Finite-field Cholesky decomposed coupled-cluster techniques (ff-CD-CC): theory and application to pressure broadening of Mg by a He atmosphere and a strong magnetic field.

For the interpretation of spectra of magnetic stellar objects such as magnetic white dwarfs (WDs), highly accurate quantum chemical predictions for atoms and molecules in finite magnetic field are required. Especially the accurate description of electronically excited states and their properties requires established methods such as those from coupled-cluster (CC) theory. However, respective calculations are computationally challenging even for medium-sized systems.

The approximate coupled-cluster methods CC2 and CC3 in a finite magnetic field.

In this paper, we report on the implementation of CC2 and CC3 in the context of molecules in finite magnetic fields. The methods are applied to the investigation of atoms and molecules through spectroscopic predictions and geometry optimizations for the study of the atmosphere of highly magnetized White Dwarf stars. We show that ground-state finite-field (ff) CC2 is a reasonable alternative to CCSD for energies and, in particular, for geometrical properties.

Magnetic optical rotation from real-time simulations in finite magnetic fields.

We present a numerical approach to magnetic optical rotation based on real-time time-dependent electronic-structure theory. Not relying on perturbation expansions in the magnetic field strength, the formulation allows us to test the range of validity of the linear relation between the rotation angle per unit path length and the magnetic field strength that was established empirically by Verdet 160 years ago. Results obtained from time-dependent coupled-cluster and time-dependent current density-functional theory are presented for the closed-shell molecules H2, HF, and CO in magnetic fields up to 55 kT at standard temperature and pressure conditions.

Spin contamination in MP2 and CC2, a surprising issue.

When calculating the spin multiplicity at either the second-order Møller-Plesset (MP2) or the iterative second-order approximate coupled-cluster singles and doubles (CC2) levels of theory using the same strategy for the calculation of the expectation value as in regular CC theory together with the usual definitions of the MP2 and CC2 density matrices, artificial spin contamination occurs in closed-shell molecules. Non-intuitively, for open-shell systems, results at the MP2 or CC2 levels of theory based on this procedure even suggest stronger contamination at the correlated level than for the Hartree-Fock reference, although treatment of electron correlation should lower spin contamination. In this Communication, the reasons behind this inconsistency are investigated and a solution is proposed, which removes spin contamination for closed-shell molecules and leads to physically meaningful results for open-shell cases.

Searching for Monomeric Nickel Tetrafluoride: Unravelling Infrared Matrix Isolation Spectra of Higher Nickel Fluorides.

Binary transition metal fluorides are textbook examples combining complex electronic features with most fundamental molecular structures. High-valent nickel fluorides are among the strongest known fluorinating and oxidizing agents, but there is a lack of experimental structural and spectroscopic investigations on molecular NiF or NiF . Apart from their demanding synthesis, also their quantum-chemical description is difficult due to their open shell nature and low-lying excited electronic states.