Theory, implementation, and disappointing results for two-photon absorption cross sections within the doubly electron-attached equation-of-motion coupled-cluster framework.

The equation-of-motion coupled-cluster singles and doubles method with double electron attachment (EOM-DEA-CCSD) is capable of computing reliable energies, wave functions, and first-order properties of excited states in diradicals and polyenes that have a significant doubly excited character with respect to the ground state, without the need for including the computationally expensive triple excitations. Here, we extend the capabilities of the EOM-DEA-CCSD method to the calculations of a multiphoton property, two-photon absorption (2PA) cross sections. Closed-form expressions for the 2PA cross sections are derived within the expectation-value approach using response wave functions. We analyze the performance of this new implementation by comparing the EOM-DEA-CCSD energies and 2PA cross sections with those computed using the CC3 quadratic response theory approach. As benchmark systems, we consider transitions to the states with doubly excited character in twisted ethene and in polyenes, for which EOM-EE-CCSD (EOM-CCSD for excitation energies) performs poorly. The EOM-DEA-CCSD 2PA cross sections are comparable with the CC3 results for twisted ethene; however, the discrepancies between the two methods are large for hexatriene. The observed trends are explained by configurational analysis of the 2PA channels.

Equation-of-motion coupled-cluster method with double electron-attaching operators: Theory, implementation, and benchmarks.

We report a production-level implementation of the equation-of-motion (EOM) coupled-cluster (CC) method with double electron-attaching (DEA) EOM operators of 2p and 3p1h types, EOM-DEA-CCSD. This ansatz, suitable for treating electronic structure patterns that can be described as two-electrons-in-many orbitals, represents a useful addition to the EOM-CC family of methods. We analyze the performance of EOM-DEA-CCSD for energy differences and molecular properties. By considering reduced quantities, such as state and transition one-particle density matrices, we compare EOM-DEA-CCSD wave functions with wave functions computed by other EOM-CCSD methods. The benchmarks illustrate that EOM-DEA-CCSD is capable of treating diradicals, bond-breaking, and some types of conical intersections.

Limitations of Hartree-Fock with quantum resources.

The Hartree-Fock problem provides the conceptual and mathematical underpinning of a large portion of quantum chemistry. As efforts in quantum technology aim to enhance computational chemistry algorithms, the Hartree-Fock method, central to many other numerical approaches, is a natural target for quantum enhanced algorithms. While quantum computers and quantum simulation offer many prospects for the future of modern chemistry, the non-deterministic polynomial-complete Hartree-Fock problem is not a likely candidate. We highlight this fact from a number of perspectives including computational complexity, practical examples, and the full characterization of energy landscapes for simple systems.

The quest to uncover the nature of benzonitrile anion.

Anionic states of benzonitrile are investigated by high-level electronic structure methods. The calculations using equation-of-motion coupled-cluster theory for electron-attached states confirm earlier conclusions drawn from the photodetachment experiments wherein the ground state of the anion is the valence 2B1 state, while the dipole bound state lies adiabatically ∼0.1 eV above. Inclusion of triple excitations and zero-point vibrational energies is important for recovering relative state correct ordering. The computed Franck-Condon factors and photodetachment cross-sections further confirm that the observed photodetachment spectrum originates from the valence anion. The valence anion is electronically bound at its equilibrium geometry, but it is metastable at the equilibrium geometry of the neutral. The dipole-bound state, which is the only bound anionic state at the neutral equilibrium geometry, may serve as a gateway state for capturing the electron. Thus, the emerging mechanistic picture entails electron capture via a dipole bound state, followed by non-adiabatic relaxation forming valence anions.

Two Cycling Centers in One Molecule: Communication by Through-Bond Interactions and Entanglement of the Unpaired Electrons.

Many applications in quantum information science (QIS) rely on the ability to laser-cool molecules. The scope of applications can be expanded if laser-coolable molecules possess two or more cycling centers, i.e., moieties capable of scattering photons via multiple absorption-emission events. Here we employ the equation-of-motion coupled-cluster method for double electron attachment (EOM-DEA-CCSD) to study the electronic structure of hypermetallic molecules with two alkaline-earth metals connected by an acetylene linker. The electronic structure of the molecules is similar to that of two separated alkali metals; however, the interaction between the two electrons is weak and largely dominated by through-bond interactions. The communication between the two cycling centers is quantified by the extent of the entanglement of the two unpaired electrons associated with the two cycling centers. This contribution highlights the rich electronic structure of hypermetallic molecules that may advance various applications in QIS and beyond.

EOM-CC guide to Fock-space travel: the C2 edition.

Despite their small size, C2 species pose big challenges to electronic structure methods, owing to extensive electronic degeneracies and multi-configurational wave functions, which lead to a dense manifold of electronic states. We present detailed electronic structure calculations of C2, C2-, and C22-, emphasizing spectroscopically relevant properties. We employ the double ionization potential (DIP) and ionization potential (IP) variants of the equation-of-motion coupled-cluster method with single and double substitutions (EOM-CCSD) and a dianionic reference state. We show that EOM-CCSD is capable of describing multiple interacting states in C2 and C2- in an accurate, robust, and effective way. We also characterize the electronic structure of C22-, which is metastable with respect to electron detachment.

Bound and continuum-embedded states of cyanopolyyne anions.

Cyanopolyyne anions were among the first anions discovered in the interstellar medium. The discovery has raised questions about the routes of formation of these anions in space. Some of the proposed mechanisms assumed that anionic excited electronic states, either metastable or weakly bound, play a key role in the formation process. The verification of this hypothesis requires detailed knowledge of the electronic states of the anions. Here we investigate the bound and continuum states of four cyanopolyyne anions, CN-, C3N-, C5N-, and C7N-, by means of ab initio calculations. We employ the equation-of-motion coupled-cluster method augmented with complex absorbing potential. We predict that already in CN-, the smallest anion in the family, there are several low-lying metastable states of both singlet and triplet spin symmetry. These states, identified as shape resonances, are located between 6.3-8.5 eV above the ground state of the anion (or 2.3-4.5 eV above the ground state of the parent radical) and have widths of a few tenths of eV up to 1 eV. We analyze the identified resonances in terms of leading molecular orbital contributions and Dyson orbitals. As the carbon chain length increases in the C2n+1N- series, these resonances gradually become stabilized and eventually turn into stable valence bound states. The trends in the energies of the transitions leading to both resonance and bound excited states can be rationalized by means of the Hückel model. Apart from valence excited states, some of the cyanopolyynes can also support dipole bound states and dipole stabilized resonances, owing to a large dipole moment of the parent radicals in the lowest 2Σ+ state.

Channel branching ratios in CH2CN- photodetachment: Rotational structure and vibrational energy redistribution in autodetachment.

We report photoelectron spectra of CH2CN-, recorded at photon energies between 13 460 and 15 384 cm-1, which show rapid intensity variations in particular detachment channels. The branching ratios for various spectral features reveal rotational structure associated with autodetachment from an intermediate anion state. Calculations using equation-of-motion coupled-cluster method with single and double excitations reveal the presence of two dipole-bound excited anion states (a singlet and a triplet). The computed oscillator strength for the transition to the singlet dipole-bound state provides an estimate of the autodetachment channel contribution to the total photoelectron yield. Analysis of the different spectral features allows identification of the dipole-bound and neutral vibrational levels involved in the autodetachment processes. For the most part, the autodetachment channels are consistent with the vibrational propensity rule and normal mode expectation. However, examination of the rotational structure shows that autodetachment from the ν3 (v = 1 and v = 2) levels of the dipole-bound state displays behavior counter to the normal mode expectation with the final state vibrational level belonging to a different mode.