) basis set. Energetics were computed to chemical accuracy using the focal point approach involving perturbative treatment of quadruple excitations [CCSDT(Q)] and basis sets as large as cc-pV5Z. The addition of O 2 to the acetonyl radical produces the acetonylperoxy radical, and multireference computations on this reaction suggest it to be barrierless. No submerged pathways were found for the unimolecular isomerization of the acetonylperoxy radical. Besides dissociation to reactants, the lowest energy pathway available for the acetonylperoxy radical is a 1-5 H shift from the methyl group to the peroxy group through a transition state that is 3.3 kcal mol -1 higher in energy than acetonyl radical + O 2 . The ultimate products from this pathway are the enol tautomer of the acetonyl radical along with O 2 . Multiple pathways that lead to OH formation are considered; however, all of these pathways are predicted to be energetically inaccessible, except at high temperatures.

Sulfurous acid (H 2 SO 3 ) is an infamously elusive molecule. Although some theoretical papers have supposed possible roles for it in more complicated systems, it has yet to be experimentally observed. To aid experiment in detecting this molecule, we have examined the H 2 O + SO 2 potential energy surface at the CCSDT(Q)/CBS//CCSD(T)-F12b/cc-pVTZ-F12b level of theory to resolve standing discrepancies in previous reports and predict the gas-phase vibrational spectrum for H 2 SO 3 . We find that sulfurous acid has two potentially detectable rotamers, separated by 1.1 kcal mol -1 ΔH 0K with a torsional barrier of 1.6 kcal mol -1 . The sulfonic acid isomer is only 6.9 kcal mol -1 above the lowest enthalpy sulfurous acid rotamer, but the barrier to form it is 57.2 kcal mol -1 . Error in previous reports can be attributed to misidentified stationary points, the use of density functionals that perform poorly for this system, and, most importantly, the basis set sensitivity of sulfur. Using VPT2+K, we determine that the intense S=O stretch fundamental of each species is separated from other intense peaks by at least 25 cm -1 , providing a target for identification by infrared spectroscopy.

Vinoxy radicals are involved in numerous atmospheric and combustion mechanisms. High-level theoretical methods have recently shed new light on the reaction of the unsubstituted vinoxy radical with O 2 . The reactions of 1-methylvinoxy radical and 2-methylvinoxy radical with molecular oxygen have experimental high pressure limiting rate constants, k ∞ , 5-7 times higher than that of the vinoxy plus O 2 reaction. In this work, high-level ab initio quantum chemical computations are applied to the 2-methylvinoxy radical plus O 2 system, namely, the formation and isomerization of the 1-oxo-2-propylperoxy radical, the immediate product of O 2 addition to the 2-methylvinoxy radical. Multireference methods were applied to the entrance channel. No barrier to O 2 addition could be located, and more sophisticated treatment of dynamic electron correlation shows that the principal difference between O 2 addition to the vinoxy and 2-methylvinoxy radicals is a larger steric factor for 2-methylvinoxy + O 2 . This is attributed to the favorable interaction between the incoming O 2 molecule and the methyl group of the 2-methylvinoxy radical. Via the focal point approach, energetics for this reaction were determined, in most cases, to chemical accuracy. The coupled-cluster singles, doubles, and perturbative triples [CCSD(T)] correlation energy and Hartree-Fock energies were independently extrapolated to the complete basis set limit. A correction for the effect of higher excitations was computed at the CCSDT(Q)/6-31G level. Corrections for the frozen-core approximation, the Born-Oppenheimer approximation, the nonrelativistic approximation, and the zero-point vibrational energy were included. From the 1-oxo-2-propylperoxy radical, dissociation to reactants is competitive with the lowest energy isomerization pathway. The lowest energy isomerization pathway ultimately forms acetaldehyde, CO, and · OH as the final products.

Benzene and 23 monosubstituted and 32 disubstituted derivatives of benzene were optimized for minimum energy structures using the B3LYP/cc-pVTZ method. The force fields of all the compounds were evaluated at their optimized geometries using the same method and basis set. In order to understand the effect of substitution(s) on the aromaticity of benzene, the aromaticity index based on interaction coordinates (AIBIC) values were computed for each and the change from the benzene value was obtained. This difference, the substituent effect based on interaction coordinates (SEBIC), quantifies the effect of the substituent on the aromaticity of benzene ring satisfactorily. It is found that the AIBIC of disubstituted benzenes (XC 6 H 4 Y) could be predicted well by adding the respective SEBIC(C 6 H 5 X) and SEBIC(C 6 H 5 Y) values to the AIBIC of benzene. The projected force fields of the meta and para fragments of the monosubstituted benzenes when chosen properly contain the information about the directing influence of the substituent in terms of the electron density based on interaction coordinates (EDBIC). When the EDBIC(para) > EDBIC(meta) relative to benzene, the substituent is ortho-para directing, while when the reverse is true, it is meta directing. The effect of conformational changes on aromaticity has been studied using aminophenols and dihydroxybenzenes. The additivity rule and the EDBIC concept work adequately well in that the methods can have several useful practical applications that will benefit various areas of science. A good understanding of the substituent effects and the ability to predict them should add a new dimension to the applications of AIBIC.

The peculiar electronic absorption spectrum of H 2 CN has been of great interest to experiment. Herein, this system is studied extensively by applying theoretical methods to the ground and low-lying excited electronic states. Employing a large breadth of high-level ab initio computations, including coupled cluster [CCSD(T) and CCSDT(Q)] and multireference configuration interaction [MRCISD+Q] methods, we comprehensively demonstrate that the most recent experimental and theoretical interpretations of the electronic spectrum of H 2 CN are in error. The previous assignments of the two broad features in the spectrum as the origin 0 0 0 (∼35 050 cm -1 ) and 4 0 2 (∼35 600 cm -1 ) B ̃   2 A 1 ← X ̃   2 B 2 transitions are both found to be incorrect. The presently reported transition energies suggest that the higher energy band near 35 600 cm -1 is the true origin band. Additionally, from the computed anharmonic vibrational frequencies of the X ̃   2 B 2 and B ̃   2 A 1 states, we show that this ∼550 cm -1 band spacing cannot be attributed to a simple vibronic transition, as claimed by the 4 0 2 assignment. Possible alternative explanations for the appearance of the lower intensity band near 35 050 cm -1 are discussed.

We use a direct product basis, basis vectors computed by evaluating matrix-vector products, and rank reduction to calculate vibrational energy levels of uracil and naphthalene, with 12 and 18 atoms, respectively. A matrix representing the Hamiltonian in the direct product basis and vectors with as many components as there are direct product basis functions are neither calculated nor stored. We also introduce an improvement of the Hierarchical Intertwined Reduced-Rank Block Power Method (HI-RRBPM), proposed previously in Thomas and Carrington, Jr. [J. Chem. Phys. 146 , 204110 (2017)]. It decreases the memory cost of the HI-RRBPM and enables one to compute vibrational spectra of molecules with over a dozen atoms with a typical desktop computer.

Numerous processes in atmospheric and combustion chemistry produce the vinoxy radical ( • CH 2 CHO). To understand the fate of this radical and to provide reliable energies needed for kinetic modeling of such processes, we have examined its reaction with O 2 using highly reliable theoretical methods. Utilizing the focal point approach, the energetics of this reaction and subsequent reactions were obtained using coupled-cluster theory with single, double, and perturbative triple excitations [CCSD(T)] extrapolated to the complete basis set limit. These extrapolated energies were appended with several corrections including a treatment of full triples and connected quadruple excitations, i.e., CCSDT(Q). In addition, this study models the initial vinoxy radical + O 2 reaction for the first time with multireference methods. We predict a barrier for this reaction of approximately 0.4 kcal mol -1 . This result agrees with experimental findings but is in disagreement with previous theoretical studies. The vinoxy radical + O 2 reaction produces a 2-oxoethylperoxy radical which can undergo a number of unimolecular reactions. Abstraction of a β-hydrogen (a 1,4-hydrogen shift) and dissociation back to reactants are predicted to be competitive to each other due to their similar barriers of 21.2 and 22.3 kcal mol -1 , respectively. The minimum-energy β-hydrogen abstraction pathway produces a hydroperoxy radical (QOOH) that eventually decomposes to formaldehyde, CO, and • OH. Two other unimolecular reactions of the peroxy radical are α-hydrogen abstraction (38.7 kcal mol -1 barrier) and HO 2 • elimination (43.5 kcal mol -1 barrier). These pathways lead to glyoxal + • OH and ketene + HO 2 • formation, respectively, but they are expected to be uncompetitive due to their high barriers.

Based on their highly sophisticated crossed-beam experimental studies of the Al + CO 2 → AlO + CO reaction, Honma and Hirata have directly challenged the results of earlier theoretical studies of this system. We report high level theoretical studies of this system. It is shown that, consistent with Honma-Hirata experimental conclusions, the previous theoretical prediction of a substantial barrier height for this reaction was incorrect. However, for the structures of the possible intermediates, in agreement with the 1992 theoretical study of Sakai, we find striking disagreement with the experimental conclusion that the O-C-O moiety is nearly linear. The energies of the three entrance channel intermediates lie 14.4, 15.2, and 16.4 kcal mol -1 below separated Al + CO 2 .

Alkyl combustion models depend on kinetic parameters derived from reliable experimental or theoretical energetics that are often unavailable for larger species. To this end, we have performed a comprehensive investigation of the tert-butyl radical (R • in this paper) autoignition pathways. CCSD(T)/ANO0 geometries and harmonic vibrational frequencies were obtained for key stationary points for the R • + O 2 and QOOH + O 2 mechanisms. Relative energies were computed to chemical accuracy (±1 kcal mol -1 ) via extrapolation of RCCSD(T) energies to the complete basis-set limit, or usage of RCCSD(T)-F12 methods. At 0 K, the minimum energy R • + O 2 pathway involves direct elimination of HO 2 ∙ (30.3 kcal mol -1 barrier) from the tert-butyl peroxy radical (ROO • ) to give isobutene. This pathway lies well below the competing QOOH-forming intramolecular hydrogen abstraction pathway (36.2 kcal mol -1 barrier) and ROO • dissociation (35.9 kcal mol -1 barrier). The most favorable decomposition channel for QOOH radicals leads to isobutene oxide (12.0 kcal mol -1 barrier) over isobutene (18.6 kcal mol -1 barrier). For the QOOH + O 2 pathways, we studied the transition states and initial products along three pathways: (1) α-hydrogen abstraction (42.0 kcal mol -1 barrier), (2) γ-hydrogen abstraction (27.0 kcal mol -1 barrier), and (3) hydrogen transfer to the peroxy moiety (24.4 kcal mol -1 barrier). The barrier is an extensive modification to the previous 18.7 kcal mol -1 value and warrants further study. However, it is still likely that the lowest energy QOOH + O 2 pathway corresponds to pathway (3). We found significant spin contamination and/or multireference character in multiple stationary points, especially for transition states stemming from QOOH. Lastly, we provide evidence for an A∼-X∼ surface crossing at a C s -symmetric, intramolecular hydrogen abstraction structure.

The n-propyl and i-propyl radicals were generated in the gas phase via pyrolysis of n-butyl nitrite [CH 3 (CH 2 ) 3 ONO] and i-butyl nitrite [(CH 3 ) 2 CHCH 2 ONO], respectively. Nascent radicals were promptly solvated by a beam of He nanodroplets, and the infrared spectra of the radicals were recorded in the CH stretching region. Several previously unreported bands are observed between 2800 and 3150 cm -1 . The CH stretching modes observed above 3000 cm -1 are in excellent agreement with CCSD(T) anharmonic frequencies computed using second-order vibrational perturbation theory. However, between 2800 and 3000 cm -1 , the spectra of n- and i-propyl radicals become congested and difficult to assign due to the presence of multiple anharmonic resonance polyads. To model the spectrally congested region, Fermi and Darling-Dennison resonances are treated explicitly using "dressed" Hamiltonians and CCSD(T) quartic force fields in the normal mode representation, and the agreement with experiment is less than satisfactory. Computations employing local mode effective Hamiltonians reveal the origin of the spectral congestion to be strong coupling between the high frequency CH stretching modes and the lower frequency CH n bending/scissoring motions. The most significant coupling is between stretches and bends localized on the same CH 2 /CH 3 group. Spectral simulations using the local mode approach are in excellent agreement with experiment.

Methylperoxy radical (CH3O2) and nitric oxide (NO) contribute to the propagation of photochemical smog in the troposphere via the production of methoxy radical (CH3O) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2). This reaction system also furnishes trace quantities of methyl nitrate (CH3ONO2), a sink for reactive NOx species. Here, the CH3O2 + NO reaction is examined with highly reliable coupled-cluster methods. Specifically, equilibrium geometries for the reactants, products, intermediates, and transition states of the ground-state potential energy surface are characterized. Relative reaction enthalpies at 0 K (ΔH0K) are reported; these values are comprised of electronic energies extrapolated to the complete basis set limit of CCSDT(Q) and zero-point vibrational energies computed at CCSD(T)/cc-pVTZ. A two-part mechanism involving CH3O and NO2 production followed by radical recombination to CH3ONO2 is determined to be the primary channel for formation of CH3ONO2 under tropospheric conditions. Constrained optimizations of the reaction paths at CCSD(T)/cc-pVTZ suggest that the homolytic bond dissociations involved in this reaction path are barrierless.

Peroxyacetyl radical [CH3C(O)O2] is among the most abundant peroxy radicals in the atmosphere and is involved in OH-radical recycling along with peroxyacetyl nitrate formation. Herein, the ground (X̃) and first (Ã) excited state surfaces of cis and trans peroxyacetyl radical are characterized using high-level ab initio methods. Geometries, anharmonic vibrational frequencies, and adiabatic excitation energies extrapolated to the complete basis-set limit are reported from computations with coupled-cluster theory. Excitation of the trans conformer is found to induce a symmetry-breaking conformational change due to second-order Jahn-Teller interactions with higher-lying excited states. Additional benchmark computations are provided to aid future theoretical work on peroxy radicals.

A new approach to density cumulant functional theory is developed that derives density cumulant N-representability conditions from an approximate Fock space unitary transformation. We present explicit equations for the third- and fourth-order two-particle cumulant N-representability, as well as the second-order contributions that depend on the connected three-particle density cumulant. These conditions are used to formulate the ODC-13 method and the non-iterative (λ3) correction that employ an incomplete description of the fourth-order two-particle cumulant N-representability and the second-order three-particle correlation effects, respectively. We perform an analysis of the ODC-13 N-representability description for the dissociation of H2 and apply the ODC-13 method and the (λ3) correction to diatomic molecules with multiple bond character and the symmetry-breaking tetraoxygen cation (O4(+)). For the O4(+) molecule, the vibrational frequencies of the ODC-13(λ3) method do not exhibit spatial symmetry breaking and are in a good agreement with the recent infrared photodissociation experiment. We report the O4(+) equilibrium structure, harmonic frequencies, and dissociation energy computed using ODC-13(λ3) with a diffuse, core-correlated aug-cc-pCVTZ basis set.

Next-generation molecular force fields deliver accurate descriptions of non-covalent interactions by employing more elaborate functional forms than their predecessors. Much work has been dedicated to improving the description of the electrostatic potential (ESP) generated by these force fields. A common approach to improving the ESP is by augmenting the point charges on each center with higher-order multipole moments. The resulting anisotropy greatly improves the directionality of the non-covalent bonding, with a concomitant increase in computational cost. In this work, we develop an efficient strategy for enumerating multipole interactions, by casting an efficient spherical harmonic based approach within a particle mesh Ewald (PME) framework. Although the derivation involves lengthy algebra, the final expressions are relatively compact, yielding an approach that can efficiently handle both finite and periodic systems without imposing any approximations beyond PME. Forces and torques are readily obtained, making our method well suited to modern molecular dynamics simulations.

The entrance complex, transition state, and exit complex for the title reaction have been investigated using the CCSD(T) method with correlation consistent basis sets up to cc-pVQZ. The stationary point geometries for the reaction are related to but different from those for the water monomer reaction HCl + OH → Cl + H2O. Our most important conclusion is that the hydrogen-bonded water molecule removes the classical barrier entirely. For the endothermic reverse reaction Cl + (H2O)2, the second water molecule lowers the relative energies of the entrance complex, transition state, and exit complex by about 4 kcal/mol. The title reaction is exothermic by 17.7 kcal/mol. The entrance complex HCl⋯OH·(H2O) is bound by 6.9 kcal/mol relative to the separated reactants. The classical barrier height for the reverse reaction is predicted to be 16.5 kcal/mol. The exit complex Cl⋯(H2O)2 is found to lie 6.8 kcal/mol below the separated products. The potential energy surface for the Cl + (H2O)2 reaction is radically different from that for the valence isoelectronic F + (H2O)2 system.

In density cumulant functional theory (DCFT) the electronic energy is evaluated from the one-particle density matrix and two-particle density cumulant, circumventing the computation of the wavefunction. To achieve this, the one-particle density matrix is decomposed exactly into the mean-field (idempotent) and correlation components. While the latter can be entirely derived from the density cumulant, the former must be obtained by choosing a specific set of orbitals. In the original DCFT formulation [W. Kutzelnigg, J. Chem. Phys. 125, 171101 (2006)] the orbitals were determined by diagonalizing the effective Fock operator, which introduces partial orbital relaxation. Here we present a new orbital-optimized formulation of DCFT where the energy is variationally minimized with respect to orbital rotations. This introduces important energy contributions and significantly improves the description of the dynamic correlation. In addition, it greatly simplifies the computation of analytic gradients, for which expressions are also presented. We offer a perturbative analysis of the new orbital stationarity conditions and benchmark their performance for a variety of chemical systems.

The forward and reverse reactions Cl + H2O → HCl + OH are very important in atmospheric chemistry. The entrance complex, transition state, and exit complex for the endothermic reaction Cl + H2O → HCl + OH have been studied using the CCSD(T) method with the correlation consistent basis sets through cc-pVQZ. The vibrational frequencies and the zero-point vibrational energies of the five stationary points for the reaction are reported and compared to the limited available experimental results. Contrary to the valence isoelectronic F + H2O system, the Cl + H2O reaction is endothermic by 18.4 kcal∕mol. The two potential energy surfaces found to be radically different. The Cl + H2O entrance complex is found to lie 3.5 kcal∕mol below the separated reactants. The classical barrier height for the title reaction is predicted to be 20.8 kcal∕mol. The exit complex is bound by 3.7 kcal∕mol relative to separated products. From the atmospherically important Cl + OH side, there is a small classical barrier of 2.4 kcal∕mol.

The ethyl radical has been isolated and spectroscopically characterized in (4)He nanodroplets. The band origins of the five CH stretch fundamentals are shifted by < 2 cm(-1) from those reported for the gas phase species [S. Davis, D. Uy, and D. J. Nesbitt, J. Chem. Phys. 112, 1823 (2000); T. Häber, A. C. Blair, D. J. Nesbitt, and M. D. Schuder, J. Chem. Phys. 124, 054316 (2006)]. The symmetric CH2 stretching band (v1) is rotationally resolved, revealing nuclear spin statistical weights predicted by G12 permutation-inversion group theory. A permanent electric dipole moment of 0.28 (2) D is obtained via the Stark spectrum of the v1 band. The four other CH stretch fundamental bands are significantly broadened in He droplets and lack rotational fine structure. This broadening is attributed to symmetry dependent vibration-to-vibration relaxation facilitated by the He droplet environment. In addition to the five fundamentals, three a1' overtone∕combination bands are observed, and each of these have resolved rotational substructure. These are assigned to the 2v12, v4 + v6, and 2v6 bands through comparisons to anharmonic frequency computations at the CCSD(T)∕cc-pVTZ level of theory.

Density cumulant functional theory (DCFT) is a theory that, in principle, can compute energies and properties exactly without a wavefunction. To accomplish this, the energy is expressed as an exact, known functional of the one-particle density matrix and two-particle density cumulant. The correlation contribution to the one-particle density matrix is obtained from the cumulant, to eliminate redundancy in the equations. The previous formulation of DCFT introduced this relationship in an approximate way, to obtain tractable equations. In this research, it is demonstrated that the correlation contribution to the one-particle density matrix can be extracted exactly from the cumulant, with minimal computational overhead and no increase in the asymptotic cost of the theory. We present numerical results, showing the improvements resulting from this reformulation (DC-12), and offer a perturbative analysis of the new equations to compare them to their predecessors.

In recent years, internal coordinates have become the preferred means of expressing potential energy surfaces. The ability to transform quantities from chemically significant internal coordinates to primitive Cartesian coordinates and spectroscopically relevant normal coordinates is thus critical to the further development of computational chemistry. In the present work, general nth order formulas are presented for the Cartesian derivatives of the five most commonly used internal coordinates--bond stretching, bond angle, torsion, out-of-plane angle, and linear bending. To compose such formulas in a reasonably understandable fashion, a new notation is developed that is a generalization of that which has been used previously for similar purposes. The notation developed leads to easily programmable and reasonably understandable arbitrary order formulas, yet it is powerful enough to express the arbitrary order B tensor of a general, N-point internal coordinate, as is done herein. The techniques employed in the derivation of such formulas are relatively straightforward, and could presumably be applied to a number of other internal coordinates as needed.

Density cumulant functional theory (DCFT) is one of a number of nascent electron correlation methods that are derived from reduced density matrices and cumulants thereof, instead of the wavefunction. Deriving properties from the density cumulant naturally yields methods that are size extensive and size consistent. In this work, we derive expressions for the analytic gradient, with respect to an external perturbation, for the DCFT-06 variant of density cumulant functional theory. Despite the fact that the DCFT-06 energy functional is stationary with respect to the density cumulant, the analytic gradients of the energy require the solution of perturbation-independent equations for both orbital and cumulant response. These two sets of linear response equations are coupled in nature and are solved iteratively with the solution of orbital and cumulant response equations each macroiteration, exhibiting rapid convergence. The gradients are implemented and benchmarked against coupled cluster theory with single and double excitations (CCSD) and CCSD with perturbative triple excitations [CCSD(T)], as well as accurate empirically corrected experimental data, for a test set comprising 15 small molecules. For most of the test cases, results from DCFT-06 are closer to CCSD(T) and empirical data than those from CCSD. Although the total energy and analytic gradient have the same asymptotic scaling, the present experience shows that the computational cost of the gradient is significantly lower.

Symmetric and asymmetric triple excitation corrections for the orbital-optimized coupled-cluster doubles (OO-CCD or simply "OD" for short) method are investigated. The conventional symmetric and asymmetric perturbative triples corrections [(T) and (T)(Λ)] are implemented, the latter one for the first time. Additionally, two new triples corrections, denoted as OD(Λ) and OD(Λ)(T), are introduced. We applied the new methods to potential energy surfaces of the BH, HF, C(2), N(2), and CH(4) molecules, and compare the errors in total energies, with respect to full configuration interaction, with those from the standard coupled-cluster singles and doubles (CCSD), with perturbative triples [CCSD(T)], and asymmetric triples correction (CCSD(T)(Λ)) methods. The CCSD(T) method fails badly at stretched geometries, the corresponding nonparallelity error is 7-281 kcal mol(-1), although it gives reliable results near equilibrium geometries. The new symmetric triples correction, CCSD(Λ), noticeably improves upon CCSD(T) (by 4-14 kcal mol(-1)) for BH, HF, and CH(4); however, its performance is worse than CCSD(T) (by 1.6-4.2 kcal mol(-1)) for C(2) and N(2). The asymmetric triples corrections, CCSD(T)(Λ) and CCSD(Λ)(T), perform remarkably better than CCSD(T) (by 5-18 kcal mol(-1)) for the BH, HF, and CH(4) molecules, while for C(2) and N(2) their results are similar to those of CCSD(T). Although the performance of CCSD and OD is similar, the situation is significantly different in the case of triples corrections, especially at stretched geometries. The OD(T) method improves upon CCSD(T) by 1-279 kcal mol(-1). The new symmetric triples correction, OD(Λ), enhances the OD(T) results (by 0.01-2.0 kcal mol(-1)) for BH, HF, and CH(4); however, its performance is worse than OD(T) (by 1.9-2.3 kcal mol(-1)) for C(2) and N(2). The asymmetric triples corrections, OD(T)(Λ) and OD(Λ)(T), perform better than OD(T) (by 2.0-6.2 kcal mol(-1)). The latter method is slightly better for the BH, HF, and CH(4) molecules. However, for C(2) and N(2) the new results are similar to those of OD(T). For the BH, HF, and CH(4) molecules, OD(Λ)(T) provides the best potential energy curves among the considered methods, while for C(2) and N(2) the OD(T) method prevails. Hence, for single-bond breaking the OD(Λ)(T) method appears to be superior, whereas for multiple-bond breaking the OD(T) method is better.

The lowest-lying electronic singlet and triplet potential energy surfaces (PES) for the HNO-NOH system have been investigated employing high level ab initio quantum chemical methods. The reaction energies and barriers have been predicted for two isomerization and four dissociation reactions. Total energies are extrapolated to the complete basis set limit applying focal point analyses. Anharmonic zero-point vibrational energies, diagonal Born-Oppenheimer corrections, relativistic effects, and core correlation corrections are also taken into account. On the singlet PES, the (1)HNO → (1)NOH endothermicity including all corrections is predicted to be 42.23 ± 0.2 kcal mol(-1). For the barrierless decomposition of (1)HNO to H + NO, the dissociation energy is estimated to be 47.48 ± 0.2 kcal mol(-1). For (1)NOH → H + NO, the reaction endothermicity and barrier are 5.25 ± 0.2 and 7.88 ± 0.2 kcal mol(-1). On the triplet PES the reaction energy and barrier including all corrections are predicted to be 7.73 ± 0.2 and 39.31 ± 0.2 kcal mol(-1) for the isomerization reaction (3)HNO → (3)NOH. For the triplet dissociation reaction (to H + NO) the corresponding results are 29.03 ± 0.2 and 32.41 ± 0.2 kcal mol(-1). Analogous results are 21.30 ± 0.2 and 33.67 ± 0.2 kcal mol(-1) for the dissociation reaction of (3)NOH (to H + NO). Unimolecular rate constants for the isomerization and dissociation reactions were obtained utilizing kinetic modeling methods. The tunneling and kinetic isotope effects are also investigated for these reactions. The adiabatic singlet-triplet energy splittings are predicted to be 18.45 ± 0.2 and 16.05 ± 0.2 kcal mol(-1) for HNO and NOH, respectively. Kinetic analyses based on solution of simultaneous first-order ordinary-differential rate equations demonstrate that the singlet NOH molecule will be difficult to prepare at room temperature, while the triplet NOH molecule is viable with respect to isomerization and dissociation reactions up to 400 K. Hence, our theoretical findings clearly explain why (1)NOH has not yet been observed experimentally.

Explicitly correlated ab initio methods have been used to compute full quartic force fields for the three chain minima for HOOOOH, which are found to lie within 1 kcal mol(-1). The CCSD(T)-F12 method with the cc-pVTZ-F12 basis set was used to compute equilibrium structures, anharmonic vibrational frequencies, and rotational constants for HOOH, HOOOH, and three chain isomers of HOOOOH, with the two former force fields being used as benchmarks for the latter three. The full quartic force fields were computed in such a way as to yield fundamental frequencies for all isotopologues at once. The present research confirms the recent experimental identification of HOOOH and provides reliable force fields in support of future experimental work on the enigmatic bonding paradigms involved in the HOOOOH chain.

Symmetry-adapted perturbation theory (SAPT) provides a means of probing the fundamental nature of intermolecular interactions. Low-orders of SAPT (here, SAPT0) are especially attractive since they provide qualitative (sometimes quantitative) results while remaining tractable for large systems. The application of density fitting and Laplace transformation techniques to SAPT0 can significantly reduce the expense associated with these computations and make even larger systems accessible. We present new factorizations of the SAPT0 equations with density-fitted two-electron integrals and the first application of Laplace transformations of energy denominators to SAPT. The improved scalability of the DF-SAPT0 implementation allows it to be applied to systems with more than 200 atoms and 2800 basis functions. The Laplace-transformed energy denominators are compared to analogous partial Cholesky decompositions of the energy denominator tensor. Application of our new DF-SAPT0 program to the intercalation of DNA by proflavine has allowed us to determine the nature of the proflavine-DNA interaction. Overall, the proflavine-DNA interaction contains important contributions from both electrostatics and dispersion. The energetics of the intercalator interaction are are dominated by the stacking interactions (two-thirds of the total), but contain important contributions from the intercalator-backbone interactions. It is hypothesized that the geometry of the complex will be determined by the interactions of the intercalator with the backbone, because by shifting toward one side of the backbone, the intercalator can form two long hydrogen-bonding type interactions. The long-range interactions between the intercalator and the next-nearest base pairs appear to be negligible, justifying the use of truncated DNA models in computational studies of intercalation interaction energies.

Using a Lagrangian-based approach, we present a more elegant derivation of the equations necessary for the variational optimization of the molecular orbitals (MOs) for the coupled-cluster doubles (CCD) method and second-order Møller-Plesset perturbation theory (MP2). These orbital-optimized theories are referred to as OO-CCD and OO-MP2 (or simply "OD" and "OMP2" for short), respectively. We also present an improved algorithm for orbital optimization in these methods. Explicit equations for response density matrices, the MO gradient, and the MO Hessian are reported both in spin-orbital and closed-shell spin-adapted forms. The Newton-Raphson algorithm is used for the optimization procedure using the MO gradient and Hessian. Further, orbital stability analyses are also carried out at correlated levels. The OD and OMP2 approaches are compared with the standard MP2, CCD, CCSD, and CCSD(T) methods. All these methods are applied to H(2)O, three diatomics, and the O(4)(+) molecule. Results demonstrate that the CCSD and OD methods give nearly identical results for H(2)O and diatomics; however, in symmetry-breaking problems as exemplified by O(4)(+), the OD method provides better results for vibrational frequencies. The OD method has further advantages over CCSD: its analytic gradients are easier to compute since there is no need to solve the coupled-perturbed equations for the orbital response, the computation of one-electron properties are easier because there is no response contribution to the particle density matrices, the variational optimized orbitals can be readily extended to allow inactive orbitals, it avoids spurious second-order poles in its response function, and its transition dipole moments are gauge invariant. The OMP2 has these same advantages over canonical MP2, making it promising for excited state properties via linear response theory. The quadratically convergent orbital-optimization procedure converges quickly for OMP2, and provides molecular properties that are somewhat different than those of MP2 for most of the test cases considered (although they are similar for H(2)O). Bond lengths are somewhat longer, and vibrational frequencies somewhat smaller, for OMP2 compared to MP2. In the difficult case of O(4)(+), results for several vibrational frequencies are significantly improved in going from MP2 to OMP2., (© 2011 American Institute of Physics)

The structure and energetics of Be(4) are investigated using state-of-the-art coupled-cluster methods. We compute the optimized bond length, dissociation energy, and anharmonic vibrational frequencies. A composite approach is employed, starting from coupled-cluster theory with single, double, and perturbative triple excitations extrapolated to the complete basis set (CBS) limit using Dunning's correlation consistent cc-pCVQZ and cc-pCV5Z basis sets. A correction for full triple and connected quadruple excitations in the smaller cc-pCVDZ basis set is then added, yielding an approximation to CCSDT(Q)/CBS denoted c∼CCSDT(Q). Corrections are included for relativistic and non-Born-Oppenheimer effects. We obtain D(e) = 89.7 kcal mol(-1), D(0) = 84.9 kcal mol(-1), and r(e) = 2.043 Å. Second-order vibrational perturbation theory (VPT2) is applied to a full quartic force field computed at the c∼CCSDT(Q) level of theory, yielding B(e) = 0.448 cm(-1) and fundamental frequencies of 666 (a(1)), 468 (e), and 571 (t(2)) cm(-1). Computations on the spectroscopically characterized Be(2) molecule are reported for the purpose of benchmarking our methods. Perturbative estimates of the effect of quadruple excitations are found to be essential to computing accurate parameters for Be(2); however, they seem to exert a much smaller influence on the structure and energetics of Be(4). Our extensive characterization of the Be(4) bonding potential energy surface should aid in the experimental identification of this thermodynamically viable but elusive molecule.

Density cumulant functional theory [W. Kutzelnigg, J. Chem. Phys. 125, 171101 (2006)] is implemented for the first time. Benchmark results are provided for atoms and diatomic molecules, demonstrating the performance of DCFT-06 for both nonbonded and bonded interactions. The results show that DCFT-06 appears to perform similarly to coupled cluster theory with single and double excitations (CCSD) in describing dispersion. For covalently bound systems, the physical properties predicted by DCFT-06 appear to be at least of CCSD quality around equilibrium geometries. The computational scaling of both DCFT-06 and CCSD is O(N(6)), but the former has reduced nonlinearities among the variables and a Hermitian energy functional, making it an attractive alternative.

Density functional theory has been employed to investigate microhydration effects on the vertical detachment energy (VDE) of the thymidine anion by considering the various structures of its monohydrates. Structures were located using a random searching procedure. Among 14 distinct structures of the anionic thymidine monohydrate, the low-energy structures, in general, have the water molecule bound to the thymine base unit. The negative charge developed on the thymine moiety increases the strength of the intermolecular hydrogen bonding between the water and base units. The computed VDE values of the thymidine monohydrate anions are predicted to range from 0.67 to 1.60 eV and the lowest-energy structure has a VDE of 1.32 eV. The VDEs of the monohydrates of the thymidine anion, where the N(1)[Single Bond]H hydrogen of thymine has been replaced by a 2(')-deoxyribose ring, are greater by ∼0.30 eV, compared to those of the monohydrates of the thymine anion. The results of the present study are in excellent agreement with the accompanying experimental results of Bowen and co-workers [J. Chem. Phys. 133, 144304 (2010)].

We formulated and implemented a perturbative triples correction for the state-specific multireference coupled cluster approach with singles and doubles suggested by Mukherjee and co-workers, Mk-MRCCSD [Mol. Phys. 94, 157 (1998)]. Our derivation of the energy correction [Mk-MRCCSD(T)] is based on a constrained search for stationary points of the Mk-MRCC energy functional together with a perturbative expansion with respect to the appearing triples cluster operator. The Lambda-Mk-MRCCSD(T) approach derived in this way consists in (1) a correction to the off-diagonal matrix elements of the effective Hamiltonian which is unique to coupled cluster methods based on the Jeziorski-Monkhorst ansatz, and (2) an asymmetric energy correction to the diagonal elements of the effective Hamiltonian. The Mk-MRCCSD(T) correction is obtained from the Lambda-Mk-MRCCSD(T) method by approximating the singles and doubles Lagrange multipliers with the corresponding cluster amplitudes. We investigate the performance of the Mk-MRCCSD(T) method by applying it to the potential energy curve of the BeH(2) model and F(2) and the geometry and harmonic vibrational frequencies of ozone. Computation of the energy difference between the mono- and bicyclic forms of the 2,6-pyridyne diradical illustrates the potential of Mk-MRCCSD(T) as a tool for the study of realistic chemical problems requiring multireference zeroth-order wave functions.

Although never spectroscopically identified in the laboratory, hydrogenated nitrogen (HN(2)) is thought to be an important species in combustion chemistry. The classical barrier height (10.6+/-0.2 kcal mol(-1)) and exothermicity (3.6+/-0.2 kcal mol(-1)) for the HN(2)-->N(2)+H reaction are predicted by high level ab initio quantum mechanical methods [up to CCSDT(Q)]. Total energies are extrapolated to the complete basis set limit applying the focal point analysis. Zero-point vibrational energies are computed using fundamental (anharmonic) frequencies obtained from a quartic force field. Relativistic and diagonal Born-Oppenheimer corrections are also taken into account. The quantum mechanical barrier with these corrections is predicted to be 6.4+/-0.2 kcal mol(-1) and the reaction exothermicity to be 8.8+/-0.2 kcal mol(-1). The importance of these parameters for the thermal NO(x) decomposition (De-NO(x)) process is discussed. The unimolecular rate constant for dissociation of the HN(2) molecule and its lifetime are estimated by canonical transition-state theory and Rice-Ramsperger-Kassel-Marcus theory. The lifetime of the HN(2) molecule is here estimated to be 2.8x10(-10) s at room temperature. Our result is in marginal agreement with the latest experimental kinetic modeling studies (tau=1.5x10(-8) s), albeit consistent with the very rough experimental upper limit (tau<0.5 mus). For the dissociation reaction, kinetic isotope effects are investigated. Our analysis demonstrates that the DN(2) molecule has a longer lifetime than the HN(2) molecule. Thus, DN(2) might be more readily identified experimentally. The ionization potential of the HN(2) molecule is determined by analogous high level ab initio methods and focal point analysis. The adiabatic IP of HN(2) is predicted to be 8.19+/-0.05 eV, in only fair agreement with the experimental upper limit of 7.92 eV deduced from sychrothon-radiation-based photoionization mass spectrometry.

The unique importance of the cyclopropenylidene molecule conveys significance to its low-lying isomers. Eleven low-lying electronic triplet stationary points as well as the two lowest singlet structures of C(3)H(2) have been systematically investigated. This research used coupled cluster (CC) methods with single and double excitations and perturbative triple excitations [CCSD(T)] and Dunning's correlation-consistent polarized valence cc-pVXZ (where X=D, T, and Q) basis sets. Geometries, dipole moments, vibrational frequencies, and associated infrared intensities of the targeted molecules have been predicted. The electronic ground state of cyclopropenylidene (3S, the global minimum) is the X (1)A(1) state with C(2v) point group symmetry. Among the 11 triplet stationary points, 7 structures are found to be minima, 2 structures to be transition states, and 2 structures to be higher-order saddle points. For the six lowest-lying triplet structures and singlet propadienylidene (2S), relative energies (zero-point vibrational energy corrected values in parentheses) with respect to the global minimum [ X (1)A(1) (3S)] at the cc-pVQZ-UCCSD(T) level of theory are predicted to be propynylidene (3)B(1aT)15.5(11.3)

Explicitly correlated MP2-R12 and coupled cluster R12 methods have proven to be effective in achieving the basis set limit of correlated wave function methods. However, correlated methods for high-spin open-shell states are typically based on semicanonical orbitals, leading to an unrestricted formalism, which for double excitations requires three independent sets of amplitudes. In contrast, Z-averaged perturbation theory redefines the Hamiltonian with a symmetric exchange operator, thereby allowing a spin-restricted formulation with equivalent alpha and beta subspaces. In the current work, we present a preliminary study of explicitly correlated ZAPT for second-order perturbation theory. The superior basis set convergence of R12 methods is demonstrated for a set of atomization energies, showing the R12 results to be competitive with common basis set extrapolation techniques, albeit at a fraction of the cost. Given the efficiency gains associated with the symmetric exchange operator, we suggest ZAPT as a candidate for reducing the cost of current open-shell MP2-R12 and CCSD(T)-R12 computations.

The general theory of analytic energy gradients is presented for the state-specific multireference coupled cluster method introduced by Mukherjee and co-workers [Mol. Phys. 94, 157 (1998)], together with an implementation within the singles and doubles approximation, restricted to two closed-shell determinants and Hartree-Fock orbitals. Expressions for the energy gradient are derived based on a Lagrangian formalism and cast in a density-matrix notation suitable for implementation in standard quantum-chemical program packages. In the present implementation, we exploit a decomposition of the multireference coupled cluster gradient expressions, i.e., lambda equations and the corresponding density matrices, into a so-called single-reference part for each reference determinant and a coupling term. Our implementation exhibits the proper scaling, i.e., O(dN6) with d as the number of reference determinants and N as the number of orbitals, and it is thus suitable for large-scale applications. The applicability of our multireference coupled cluster gradients is illustrated by computations for the equilibrium geometry of the 2,6-isomers of pyridyne and the pyridynium cation. The results are compared to those from single-reference coupled cluster calculations and are discussed with respect to the future perspectives of multireference coupled cluster theory.

The electronic ground states (X (1)Sigma(+)) of HSiN, HNSi, and the transition state connecting the two isomers were systematically studied using configuration interaction with single and double (CISD) excitations, coupled cluster with single and double (CCSD) excitations, CCSD with perturbative triple corrections [CCSD(T)], multireference complete active space self-consistent field (CASSCF), and internally contracted multireference configuration interaction (ICMRCI) methods. The correlation-consistent polarized valence (cc-pVXZ), augmented correlation-consistent polarized valence (aug-cc-pVXZ) (X=T,Q,5), correlation-consistent polarized core-valence (cc-pCVYZ), and augmented correlation-consistent polarized core-valence (aug-cc-pCVYZ) (Y=T,Q) basis sets were used. Via focal point analyses, we confirmed the HNSi isomer as the global minimum on the ground state HSiN&#95;HNSi zero-point vibrational energy corrected surface and is predicted to lie 64.7 kcal mol(-1) (22 640 cm(-1), 2.81 eV) below the HSiN isomer. The barrier height for the forward isomerization reaction (HSiN-->HNSi) is predicted to be 9.7 kcal mol(-1), while the barrier height for the reverse process (HNSi-->HSiN) is determined to be 74.4 kcal mol(-1). The dipole moments of the HSiN and HNSi isomers are predicted to be 4.36 and 0.26 D, respectively. The theoretical vibrational isotopic shifts for the HSiN/DSiN and HNSi/DNSi isotopomers are in strong agreement with the available experimental values. The dissociation energy for HSiN [HSiN(X (1)Sigma(+))-->H((2)S)+SiN(X (2)Sigma(+))] is predicted to be D(0)=59.6 kcal mol(-1), whereas the dissociation energy for HNSi [HNSi(X (1)Sigma(+))-->H((2)S)+NSi(X (2)Sigma(+))] is predicted to be D(0)=125.0 kcal mol(-1) at the CCSD(T)/aug-cc-pCVQZ level of theory. Anharmonic vibrational frequencies computed using second order vibrational perturbation theory are in good agreement with available matrix isolation experimental data for both HSiN and HNSi isomers root mean squared derivation (RMSD=9 cm(-1)).

The enthalpy of formation of diacetylene (C4H2) is pinpointed using state-of-the-art theoretical methods, accounting for high-order electron correlation, relativistic effects, non-Born-Oppenheimer corrections, and vibrational anharmonicity. Molecular energies are determined from coupled cluster theory with single and double excitations (CCSD), perturbative triples [CCSD(T)], full triples (CCSDT), and perturbative quadruples [CCSDT(Q)], in concert with correlation-consistent basis sets (cc-pVXZ, X=D, T, Q, 5, 6) that facilitate extrapolations to the complete basis set limit. The first full quartic force field of diacetylene is determined at the highly accurate all-electron CCSD(T) level with a cc-pCVQZ basis, which includes tight functions for core correlation. Application of second-order vibrational perturbation theory to our anharmonic force field yields fundamental frequencies with a mean absolute difference of only 3.9 cm(-1) relative to the experimental band origins, without the use of any empirical scale factors. By a focal point approach, we converge on an enthalpy change for the isogyric reaction 2 H-C[triple bond]C-H-->H-C[triple bond]C-C[triple bond]C-H+H2 of (+0.03, +0.81) kcal mol(-1) at (0, 298.15) K. With the precisely established fHdegrees of acetylene, we thus obtain DeltafHdegrees(C4H2)=(109.4,109.7)+/-0.3 kcal mol(-1) at (0, 298.15) K. Previous estimates of the diacetylene enthalpy of formation range from 102 to 120 kcal mol(-1).

Since the discovery of ozone depletion, the doublet electronic states of the ozone radical cation have received much attention in experimental and theoretical investigations, while the low-lying quartet states have not. In the present research, viable pathways to the quartet states from the lowest three triplet states of ozone, (3)A(2), (3)B(2), and (3)B(1), and excitations from the (2)A(1) and (2)B(2) states of the ozone radical cation have been studied in detail. The potential energy surfaces, structural optimizations, and vibrational frequencies for several states of ozone and its radical cation have been thoroughly investigated using the complete active space self-consistent field, unrestricted coupled cluster theory from a restricted open-shell Hartree-Fock reference including all single and double excitations (UCCSD), UCCSD method with the effects of connected triple excitations included perturbatively, and unrestricted coupled cluster including all single, double, and triple excitations with the effects of connected quadruple excitations included perturbatively. These methods used Dunning's correlation-consistent polarized core-valence basis sets, cc-pCVXZ (X = D, T, Q, and 5). The most feasible pathways (symmetry and spin allowed transitions) to the quartet states are (4)A(1)<--(3)A(2), (4)A(2)<--(3)A(2), (4)A(1)<--(3)B(2), (4)A(2)<--(3)B(1), (4)B(2)<--(3)B(1), (4)A(2)<--(1)A(1), (4)B(2)<--(1)A(1), and (4)A(1)<--(1)A(1) with vertical ionization potentials of 12.46, 12.85, 12.82, 12.46, 12.65, 13.43, 13.93, and 14.90 eV, respectively.

We report the first implementation with correct scaling of the Mukherjee multireference coupled cluster method with singles, doubles, and approximate iterative triples (Mk-MRCCSDT-n, n=1a,1b,2,3) as well as full triples (Mk-MRCCSDT). These methods were applied to the classic H4, P4, BeH(2), and H8 model systems to assess the ability of the Mk-MRCCSDT-n schemes to accurately account for triple excitations. In all model systems the inclusion of triples via the various Mk-MRCCSDT-n approaches greatly reduces the nonparallelism error (NPE) and the mean nonparallelism derivative diagnostics for the potential energy curves, recovering between 59% and 73% of the full triples effect on average. The most complete triples approximation, Mk-MRCCSDT-3, exhibits the best average performance, reducing the mean NPE to below 0.6 mE(h), compared to 1.4 mE(h) for Mk-MRCCSD. Both linear and quadratic truncations of the Mk-MRCC triples coupling terms are viable simplifications producing no significant errors. If the off-diagonal parts of the occupied-occupied and virtual-virtual blocks of the Fock matrices are ignored, the storage of the triples amplitudes is no longer required for the Mk-MRCCSDT-n methods introduced here. This proves to be an effective approximation that gives results almost indistinguishable from those derived from full consideration of the Fock matrices.

Very high order open-shell Z-averaged perturbation theory (ZAPT) energies, equilibrium bond lengths, and harmonic vibrational frequencies have been computed for a suite of small molecules using a determinantal algorithm. The convergence of ZAPTn energies is compared to alternative Moller-Plesset (MP) perturbation theories built on restricted open-shell Hartree-Fock (ROMP, RMP, OPT1, and OPT2) and unrestricted Hartree-Fock (UMP) reference wave functions for NH(2) at three N-H bond lengths and for CN. The ZAPTn energy series closely parallel those of RMPn and ROMPn theories for these systems. Further, we examine the convergence of ZAPTn energies, equilibrium bond lengths (r(e)), and harmonic vibrational frequencies (omega(e)) for X (2)Sigma(g)(+) CN, X (4)Sigma(g) (-) C(2)(+), and b (2)Delta(g) C(2)(+), tracking oscillations in the energy series for the challenging latter system to order 1000. Finally, we obtain r(e) and omega(e) values from explicit ZAPT2 and ZAPT4 computations with a triple-zeta plus double polarization basis set. The ensuing results are very close to those from second- and fourth-order RMP and ROMP for the NO and CN molecules but are significantly closer to experiment in the case of (3)Sigma(g)(-) O(2). The ZAPTn series exhibit all the fascinating diversity of behavior previously observed for closed-shell MPn theory. Particularly encouraging is the ability of Feenberg transformations to remove erratic, strongly oscillatory, and divergent behavior that may occur in ZAPTn series and provide systematic improvements toward the full configuration interaction limit. In light of the appealing mathematical properties of ZAPT and similarity of results to those from the oft-applied RMP theory, coupled with the reductions in computational cost inherent in the ZAPT method relative to theories requiring different orbitals for different spins, we recommend low-order ZAPT for general applications to open-shell systems, particularly in cases where spin contamination is of concern.

The environmentally active molecule nitrogen dioxide (NO2) has been systematically studied using high level theoretical methods. The electronic ground state and the low-lying quartet states of NO2 have been investigated. Single reference restricted open-shell self-consistent field (SCF), complete active space SCF (CASSCF), spin-restricted (R) and spin-unrestricted (U) configuration interaction with single and double excitations (CISD), coupled cluster with single and double excitations (CCSD), CCSD with perturbative triple excitations [CCSD(T)], and internally contracted multireference configuration interaction (ICMRCI) methods along with Dunning's correlation consistent polarized valence cc-pVXZ and augmented cc-pVXZ (where X=T,Q,5) basis sets were used in this research. At the aug-cc-pV5Z/UCCSD(T) level the classical adiabatic excitation energies (Te values) of the three lowest-lying quartet excited states were predicted to be 83.3 kcalmol (3.61 eV, 29 200 cm(-1)) for the ã 4A2 state, 93.3 kcalmol (4.05 eV, 32 600 cm(-1)) for the b 4B2 state, and 100.8 kcalmol (4.37 eV, 35 300 cm(-1)) for the c 4A1 state. The quantum mechanical excitation energies (T 0 values) were determined to be 81.6 kcalmol (3.54 eV, 28 500 cm(-1)) for the a 4A2 state and 90.7 kcalmol (3.93 eV, 31 700 cm(-1)) for the b 4B2 state. The lowest quartet linear Renner-Teller 4Pi state gives rise to the a 4A2 state with 112.8 degrees and the b 4B2 state with 124.4 degrees <(ONO) bond angles upon bending. The b state shows some peculiar behavior. Although CASSCF, RCISD, UCISD, RCCSD, UCCSD, and RCCSD(T) methods predicted the presence of a Cs equilibrium geometry (a double minimum 4A' state), SCF, UCCSD(T), and ICMRCI wave functions predicted the C2v structure for the b 4B2 state. The importance of both dynamical and nondynamical correlation treatments for the energy difference between C2v and Cs structures of b state is highlighted in this context. The c 4A1 state is predicted to have a very small bond angle of 85.8 degrees . Potential energy diagrams with respect to the bond angles of the ground state and four quartet states are presented.

To elucidate electron attachment induced damage in the DNA double helix, electron attachment to the 2'-deoxyribonucleoside pair dG:dC has been studied with the reliably calibrated B3LYP/DZP++ theoretical approach. The exploration of the potential energy surface of the neutral and anionic dG:dC pairs predicts a positive electron affinity for dG:dC [0.83 eV for adiabatic electron affinity (EAad) and 0.16 eV for vertical electron affinity (VEA)]. The substantial increases in the electron affinity of dG:dC (by 0.50 eV for EAad and 0.23 eV for VEA) compared to those of the dC nucleoside suggest that electron attachment to DNA double helices should be energetically favored with respect to the single strands. Most importantly, electron attachment to the dC moiety in the dG:dC pair is found to be able to trigger the proton transfer in the dG:dC- pair, surprisingly resulting in the lower energy distonic anionic complex d(G-H)-:d(C+H).. The negative charge for the latter system is located on the base of dC in the dG:dC- pair, while it is transferred to d(G-H) in d(G-H)-:d(C+H)., accompanied by the proton transfer from N1(dG) to N3(dC). The low energy barrier (2.4 kcal/mol) for proton transfer from dG to dC- suggests that the distonic d(G-H)-:d(C+H). pair should be one of the important intermediates in the process of electron attachment to DNA double helices. The formation of the neutral nucleoside radical d(C+H). is predicted to be the direct result of electron attachment to the DNA double helices. Since the neutral radical d(C+H). nucleotide is the key element in the formation of this DNA lesion, electron attachment might be one of the important factors that trigger the formation of abasic sites in DNA double helices.