The two faces of static correlation

Abstract

Restricted Hartree-Fock (RHF) and UHF wavefunctions for beryllium-like ions with nuclear charge 3 ≤ Z ≤ 5 are found using a near-complete Slater basis set. The triplet (RHF → UHF) instability and correlation energy are investigated as a function of Z and we find that the instability vanishes for Z > 4.5. We reproduce this surprising behavior using a minimal-basis model and, by comparing with the stretched H(2) molecule, conclude that "static" (also known as nondynamical, near-degeneracy, first-order, or strong) correlation comes in two flavors: one that can be captured by UHF and another that cannot. In the former (Type A), there is an "absolute near-degeneracy"; in the latter (Type B), there is a "relative near-degeneracy." This dichotomy clarifies discussions of static correlation effects.J.W.H. thanks P.-F. Loos for valuable discussions and the National Science and Engineering Research Council of Canada for funding. P.M.W.G. thanks the NCI National Facility for supercomputer time and the Australian Research Council (Grants Nos. DP0771978 and DP0984806)