A description of the ab initio quantum chemistry package GAMESS is presented. Chemical systems containing atoms through radon can be treated with wave functions ranging from the simplest closed-shell case up to a general MCSCF case, permitting calculations at the necessary level of sophistication. Emphasis is given to novel features of the program. The parallelization strategy used in the RHF, ROHF, UHF, and GVB sections of the program is described, and detailed speecup results are given. Parallel calculations can be run on ordinary workstations as well as dedicated parallel machines. © John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

General atomic and molecular electronic structure system

A new algorithm is presented for obtaining points on a steepest descent path from the transition state of the reactants and products. In mass‐weighted coordinates, this path corresponds to the intrinsic reaction coordinate. Points on the reaction path are found by constrained optimizations involving all internal degrees of freedom of the molecule. The points are optimized so that the segment of the reaction path between any two adjacent points is given by an arc of a circle, and so that the gradient at each point is tangent to the path. Only the transition vector and the energy gradients are needed to construct the path. The resulting path is continuous, differentiable and piecewise quadratic. In the limit of small step size, the present algorithm is shown to take a step with the correct tangent vector and curvature vector; hence, it is a second order algorithm. The method has been tested on the following reactions: HCN→CNH, SiH2+H2→SiH4, CH4+H→CH3+H2, F−+CH3F→FCH3+F−, and C2H5F→C2H4+HF. Reaction paths calculated with a step size of 0.4 a.u. are almost identical to those computed with a step size of 0.1 a.u. or smaller.

An improved algorithm for reaction path following

The path of chemical reactions - the IRC approach

A series of auxiliary basis sets to fit Coulomb potentials for the elements H to Rn (except lanthanides) is presented. For each element only one auxiliary basis set is needed to approximate Coulomb energies in conjunction with orbital basis sets of split valence, triple zeta valence and quadruple zeta valence quality with errors of typically below ca. 0.15 kJ mol−1 per atom; this was demonstrated in conjunction with the recently developed orbital basis sets of types def2-SV(P), def2-TZVP and def2-QZVPP for a large set of small molecules representing (nearly) each element in all of its common oxidation states. These auxiliary bases are slightly more than three times larger than orbital bases of split valence quality. Compared to non-approximated treatments, computation times for the Coulomb part are reduced by a factor of ca. 8 for def2-SV(P) orbital bases, ca. 25 for def2-TZVP and ca. 100 for def2-QZVPP orbital bases.

Accurate Coulomb-fitting basis sets for H to Rn

A modified conjugate gradient algorithm for geometry optimization is outlined for use with ab initioMO methods. Since the computation time for analytical energy gradients is approximately the same as for the energy, the optimization algorithm evaluates and utilizes the gradients each time the energy is computed. The second derivative matrix, rather than its inverse, is updated employing the gradients. At each step, a one-dimensional minimization using a quartic polynomial is carried out, followed by an n-dimensional search using the second derivative matrix. By suitably controlling the number of negative eigenvalues of the second derivative matrix, the algorithm can also be used to locate transition structures. Representative timing data for optimizations of equilibrium geometries and transition structures are reported for ab initioSCF–MO calculations.

Optimization of equilibrium geometries and transition structures

Use of approximate integrals in ab initio theory. An application in MP2 energy calculations

A practical method of calculating the intrinsic reaction coordinate starting at a saddle point is proposed. The method has been used in combination with the analytical evaluation of the energy gradient for the calculation of the reaction coordinate on an ab initio potential energy surface. The reaction coordinates are obtained for the HNC to HCN isomerization and the SN2 exchange reaction involving H−+CH4→CH4+H−.

The intrinsic reaction coordinate. An ab initio calculation for HNC→HCN and H−+CH4→CH4+H−

Efficient determination and characterization of transition states using ab-initio methods

A new and very efficient method for the calculation of the infrared and Raman spectral intensities of polyatomic molecules using ab initio Hartree–Fock theory is described. The utility of the method is exemplified by an evaluation of the dipole and polarizability derivatives of the ethylene molecule employing a Gaussian basis set of double zeta quality, augmented by two sets of polarization functions. The predicted values of the vibrational intensities and the depolarization ratios are nearly within the experimental uncertainty which indicates that Hartree–Fock theory is capable of correctly describing these phenomena. The new method enables the efficient calculation of these properties by evaluating the dipole and polarizability derivatives as the first and second order contributions to the potential energy gradient of a molecule in the presence of a finite perturbing electric field. The calculations are thus performed at a single nuclear geometry and the molecular integrals are evaluated only once. The ...

An efficient ab initio method for computing infrared and Raman intensities: Application to ethylene

We derive expressions for molecular gradients and hessians for the case when the energy is evaluated using density functional theory. Although derivative expressions have been proposed previously, our derivation is based on the unitary exponential parameterization of the wavefunction, and our expressions are valid for local and non–local potentials. Density functional theory, although similar in implementation to standard SCF theory, differs in that it introduces an exchange–correlation term which is density dependent. The presence of such a quantity introduces additional derivative terms which are not present in standard approaches of electronic structure theory. Expressions are derived for both the exact Coulombic repulsion, as well as the case where the density is expressed as a fitted quantity. Given these choices our final equations offer a computationally tractable expression with particular emphasis on conditions which ensure that the computed quantities are numerically correct. We show that althou...

Andrew Komornicki

Papers

Use of approximate integrals in ab initio theory. An application in MP2 energy calculations

The intrinsic reaction coordinate. An ab initio calculation for HNC→HCN and H−+CH4→CH4+H−

Efficient determination and characterization of transition states using ab-initio methods

An efficient ab initio method for computing infrared and Raman intensities: Application to ethylene

Molecular gradients and hessians implemented in density functional theory