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arXiv:1309.1848 · Physical Review A

Optimal multiconfiguration approximation of an N -fermion wave function

J. M. Zhang, Marcus Kollar

Published Jan 9, 2014• 18 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

We propose a simple iterative algorithm to construct the optimal multiconfiguration approximation of an $N$-fermion wave function. Namely, $M\ensuremath{\ge}N$ single-particle orbitals are sought iteratively so that the projection of the given wave function in the ${C}_{M}^{N}$-dimensional configuration subspace is maximized. The algorithm has a monotonic convergence property and can be easily parallelized. The significance of the algorithm on the study of geometric entanglement in a multifermion system and its implication on the multiconfiguration time-dependent Hartree-Fock (MCTDHF) are discussed. The ground state and real-time dynamics of spinless fermions with nearest-neighbor interaction are studied using this algorithm, discussing several subtleties.

DOI
10.1103/physreva.89.012504

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We propose a simple iterative algorithm to construct the optimal multiconfiguration approximation of an NNN-fermion wave function. Namely, M\ensuremath≥NM\ensuremath{\ge}NM\ensuremath≥N single-particle orbitals are sought iteratively so that the projection of the given wave function in the CMN{C}_{M}^{N}CMN​-dimensional configuration subspace is maximized. The algorithm has a monotonic convergence property and can be easily parallelized. The significance of the algorithm on the study of geometric entanglement in a multifermion system and its implication on the multiconfiguration time-dependent Hartree-Fock (MCTDHF) are discussed. The ground state and real-time dynamics of spinless fermions with nearest-neighbor interaction are studied using this algorithm, discussing several subtleties.
The configuration interaction (CI) method can be regarded as a generalization of the Hartree-Fock theory. The CI method includes multiple determinantal states to approximate the full many-body ground state, as opposed to just one in Hartree-Fock theory. In this work, we introduce an efficient and stable algorithm to obtain the optimal single-particle basis by formulating orbital searching in terms of a multivariable minimization problem. The algorithm is iterative and is based on imaginary-time dynamics. It is numerically efficient as the Hessian (second derivative of the energy with respect to the orbital variables) is not required; it is also stable as a reasonable initial orbital choice is not necessary. The algorithm can deal with Hamiltonians with complex coefficients. We demonstrate the power of the proposed algorithm by applying it to impurity problems, with the most complicated one including multiple correlated orbitals and spin-orbit coupling. Energies and spectral functions are computed to demonstrate the convergence of the CI method.
We report on an implementation of the multiconfigurational time-dependent Hartree method (MCTDH) for spin-polarized fermions (MCTDHF). Our approach is based on a mapping for operators in Fock space that allows a compact and efficient application of the Hamiltonian and solution of the MCTDHF equations of motion. Our implementation extends, builds on, and exploits the recursive implementation of MCTDH for bosons (r-mctdhb) package. Together with r-mctdhb, the present implementation of MCTDHF forms the mctdh-x package. We benchmark the accuracy of the algorithm with the harmonic interaction model and a time-dependent generalization thereof. These models consider parabolically trapped particles that interact through a harmonic interaction potential. We demonstrate that MCTDHF is capable of solving the time-dependent many-fermion Schr\"odinger equation to an arbitrary degree of precision and can hence yield numerically exact results even in the case of Hamiltonians with time-dependent one-body and two-body potentials. We study the problem of two initially parabolically confined and charged fermions tunneling through a barrier to open space. We demonstrate the validity of a model proposed previously for the many-body tunneling to open space of bosonic particles with contact interactions [Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 109, 13521 (2012)]. The many-fermion tunneling can be built up from sequentially happening single-fermion tunneling processes. The characteristic momenta of these processes are determined by the chemical potentials of trapped subsystems of smaller particle numbers: The escaped fermions convert the different chemical potentials into kinetic energy. Using the two-body correlation function, we present a detailed picture of the sequentiality of the process and are able to tell tunneling from over-the-barrier escape.
This contribution is devoted to the mathematical analysis of more or less sophisticated approximations of the time evolution of systems of NNN quantum particles. New results for the Multiconfiguration Time Dependent Hartree-Fock (MCTDHF) method (which cover the material of the talk given by the first author at the “Nonlinear waves conference in honor of Walter Strauss”) are summarized and compared with the simpler Hartree and Hartree-Fock equations.
We investigate the ground-state wave function of a prototypical strongly correlated system, a three-band $(p\ensuremath{-}d)$ Hubbard model of cuprates, using full configuration interaction quantum Monte Carlo. We show that the configuration interaction description of the exact ground state wave function is profoundly affected by the choice of single-particle representation, in a counterintuitive manner. Thus a broken-symmetry unrestricted Hartree-Fock basis, which at a single configuration level produces a qualitatively correct description of the antiferromagnet, results in a highly entangled exact solution consisting of high particle-hole excitations of the reference. This wave function is found to be very difficult to approximate using subspace diagonalizations. Conversely, a restricted Hartree-Fock basis, which yields at a single configuration level a qualitatively incorrect paramagnetic metal, results in a relatively rapidly converging configuration interaction expansion. Convergence can be further accelerated by adopting a natural orbital representation. Our results suggest that with the correct single-particle basis, such strongly correlated systems may be described by relatively compact wave functions.
An optimal choice of single-particle modes leads to an optimal tensor network-based compression of the many-body wave function for systems of indistinguishable particles, which compression can be essential for large, close-to-critical systems. The proposed mode optimization relies on the minimization of the block entropy area, a global quantity that measures entanglement of the wave function along the one-dimensional chain of modes. Extension of the two-site DMRG algorithm by nearest-neighbor mode optimizations is straightforward, but it performs poorly without systematic reordering of modes. Moreover, finding a stationary optimal point in the combination of the fixed-rank MPS manifold and the unitary group of mode rotations requires optimization for every generator, i.e., for every two-mode pair. Here, a systematic joint optimization protocol over the MPS manifold and the full unitary group is presented in which every two-mode pair is accessed by a carefully constructed sequence of two-qubit operations, including swap-gate controlled permutations. Large-scale DMRG simulations of strongly correlated two-dimensional fermionic lattice models and the multireference Fe4_44​S4_44​ transition metal cluster demonstrate rapid convergence towards the optimum, achieving low energy and low entanglement.
The full configuration interaction (full-CI) method is capable of providing the numerically best wave functions and energies of atoms and molecules within basis sets being used, although it is intractable for classical computers. Quantum computers can perform full-CI calculations in polynomial time against the system size by adopting a quantum phase estimation algorithm (QPEA). In the QPEA, the preparation of initial guess wave functions having sufficiently large overlap with the exact wave function is recommended. The Hartree-Fock (HF) wave function is a good initial guess only for closed shell singlet molecules and high-spin molecules carrying no spin-β unpaired electrons, around their equilibrium geometry, and thus, the construction of multiconfigurational wave functions without performing post-HF calculations on classical computers is highly desired for applying the method to a wide variety of chemistries and physics. In this work, we propose a method to construct multiconfigurational initial guess wave functions suitable for QPEA-based full-CI calculations on quantum computers, by utilizing diradical characters computed from spin-projected UHF wave functions. The proposed approach drastically improves the wave function overlap, particularly in molecules with intermediate diradical characters.