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PyCDFT: A Python package for constrained density functional theory

Journal Article · · Journal of Computational Chemistry
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1002/jcc.26354· OSTI ID:1658833

In this paper, we present PyCDFT, a Python package to compute diabatic states using constrained density functional theory (CDFT). PyCDFT provides an object-oriented, customizable implementation of CDFT, and allows for both single-point self-consistent-field calculations and geometry optimizations. PyCDFT is designed to interface with existing density functional theory (DFT) codes to perform CDFT calculations where constraint potentials are added to the Kohn–Sham Hamiltonian. Here, we demonstrate the use of PyCDFT by performing calculations with a massively parallel first-principles molecular dynamics code, Qbox, and we benchmark its accuracy by computing the electronic coupling between diabatic states for a set of organic molecules. We show that PyCDFT yields results in agreement with existing implementations and is a robust and flexible package for performing CDFT calculations. The program is available at https://dx.doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3821097.

Research Organization:
Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States). Midwest Integrated Center for Computational Materials (MICCoM)
Sponsoring Organization:
National Science Foundation (NSF); USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES). Materials Sciences & Engineering Division
Grant/Contract Number:
AC02-06CH11357; SC0012405
OSTI ID:
1658833
Alternate ID(s):
OSTI ID: 1633496
Journal Information:
Journal of Computational Chemistry, Journal Name: Journal of Computational Chemistry Journal Issue: 20 Vol. 41; ISSN 0192-8651
Publisher:
WileyCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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