skip to main content
OSTI.GOV title logo U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Title: An optimally tuned range-separated hybrid starting point for ab initio GW plus Bethe–Salpeter equation calculations of molecules

Journal Article · · Journal of Chemical Physics
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0097582· OSTI ID:1882232

The ab initio GW plus Bethe–Salpeter equation (GW-BSE, where G is the one particle Green's function and W is the screened Coulomb interaction) approach has emerged as a leading method for predicting excitations in both solids and molecules with a predictive power contingent upon several factors. Among these factors are the (1) generalized Kohn–Sham eigensystem used to construct the GW self-energy and to solve the BSE and (2) the efficacy and suitability of the Tamm–Dancoff approximation. Here, we present a detailed benchmark study of low-lying singlet excitations from a generalized Kohn–Sham (gKS) starting point based on an optimally tuned range-separated hybrid (OTRSH) functional. We show that the use of this gKS starting point with one-shot G0W0 and G0W0-BSE leads to the lowest mean absolute errors (MAEs) and mean signed errors (MSEs), with respect to high-accuracy reference values, demonstrated in the literature thus far for the ionization potentials of the GW100 benchmark set and for low-lying neutral excitations of Thiel’s set molecules in the gas phase, without the need for self-consistency. The MSEs and MAEs of one-shot G0W0-BSE@OTRSH excitation energies are comparable to or lower than those obtained with other functional starting points after self-consistency. Additionally, we compare these results with linear-response time-dependent density functional theory (TDDFT) calculations and find GW-BSE to be superior to TDDFT when calculations are based on the same exchange-correlation functional. This work demonstrates tuned range-separated hybrids used in combination with GW and GW-BSE can greatly suppress starting point dependence for molecules, leading to accuracy similar to that for higher-order wavefunction-based theories for molecules without the need for costlier iterations to self-consistency.

Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE
Grant/Contract Number:
AC02-05CH11231; 2022-096018
OSTI ID:
1882232
Journal Information:
Journal of Chemical Physics, Journal Name: Journal of Chemical Physics Vol. 157 Journal Issue: 7; ISSN 0021-9606
Publisher:
American Institute of PhysicsCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

References (80)

Ionized, electron-attached, and excited states of molecular systems with spin–orbit coupling: Two-component GW and Bethe–Salpeter implementations journal May 2019
Screening mixing GW/Bethe–Salpeter approach for triplet states of organic molecules journal September 2018
A systematic benchmark of the ab initio Bethe-Salpeter equation approach for low-lying optical excitations of small organic molecules journal June 2015
Influence of solution phase environmental heterogeneity and fluctuations on vibronic spectra: Perylene diimide molecular chromophore complexes in solution journal June 2021
Qualitatively Incorrect Features in the TDDFT Spectrum of Thiophene-Based Compounds journal December 2014
Benchmarking TD-DFT and Wave Function Methods for Oscillator Strengths and Excited-State Dipole Moments journal January 2021
Evaluating the GW Approximation with CCSD(T) for Charged Excitations Across the Oligoacenes journal May 2016
Exact results for the charge and spin densities, exchange-correlation potentials, and density-functional eigenvalues journal March 1985
Outer-valence Electron Spectra of Prototypical Aromatic Heterocycles from an Optimally Tuned Range-Separated Hybrid Functional journal April 2014
Accurate Ionization Potentials and Electron Affinities of Acceptor Molecules III: A Benchmark of GW Methods journal January 2016
The GW Miracle in Many-Body Perturbation Theory for the Ionization Potential of Molecules journal December 2021
Accurate Ionization Potentials and Electron Affinities of Acceptor Molecules II: Non-Empirically Tuned Long-Range Corrected Hybrid Functionals journal January 2016
molgw 1: Many-body perturbation theory software for atoms, molecules, and clusters journal November 2016
Gaussian basis sets for use in correlated molecular calculations. I. The atoms boron through neon and hydrogen journal January 1989
Combining localized orbital scaling correction and Bethe–Salpeter equation for accurate excitation energies journal April 2022
Does a Molecule-Specific Density Functional Give an Accurate Electron Density? The Challenging Case of the CuCl Electric Field Gradient journal February 2012
Excited-State Properties of Molecular Solids from First Principles journal May 2016
Optimum Exchange for Calculation of Excitation Energies and Hyperpolarizabilities of Organic Electro-optic Chromophores journal August 2014
Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells: Fundamentals and Current Status journal November 2018
Accurate description of the electronic structure of organic semiconductors by GW methods journal February 2017
Taking Up the Cyanine Challenge with Quantum Tools journal February 2015
Too big, too small, or just right? A benchmark assessment of density functional theory for predicting the spatial extent of the electron density of small chemical systems journal February 2021
Reliable Prediction of Charge Transfer Excitations in Molecular Complexes Using Time-Dependent Density Functional Theory journal March 2009
Benchmarks for electronically excited states: CASPT2, CC2, CCSD, and CC3 journal April 2008
TD-DFT benchmarks: A review journal April 2013
Time-Dependent Density Functional Response Theory for Molecules book November 1995
A new hybrid exchange–correlation functional using the Coulomb-attenuating method (CAM-B3LYP) journal July 2004
Long-Range Corrected DFT Meets GW : Vibrationally Resolved Photoelectron Spectra from First Principles journal October 2015
Benchmarking the Bethe–Salpeter Formalism on a Standard Organic Molecular Set journal June 2015
Assessment of the Accuracy of the Bethe–Salpeter (BSE/ GW ) Oscillator Strengths journal July 2016
Fundamentals of Time-Dependent Density Functional Theory book January 2012
All-electron ab initio Bethe-Salpeter equation approach to neutral excitations in molecules with numeric atom-centered orbitals journal January 2020
Coupled-cluster reference values for the GW27 and GW100 test sets for the assessment of GW methods journal March 2015
Balanced basis sets of split valence, triple zeta valence and quadruple zeta valence quality for H to Rn: Design and assessment of accuracy journal January 2005
Quasiparticle Spectra from a Nonempirical Optimally Tuned Range-Separated Hybrid Density Functional journal November 2012
Nanoscale Strategies for Light Harvesting journal March 2016
Excitation energies in density functional theory: An evaluation and a diagnostic test journal January 2008
A long-range-corrected density functional that performs well for both ground-state properties and time-dependent density functional theory excitation energies, including charge-transfer excited states journal February 2009
The Quest for Highly Accurate Excitation Energies: A Computational Perspective journal March 2020
A well-tempered density functional theory of electrons in molecules journal January 2007
Exciton-Plasmon States in Nanoscale Materials: Breakdown of the Tamm−Dancoff Approximation journal August 2009
GW 100: Benchmarking G 0 W 0 for Molecular Systems journal November 2015
Size-Dependence of Nonempirically Tuned DFT Starting Points for G 0 W 0 Applied to π-Conjugated Molecular Chains journal September 2017
Random-Phase Approximation Methods journal May 2017
Localization and Delocalization Errors in Density Functional Theory and Implications for Band-Gap Prediction journal April 2008
Improving virtual Kohn–Sham orbitals and eigenvalues: Application to excitation energies and static polarizabilities journal December 1998
The GW method journal March 1998
Charge-Transfer Excitations: A Challenge for Time-Dependent Density Functional Theory That Has Been Met journal May 2017
Benchmarks of electronically excited states: Basis set effects on CASPT2 results journal November 2010
Density Functional Theory with Correct Long-Range Asymptotic Behavior journal February 2005
Failure of Time-Dependent Density Functional Theory for Long-Range Charge-Transfer Excited States:  The Zincbacteriochlorin−Bacteriochlorin and Bacteriochlorophyll−Spheroidene Complexes journal March 2004
Fractional charge perspective on the band gap in density-functional theory journal March 2008
Cross-Comparisons between Experiment, TD-DFT, CC, and ADC for Transition Energies journal June 2019
A Mountaineering Strategy to Excited States: Highly Accurate Energies and Benchmarks for Medium Sized Molecules journal January 2020
Overcoming Low Orbital Overlap and Triplet Instability Problems in TDDFT journal September 2012
Benchmarking the Starting Points of the GW Approximation for Molecules journal December 2012
Extensive TD-DFT Benchmark: Singlet-Excited States of Organic Molecules journal August 2009
Accuracy Assessment of GW Starting Points for Calculating Molecular Excitation Energies Using the Bethe–Salpeter Formalism journal March 2018
Equation of Motion for the Solvent Polarization Apparent Charges in the Polarizable Continuum Model: Application to Real-Time TDDFT journal December 2014
Koopmans-Compliant Functionals and Potentials and Their Application to the GW100 Test Set journal January 2019
Spin-orbit relativistic long-range corrected time-dependent density functional theory for investigating spin-forbidden transitions in photochemical reactions journal December 2011
Strategy for finding a reliable starting point for G 0 W 0 demonstrated for molecules journal July 2012
First principles theoretical spectroscopy of methylene blue: Between limitations of time-dependent density functional theory approximations and its realistic description in the solvent journal January 2021
The Bethe–Salpeter Equation Formalism: From Physics to Chemistry journal August 2020
Analytical energy gradients of Coulomb-attenuated time-dependent density functional methods for excited states journal May 2010
Evaluation of Single-Reference DFT-Based Approaches for the Calculation of Spectroscopic Signatures of Excited States Involved in Singlet Fission journal September 2020
An assessment of low-lying excitation energies and triplet instabilities of organic molecules with an ab initio Bethe-Salpeter equation approach and the Tamm-Dancoff approximation journal May 2017
Assessment of the Ab Initio Bethe–Salpeter Equation Approach for the Low-Lying Excitation Energies of Bacteriochlorophylls and Chlorophylls journal March 2021
Excited-state electronic structure of molecules using many-body Green’s functions: Quasiparticles and electron–hole excitations with VOTCA-XTP journal March 2020
Density-Functional Theory for Time-Dependent Systems journal March 1984
Excitation Gaps of Finite-Sized Systems from Optimally Tuned Range-Separated Hybrid Functionals journal April 2012
Quantitative Accuracy in Calculating Charge Transfer State Energies in Solvated Molecular Complexes Using a Screened Range Separated Hybrid Functional within a Polarized Continuum Model journal June 2019
Ab Initio Calculation of Vibrational Absorption and Circular Dichroism Spectra Using Density Functional Force Fields journal November 1994
TD-DFT Performance for the Visible Absorption Spectra of Organic Dyes:  Conventional versus Long-Range Hybrids journal November 2007
From Biomass to a Renewable LiXC6O6 Organic Electrode for Sustainable Li-Ion Batteries journal April 2008
Integral approximations for LCAO-SCF calculations journal October 1993
Excited-State Geometry Optimization of Small Molecules with Many-Body Green’s Functions Theory journal January 2021
Time-Dependent Density Functional Theory journal June 2004
Koopmans’ springs to life journal December 2009
Fundamental and excitation gaps in molecules of relevance for organic photovoltaics from an optimally tuned range-separated hybrid functional journal August 2011