Auxiliary-field quantum Monte Carlo calculations of the molybdenum dimer

Chemical accuracy is difficult to achieve for systems with transition metal atoms. Third row transition metal atoms are particularly challenging due to strong electron-electron correlation in localized d-orbitals. The Cr-2 molecule is an outstanding example, which we previously treated with highly accurate auxiliary-field quantum Monte Carlo (AFQMC) calculations [W. Purwanto et al., J. Chem. Phys. 142, 064302 (2015)]. Somewhat surprisingly, computational description of the isoelectronic Mo-2 dimer has also, to date, been scattered and less than satisfactory. We present high-level theoretical benchmarks of the Mo-2 singlet ground state (X-1 Sigma(+)(g)) and first triplet excited state (a(3)Sigma(+)(u)), using the phaseless AFQMC calculations. Extrapolation to the complete basis set limit is performed. Excellent agreement with experimental spectroscopic constants is obtained. We also present a comparison of the correlation effects in Cr-2 and Mo-2. Published by AIP Publishing

Quantum Monte Carlo method for boson ground states: Application to trapped bosons with attractive and repulsive interactions

We formulate a quantum Monte Carlo (QMC) method for calculating the ground state of many-boson systems. The method is based on a field-theoretical approach, and is closely related to existing fermion auxiliary-field QMC methods which are applied in several fields of physics. The ground-state projection is implemented as a branching random walk in the space of permanents consisting of identical single-particle orbitals. Any single-particle basis can be used, and the method is in principle exact. We apply this method to an atomic Bose gas, where the atoms interact via an attractive or repulsive contact two-body potential parametrized by the s-wave scattering length. We choose as the single-particle basis a real-space grid. We compare with exact results in small systems, and arbitrarily-sized systems of untrapped bosons with attractive interactions in one dimension, where analytical solutions exist. Our method provides a way to systematically improve upon the mean-field Gross-Pitaevskii (GP) method while using the same framework, capturing interaction and correlation effects with a stochastic, coherent ensemble of non-interacting solutions. to study the role of many-body correlations in the ground state, we examine the properties of the gas, such as the energetics, condensate fraction, and the density and momentum distributions as a function of the number of particles and the scattering length, both in the homogenous and trapped gases. Results are presented for systems with up to 1000 bosons. Comparing our results to the mean-field GP results, we find significant departure from mean field at large positive scattering lengths. The many-body correlations tend to increase the kinetic energy and reduce the interaction energy compared to GP. In the trapped gases, this results in a qualitatively different behavior as a function of the scattering length. Possible experimental observation is discussed

An auxiliary-field quantum Monte Carlo study of the chromium dimer

The chromium dimer (Cr-2) presents an outstanding challenge for many-body electronic structure methods. Its complicated nature of binding, with a formal sextuple bond and an unusual potential energy curve (PEC), is emblematic of the competing tendencies and delicate balance found in many strongly correlated materials. We present an accurate calculation of the PEC and ground state properties of Cr-2, using the auxiliary-field quantum Monte Carlo (AFQMC) method. Unconstrained, exact AFQMC calculations are first carried out for a medium-sized but realistic basis set. Elimination of the remaining finite-basis errors and extrapolation to the complete basis set limit are then achieved with a combination of phaseless and exact AFQMC calculations. Final results for the PEC and spectroscopic constants are in excellent agreement with experiment. (C) 2015 AIP Publishing LLC

Eliminating spin contamination in auxiliary-field quantum Monte Carlo: realistic potential energy curve of F2

The use of an approximate reference state wave function |Phi_r> in electronic many-body methods can break the spin symmetry of Born-Oppenheimer spin-independent Hamiltonians. This can result in significant errors, especially when bonds are stretched or broken. A simple spin-projection method is introduced for auxiliary-field quantum Monte Carlo (AFQMC) calculations, which yields spin-contamination-free results, even with a spin-contaminated |Phi_r>. The method is applied to the difficult F2 molecule, which is unbound within unrestricted Hartree-Fock (UHF). With a UHF |Phi_r>, spin contamination causes large systematic errors and long equilibration times in AFQMC in the intermediate, bond-breaking region. The spin-projection method eliminates these problems, and delivers an accurate potential energy curve from equilibrium to the dissociation limit using the UHF |Phi_r>. Realistic potential energy curves are obtained with a cc-pVQZ basis. The calculated spectroscopic constants are in excellent agreement with experiment.Comment: 8 pages, 6 figures, submitted to J. Chem. Phy

Ab initio many-body study of cobalt adatoms adsorbed on graphene

Many recent calculations have been performed to study a Co atom adsorbed on graphene, with significantly varying results on the nature of the bonding. We use the auxiliary-field quantum Monte Carlo method and a size-correction embedding scheme to accurately calculate the binding energy of Co on graphene. We find that as a function of the distance h between the Co atom and the sixfold hollow site, there are three distinct ground states corresponding to three electronic configurations of the Co atom. Two of these states provide binding and exhibit a double-well feature with nearly equal binding energy of 0.4 eV at h = 1.51 and h = 1.65 angstrom, corresponding to low-spin Co-2 (3d(9) 4s(0)) and high-spin Co-4 (3d(8) 4s(1)), respectively. DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevB.86.24140

Stability, Energetics, and Magnetic States of Cobalt Adatoms on Graphene

We investigate the stability and electronic properties of single Co atoms on graphene with near-exact many-body calculations. A frozen-orbital embedding scheme was combined with auxiliary-field quantum Monte Carlo calculations to increase the reach in system sizes. Several energy minima are found as a function of the distance h between Co and graphene. Energetics only permit the Co atom to occupy the top site at h = 2.2 angstrom in a high-spin 3d(8)4s(1) state, and the van der Waals region at h = 3.3 angstrom in a high-spin 3d(7)4s(2) state. The findings provide an explanation for recent experimental results with Co on free-standing graphene

Quantum Monte Carlo Calculations in Solids with Downfolded Hamiltonians

We present a combination of a downfolding many-body approach with auxiliary-field quantum Monte Carlo (AFQMC) calculations for extended systems. Many-body calculations operate on a simpler Hamiltonian which retains material-specific properties. The Hamiltonian is systematically improvable and allows one to dial, in principle, between the simplest model and the original Hamiltonian. As a by-product, pseudopotential errors are essentially eliminated using frozen orbitals constructed adaptively from the solid environment. The computational cost of the many-body calculation is dramatically reduced without sacrificing accuracy. Excellent accuracy is achieved for a range of solids, including semiconductors, ionic insulators, and metals. We apply the method to calculate the equation of state of cubic BN under ultrahigh pressure, and determine the spin gap in NiO, a challenging prototypical material with strong electron correlation effects