Hilbert space renormalization for the many-electron problem

Renormalization is a powerful concept in the many-body problem. Inspired by the highly successful density matrix renormalization group (DMRG) algorithm, and the quantum chemical graphical representation of configuration space, we introduce a new theoretical tool: Hilbert space renormalization, to describe many-electron correlations. While in DMRG, the many-body states in nested Fock subspaces are successively renormalized, in Hilbert space renormalization, many-body states in nested Hilbert subspaces undergo renormalization. This provides a new way to classify and combine configurations. The underlying wavefunction ansatz, namely the Hilbert space matrix product state (HS-MPS), has a very rich and flexible mathematical structure. It provides low-rank tensor approximations to any configuration interaction (CI) space through restricting either the 'physical indices' or the coupling rules in the HS-MPS. Alternatively, simply truncating the 'virtual dimension' of the HS-MPS leads to a family of size-extensive wave function ansaetze that can be used efficiently in variational calculations. We make formal and numerical comparisons between the HS-MPS, the traditional Fock-space MPS used in DMRG, and traditional CI approximations. The analysis and results shed light on fundamental aspects of the efficient representation of many-electron wavefunctions through the renormalization of many-body states.Comment: 23 pages, 14 figures, The following article has been submitted to The Journal of Chemical Physic

Time-reversal symmetry adaptation in relativistic density matrix renormalization group algorithm

In the nonrelativistic Schr\"{o}dinger equation, the total spin $S$ and spin projection $M$ are good quantum numbers. In contrast, spin symmetry is lost in the presence of spin-dependent interactions such as spin-orbit couplings in relativistic Hamiltonians. Previous implementations of relativistic density matrix renormalization group algorithm (R-DMRG) only employing particle number symmetry are much more expensive than nonrelativistic DMRG. Besides, artificial breaking of Kramers degeneracy can happen in the treatment of systems with odd number of electrons. To overcome these issues, we introduce time-reversal symmetry adaptation for R-DMRG. Since the time-reversal operator is antiunitary, this cannot be simply achieved in the usual way. We define a time-reversal symmetry-adapted renormalized basis and present strategies to maintain the structure of basis functions during the sweep optimization. With time-reversal symmetry adaptation, only half of the renormalized operators are needed and the computational costs of Hamiltonian-wavefunction multiplication and renormalization are reduced by half. The present construction of time-reversal symmetry-adapted basis also directly applies to other tensor network states without loops.Comment: 13 page

A Perturbative Density Matrix Renormalization Group Algorithm for Large Active Spaces

We describe a low cost alternative to the standard variational DMRG (density matrix renormalization group) algorithm that is analogous to the combination of selected configuration interaction plus perturbation theory (SCI+PT). We denote the resulting method p-DMRG (perturbative DMRG) to distinguish it from the standard variational DMRG. p-DMRG is expected to be useful for systems with very large active spaces, for which variational DMRG becomes too expensive. Similar to SCI+PT, in p-DMRG a zeroth-order wavefunction is first obtained by a standard DMRG calculation, but with a small bond dimension. Then, the residual correlation is recovered by a second-order perturbative treatment. We discuss the choice of partitioning for the perturbation theory, which is crucial for its accuracy and robustness. To circumvent the problem of a large bond dimension in the first-order wavefunction, we use a sum of matrix product states (MPS) to expand the first-order wavefunction, yielding substantial savings in computational cost and memory. We also propose extrapolation schemes to reduce the errors in the zeroth- and first-order wavefunctions. Numerical results for Cr 2 with a (28e,76o) active space and 1,3-butadiene with a (22e,82o) active space reveal that p-DMRG provides ground state energies of a similar quality to variational DMRG with very large bond dimensions, but at a significantly lower computational cost. This suggests that p-DMRG will be an efficient tool for benchmark studies in the future

Electronic landscape of the P-cluster of nitrogenase as revealed through many-electron quantum wavefunctions

The electronic structure of the nitrogenase metal cofactors is central to nitrogen fixation. However, the P-cluster and iron molybdenum cofactor, each containing eight irons, have resisted detailed characterization of their electronic properties. Through exhaustive many-electron wavefunction simulations enabled by new theoretical methods, we report on the low-energy electronic states of the P-cluster in three oxidation states. The energy scales of orbital and spin excitations overlap, yielding a dense spectrum with features we trace to the underlying atomic states and recouplings. The clusters exist in superpositions of spin configurations with non-classical spin correlations, complicating interpretation of magnetic spectroscopies, while the charges are mostly localized from reorganization of the cluster and its surroundings. Upon oxidation, the opening of the P-cluster significantly increases the density of states, which is intriguing given its proposed role in electron transfer. These results demonstrate that many-electron simulations stand to provide new insights into the electronic structure of the nitrogenase cofactors.Comment: 23 pages, 5 figure

A Biomimetic Study of Discontinuous-Constraint Metamorphic Mechanism for Gecko-Like Robot

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