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We derive general bivariational equations of motion (EOMs) for time-dependent wave functions with biorthogonal time-dependent basis sets. The time-dependent basis functions are linearly parameterized and their fully variational time evolution is ensured by solving a set of so-called constraint equations, which we derive for arbitrary wave function expansions. The formalism allows division of the basis set into an active basis and a secondary basis, ensuring a flexible and compact wave function. We show how the EOMs specialize to a few common wave function forms, including coupled cluster and linearly expanded wave functions. It is demonstrated, for the first time, that the propagation of such wave functions is not unconditionally stable when a secondary basis is employed. The main signature of the instability is a strong increase in non-orthogonality, which eventually causes the calculation to fail; specifically, the biorthogonal active bra and ket bases tend toward spanning different spaces. Although formally allowed, this causes severe numerical issues. We identify the source of this problem by reparametrizing the time-dependent basis set through polar decomposition. Subsequent analysis allows us to remove the instability by setting appropriate matrix elements to zero. Although this solution is not fully variational, we find essentially no deviation in terms of autocorrelation functions relative to the variational formulation. We expect that the results presented here will be useful for the formal analysis of bivariational time-dependent wave functions for electronic and nuclear dynamics in general and for the practical implementation of time-dependent CC wave functions in particular.

Self-assembled monolayers (SAM) of 7-mercapto-4-methylcoumarin (MMC) on a flat gold surface were studied by molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, reference-free grazing incidence X-ray fluorescence (GIXRF) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), to determine the maximum monolayer density and to investigate the nature of the molecule/surface interface. In particular, the protonation state of the sulfur atom upon adsorption was analyzed, since some recent literature presented evidence for physisorbed thiols (preserving the S-H bond), unlike the common picture of chemisorbed thiyls (losing the hydrogen). MD with a specifically tailored force field was used to simulate either thiol or thiyl monolayers with increasing number of molecules, to determine the maximum dynamically stable densities. This result was refined by computing the monolayer chemical potential as a function of the density with the bennet acceptance ratio method, based again on MD simulations. The monolayer density was also measured with GIXRF, which provided the absolute quantification of the number of sulfur atoms in a dense self-assembled monolayer (SAM) on flat gold surfaces. The sulfur core level binding energies in the same monolayers were measured by XPS, fitting the recorded spectra with the binding energies proposed in the literature for free or adsorbed thiols and thiyls, to get insight on the nature of the molecular species present in the layer. The comparison of theoretical and experimental SAM densities, and the XPS analysis strongly support the picture of a monolayer formed by chemisorbed, dissociated thiyls.

We develop time-dependent vibrational coupled cluster with time-dependent modals (TDMVCC), where an active set of one-mode basis functions (modals) is evolved in time alongside coupled-cluster wave-function parameters. A biorthogonal second quantization formulation of many-mode dynamics is introduced, allowing separate biorthogonal bases for the bra and ket states, thus ensuring complex analyticity. We employ the time-dependent bivariational principle to derive equations of motion for both the one-mode basis functions and the parameters describing the cluster (T) and linear de-excitation (L) operators. The choice of constraint (or gauge) operators for the modal time evolution is discussed. In the case of untruncated cluster expansion, the result is independent of this choice, but restricting the excitation space removes this invariance; equations for the variational determination of the constraint operators are derived for the latter case. We show that all single-excitation parts of T and L are redundant and can be left out in the case of variationally determined constraint-operator evolution. Based on a pilot implementation, test computations on Henon–Heiles model systems, the water molecule, and a reduced-dimensionality bi-thiophene model are presented, showing highly encouraging results for TDMVCC. It is demonstrated how TDMVCC in the limit of a complete cluster expansion becomes equivalent to multiconfiguration time-dependent Hartree for the same active-space size. Similarly, it is discussed how TDMVCC generally gives better and more stable results than its time-independent-modals counterpart, while equivalent results are obtained for complete expansions and full one-mode basis sets.

We derive equations for describing the time evolution of variational wave functions in linear and exponential parameterization with a second-quantization (SQ) formulation. The SQ formalism covers time-dependent Hartree (TDH), while exact states and approximate vibrational configuration interaction wave functions are described using state-transfer operators. We present detailed expressions for efficient evaluation of TDH in linear (L-TDH) and exponential (X-TDH) parametrization and an efficient implementation supporting linear scaling with respect to the number of degrees of freedom M when the Hamiltonian operator contains a constant number of terms per mode independently of the size of the system. The computational cost of the X-TDH method is reduced significantly compared to the L-TDH method for systems with many operator terms per mode such as is typical for accurate molecular potential-energy surfaces. Numerical results for L-TDH and X-TDH are presented which confirm the theoretical reduction of the M scaling compared to standard first-quantization formulations. Calculations on Henon-Heiles potentials with more than 105 dimensions and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons with up to 264 modes have been performed. Thus, the SQ formulation and the X-TDH method pave the way for studying the time-resolved quantum dynamics of large molecules.