Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Log inSign up
Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Blog
Job Board
Q3AS

© 2026 Aqora Quantum S.A.S.

TermsPrivacyLegal Notice

arXiv:1706.05396 · Molecular Physics

Efficient electronic structure theory via hierarchical scale-adaptive coupled-cluster formalism: I. Theory and computational complexity analysis

Dmitry I. Lyakh

Published Sep 7, 2017• 2 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

A novel reduced-scaling, general-order coupled-cluster approach is formulated by exploiting hierarchical representations of many-body tensors, combined with the recently suggested formalism of scale-adaptive tensor algebra. Inspired by the hierarchical techniques from the renormalisation group approach, H/H2-matrix algebra and fast multipole method, the computational scaling reduction in our formalism is achieved via coarsening of quantum many-body interactions at larger interaction scales, thus imposing a hierarchical structure on many-body tensors of coupled-cluster theory. In our approach, the interaction scale can be defined on any appropriate Euclidean domain (spatial domain, momentum-space domain, energy domain, etc.). We show that the hierarchically resolved many-body tensors can reduce the storage requirements to O(N), where N is the number of simulated quantum particles. Subsequently, we prove that any connected many-body diagram consisting of a finite number of arbitrary-order tensors, e.g. an arbitrary coupled-cluster diagram, can be evaluated in O(NlogN) floating-point operations. On top of that, we suggest an additional approximation to further reduce the computational complexity of higher order coupled-cluster equations, i.e. equations involving higher than double excitations, which otherwise would introduce a large prefactor into formal O(NlogN) scaling.

DOI
10.1080/00268976.2017.1367856

Related papers

An Efficient Implementation of Second Quantization-Based Many-Body Methods for Electrons and its Application to Coupled-Cluster with Arbitrary Excitation Level

Anna Engels-Putzka

This thesis deals with selected aspects of a new implementation of many-body methods which can be formulated in the framework of second quantization, in particular the coupled-cluster (CC) method with arbitrary excitation level. Coupled-cluster is one of the most successful and widely used quantum chemical methods for accurate calculations on small to medium-sized molecules. Since it employs a nonlinear parametrization of the wave function, its implementation is rather difficult, in particular if higher (i.e. more than double) excitations are to be included. The latter is necessary to obtain highly accurate results and also as a prerequisite for the generalization to multi-reference cases. The implementation described here has a twofold focus. One is on generality and flexibility regarding the method to be implemented, the other is on efficiency. To achieve flexibility, it is useful to have a machinery which automatically derives working equations for a given method. We realize this by applying techniques of second quantization. This work treats in particular the last step of this procedure, namely the simplification of the resulting equations by the identification of equivalent terms. The algorithm used here is based on the interpretation of algebraic terms as graphs. The derived CC equations then have to be solved iteratively. The efficiency of the program is mainly determined by the evaluation of the occurring expressions, which has to be done in each iteration step. The evaluation is split up in a sequence of tensor contractions. Their generic implementation is complicated by the particular structure of the involved tensors. We reduce each contraction to a sequence of matrix multiplications, which requires a previous data rearranging. But since matrix multiplication is the most efficient operation on modern computers, this additional effort pays off. Preliminary tests show that our program is at least as fast as the most efficient general coupled-cluster implementation so far, and the relation is expected to improve for calculations with larger basis sets where the matrix multiplication becomes the time-determining step. Finally, we give an outlook to possible further developments. In particular, the preparation of the equations before the actual evaluation (factorization) offers much potential for optimizations which we do not exploit at the moment, in contrast to the program with which we compare, which employs at least a partial optimization at this point.

•Jan 1, 2009•0 citations

A Tensor-product approach for large scale electronic structure calculations using Kohn–Sham density functional theory

Phani Motamarri, Vikram Gavini, Thomas Blesgen

Quantum-mechanical calculations based on Kohn–Sham density functional theory (DFT) played a significant role in accurately predicting various aspects of materials behavior over the past decade. The Kohn–Sham approach to DFT reduces the many-body Schrodinger (eigen value) problem of interacting electrons into an equivalent problem of noninteracting electrons in an effective mean field that is governed by electron-density. Despite the reduced computational complexity of Kohn–Sham DFT, large-scale DFT calculations are still computationally very demanding with the resulting computational complexity scaling cubically with number of atoms in a given materials system. Numerical algorithms with reduced scaling behavior which are robust, computationally efficient and scalable on parallel computing architectures are always desirable to enable simulations at larger scales and on more complex systems. Following this line of thought, this study explores the use of tensor structured methods for ab-initio numerical solution of Kohn–Sham equations arising in DFT calculations. Earlier studies on tensor-structured methods have been quite successful in the accurate calculation of Hartree and the nonlocal exchange operators arising in the Hartree–Fock equations. A recent investigation of low-rank Tucker-type decomposition of the electron-density of large aluminum clusters (obtained from the finite-element discretization of orbital free DFT) shows the exponential decay of approximation error with respect to Tucker rank (number of tensor-basis functions in Tucker type representation). The results also indicate a smaller Tucker rank for the accurate representation of the electron density and is only weakly dependent on the system sizes studied. The promising success of tensor-structured techniques in resolving the electronic structure of material systems has enabled us to take a step further. In this study, we propose a systematic way of computing a globally adapted Tucker-type basis for solving the Kohn–Sham DFT problem by using a separable approximation of the Kohn–Sham Hamiltonian. Further, the resulting Kohn–Sham eigenvalue problem is projected into the aforementioned Tucker basis and is solved for ground-state energy using a self-consistent field iteration. The rank of the resulting Tucker representation and the computational complexity of the calculation are examined on representative benchmark examples involving metallic and insulating systems.

•Jan 1, 2014•0 citations

Coupled Cluster Theory in Materials Science

Igor Ying Zhang, Andreas Grüneis

The workhorse method of computational materials science is undeniably density functional theory in the Kohn-Sham framework of approximate exchange and correlation energy functionals. However, the need for highly accurate predictions of ground and excited state properties in materials science motivates the further development and exploration of alternative as well as complementary techniques. Among these alternative approaches, quantum chemical wavefunction based theories and in particular coupled cluster theory hold the promise to fill a gap in the toolbox of computational materials scientists. Coupled cluster (CC) theory provides a compelling framework of approximate infinite-order perturbation theory in the form of an exponential of cluster operators describing the true quantum many-body effects of the electronic wave function at a computational cost that, despite being significantly more expensive than DFT, scales polynomially with system size. The hierarchy of size-extensive approximate methods established in the framework of CC theory achieves systematic improvability for many materials properties. This is in contrast to currently available density functionals that often suffer from uncontrolled approximations that limit the accuracy in the prediction of materials properties. In this tutorial-style review we will introduce basic concepts of coupled cluster theory and recent developments that increase its computational efficiency for calculations of molecules, solids and materials in general. We will touch upon the connection between coupled cluster theory and the random-phase approximation to bridge the gap between traditional quantum chemistry and many-body Green’s function theories that are widely-used in the field of solid state physics. We will discuss various approaches to improve the computational performance without compromising accuracy. These approaches include large-scale parallel design as well as techniques that reduce the prefactor of the computational complexity. A central part of this article discusses the convergence of calculated properties to the thermodynamic limit which is of significant importance for reliable predictions of materials properties and constitutes an additional challenge compared to calculations of large molecules. Furthermore we mention technical aspects of computer code implementations of periodic coupled cluster theories in different numerical frameworks of the one-electron orbital basis; the projector-augmented-wave formalism using a plane wave basis set and the numeric atom-centered-orbital with resolution-of-identity.

arXiv:2004.06424•Frontiers in Materials•Jun 5, 2019•138 citations

Cluster-expansion representation of the quantum dynamics

M. Kira, S. W. Koch

In this book, we encounter the hierarchy problem when we apply the equation-of-motion technique to analyze the quantum dynamics of the coupled light–matter system. To obtain systematic approximations, we use the so-called cluster-expansion method where many-body quantities are systematically grouped into cluster classes based on how important they are to the overall quantum dynamics. With increasing complexity, the clusters contain independent single particles (singlets), interacting pairs (doublets), three-particle terms (triplets), coupled four-particle contributions (quadruplets), as well as higher-order correlations. In this context, the N -particle concept is somewhat formal because it refers to generic N -particle expectation values 〈 N 〉, which may consist of an arbitrary mixture of carrier, photon, and phonon operators, as discussed in Section 14.2. In order to truncate the hierarchy problem at a given level, 〈 N 〉 is approximated through a functional structure that includes all clusters up to the predetermined level while all remaining clusters with a higher rank are omitted. It is natural that the corresponding approximations can be systematically improved by increasing the number of clusters included. To the best of our knowledge, the idea of coupled-clusters approaches was first formulated by Fritz Coester and Hermann Kümmel in the 1950s to describe nuclear many-body phenomena. The approach was then modified for the needs of quantum chemistry by Jiri Cizek 1966 to deal with many-body phenomena in atoms and molecules. Currently, it is one of the most accurate methods to compute molecular eigenstates.

Cambridge University Press eBooks•Nov 17, 2011•0 citations

Algebraic connectivity analysis in molecular electronic structure theory II: total exponential formulation of second-quantised correlated methods

Dmitry I. Lyakh, Rodney J. Bartlett

The fundamentality of the exponential representation of a second-quantised correlated wave function is emphasised with an accent on the physical sense of cluster amplitudes as cumulants of the correlated ansatz. Three main wave function formalisms, namely, the configuration-interaction theory, the coupled-cluster approach, and the many-body perturbation theory (as well as their extensions, e.g. the equation-of-motion coupled-cluster method, multireference schemes, etc.), are represented in an exponential form, leading to a formulation of the working equations in terms of cluster amplitudes. By expressing the corresponding many-body tensor equations in terms of cluster amplitudes, we could unambiguously check connectivity types and the asymptotic behaviour of all tensors/scalars involved (in the formal limit of an infinite number of correlated particles). In particular, the appearance of disconnected cluster amplitudes corresponds to unphysical correlations. Besides, we demonstrate that the equation-of-motion coupled-cluster approach, as well as certain excited-state configuration-interaction methods, can be recast in a fully connected (exponential) form, thus breaking the common belief that all truncated configuration-interaction methods violate connectivity. Our work is based on the recently developed algebraic framework which can be viewed as a complement to the classical diagrammatic analysis.

Molecular Physics•Jun 18, 2013•13 citations

Dimensionality reduction of the many-body problem using coupled-cluster subsystem flow equations: Classical and quantum computing perspective

Karol Kowalski

We discuss reduced-scaling strategies employing the recently introduced subsystem embedding subalgebra (SES) coupled-cluster (CC) formalism to describe quantum many-body systems. These strategies utilize properties of the SES CC formulations where the equations describing certain classes of subsystems can be integrated into computational flows composed of coupled eigenvalue problems of reduced dimensionality. Additionally, these flows can be determined at the level of the CC ansatz by the inclusion of selected classes of cluster amplitudes, which define the wave-function ``memory'' of possible partitioning of the many-body system into constituent subsystems. One of the possible ways of solving these coupled problems is through implementing procedures where the information is passed between the subsystems in a self-consistent manner. As a special case we consider local flow formulations where the local character of correlation effects can be closely related to the properties of subsystem embedding subalgebras employing a localized molecular basis. We also generalize flow equations to the time domain and to downfolding methods utilizing a double-exponential unitary CC ansatz, where the reduced dimensionality of constituent subproblems offers a possibility of efficient utilization of limited quantum resources in modeling realistic systems.

arXiv:2102.05783•Physical Review A•Sep 7, 2021•39 citations
A novel reduced-scaling, general-order coupled-cluster approach is formulated by exploiting hierarchical representations of many-body tensors, combined with the recently suggested formalism of scale-adaptive tensor algebra. Inspired by the hierarchical techniques from the renormalisation group approach, H/H2-matrix algebra and fast multipole method, the computational scaling reduction in our formalism is achieved via coarsening of quantum many-body interactions at larger interaction scales, thus imposing a hierarchical structure on many-body tensors of coupled-cluster theory. In our approach, the interaction scale can be defined on any appropriate Euclidean domain (spatial domain, momentum-space domain, energy domain, etc.). We show that the hierarchically resolved many-body tensors can reduce the storage requirements to O(N), where N is the number of simulated quantum particles. Subsequently, we prove that any connected many-body diagram consisting of a finite number of arbitrary-order tensors, e.g. an arbitrary coupled-cluster diagram, can be evaluated in O(NlogN) floating-point operations. On top of that, we suggest an additional approximation to further reduce the computational complexity of higher order coupled-cluster equations, i.e. equations involving higher than double excitations, which otherwise would introduce a large prefactor into formal O(NlogN) scaling.
This thesis deals with selected aspects of a new implementation of many-body methods which can be formulated in the framework of second quantization, in particular the coupled-cluster (CC) method with arbitrary excitation level. Coupled-cluster is one of the most successful and widely used quantum chemical methods for accurate calculations on small to medium-sized molecules. Since it employs a nonlinear parametrization of the wave function, its implementation is rather difficult, in particular if higher (i.e. more than double) excitations are to be included. The latter is necessary to obtain highly accurate results and also as a prerequisite for the generalization to multi-reference cases. The implementation described here has a twofold focus. One is on generality and flexibility regarding the method to be implemented, the other is on efficiency. To achieve flexibility, it is useful to have a machinery which automatically derives working equations for a given method. We realize this by applying techniques of second quantization. This work treats in particular the last step of this procedure, namely the simplification of the resulting equations by the identification of equivalent terms. The algorithm used here is based on the interpretation of algebraic terms as graphs. The derived CC equations then have to be solved iteratively. The efficiency of the program is mainly determined by the evaluation of the occurring expressions, which has to be done in each iteration step. The evaluation is split up in a sequence of tensor contractions. Their generic implementation is complicated by the particular structure of the involved tensors. We reduce each contraction to a sequence of matrix multiplications, which requires a previous data rearranging. But since matrix multiplication is the most efficient operation on modern computers, this additional effort pays off. Preliminary tests show that our program is at least as fast as the most efficient general coupled-cluster implementation so far, and the relation is expected to improve for calculations with larger basis sets where the matrix multiplication becomes the time-determining step. Finally, we give an outlook to possible further developments. In particular, the preparation of the equations before the actual evaluation (factorization) offers much potential for optimizations which we do not exploit at the moment, in contrast to the program with which we compare, which employs at least a partial optimization at this point.
Quantum-mechanical calculations based on Kohn–Sham density functional theory (DFT) played a significant role in accurately predicting various aspects of materials behavior over the past decade. The Kohn–Sham approach to DFT reduces the many-body Schrodinger (eigen value) problem of interacting electrons into an equivalent problem of noninteracting electrons in an effective mean field that is governed by electron-density. Despite the reduced computational complexity of Kohn–Sham DFT, large-scale DFT calculations are still computationally very demanding with the resulting computational complexity scaling cubically with number of atoms in a given materials system. Numerical algorithms with reduced scaling behavior which are robust, computationally efficient and scalable on parallel computing architectures are always desirable to enable simulations at larger scales and on more complex systems. Following this line of thought, this study explores the use of tensor structured methods for ab-initio numerical solution of Kohn–Sham equations arising in DFT calculations. Earlier studies on tensor-structured methods have been quite successful in the accurate calculation of Hartree and the nonlocal exchange operators arising in the Hartree–Fock equations. A recent investigation of low-rank Tucker-type decomposition of the electron-density of large aluminum clusters (obtained from the finite-element discretization of orbital free DFT) shows the exponential decay of approximation error with respect to Tucker rank (number of tensor-basis functions in Tucker type representation). The results also indicate a smaller Tucker rank for the accurate representation of the electron density and is only weakly dependent on the system sizes studied. The promising success of tensor-structured techniques in resolving the electronic structure of material systems has enabled us to take a step further. In this study, we propose a systematic way of computing a globally adapted Tucker-type basis for solving the Kohn–Sham DFT problem by using a separable approximation of the Kohn–Sham Hamiltonian. Further, the resulting Kohn–Sham eigenvalue problem is projected into the aforementioned Tucker basis and is solved for ground-state energy using a self-consistent field iteration. The rank of the resulting Tucker representation and the computational complexity of the calculation are examined on representative benchmark examples involving metallic and insulating systems.
The workhorse method of computational materials science is undeniably density functional theory in the Kohn-Sham framework of approximate exchange and correlation energy functionals. However, the need for highly accurate predictions of ground and excited state properties in materials science motivates the further development and exploration of alternative as well as complementary techniques. Among these alternative approaches, quantum chemical wavefunction based theories and in particular coupled cluster theory hold the promise to fill a gap in the toolbox of computational materials scientists. Coupled cluster (CC) theory provides a compelling framework of approximate infinite-order perturbation theory in the form of an exponential of cluster operators describing the true quantum many-body effects of the electronic wave function at a computational cost that, despite being significantly more expensive than DFT, scales polynomially with system size. The hierarchy of size-extensive approximate methods established in the framework of CC theory achieves systematic improvability for many materials properties. This is in contrast to currently available density functionals that often suffer from uncontrolled approximations that limit the accuracy in the prediction of materials properties. In this tutorial-style review we will introduce basic concepts of coupled cluster theory and recent developments that increase its computational efficiency for calculations of molecules, solids and materials in general. We will touch upon the connection between coupled cluster theory and the random-phase approximation to bridge the gap between traditional quantum chemistry and many-body Green’s function theories that are widely-used in the field of solid state physics. We will discuss various approaches to improve the computational performance without compromising accuracy. These approaches include large-scale parallel design as well as techniques that reduce the prefactor of the computational complexity. A central part of this article discusses the convergence of calculated properties to the thermodynamic limit which is of significant importance for reliable predictions of materials properties and constitutes an additional challenge compared to calculations of large molecules. Furthermore we mention technical aspects of computer code implementations of periodic coupled cluster theories in different numerical frameworks of the one-electron orbital basis; the projector-augmented-wave formalism using a plane wave basis set and the numeric atom-centered-orbital with resolution-of-identity.
In this book, we encounter the hierarchy problem when we apply the equation-of-motion technique to analyze the quantum dynamics of the coupled light–matter system. To obtain systematic approximations, we use the so-called cluster-expansion method where many-body quantities are systematically grouped into cluster classes based on how important they are to the overall quantum dynamics. With increasing complexity, the clusters contain independent single particles (singlets), interacting pairs (doublets), three-particle terms (triplets), coupled four-particle contributions (quadruplets), as well as higher-order correlations. In this context, the N -particle concept is somewhat formal because it refers to generic N -particle expectation values 〈 N 〉, which may consist of an arbitrary mixture of carrier, photon, and phonon operators, as discussed in Section 14.2. In order to truncate the hierarchy problem at a given level, 〈 N 〉 is approximated through a functional structure that includes all clusters up to the predetermined level while all remaining clusters with a higher rank are omitted. It is natural that the corresponding approximations can be systematically improved by increasing the number of clusters included. To the best of our knowledge, the idea of coupled-clusters approaches was first formulated by Fritz Coester and Hermann Kümmel in the 1950s to describe nuclear many-body phenomena. The approach was then modified for the needs of quantum chemistry by Jiri Cizek 1966 to deal with many-body phenomena in atoms and molecules. Currently, it is one of the most accurate methods to compute molecular eigenstates.
The fundamentality of the exponential representation of a second-quantised correlated wave function is emphasised with an accent on the physical sense of cluster amplitudes as cumulants of the correlated ansatz. Three main wave function formalisms, namely, the configuration-interaction theory, the coupled-cluster approach, and the many-body perturbation theory (as well as their extensions, e.g. the equation-of-motion coupled-cluster method, multireference schemes, etc.), are represented in an exponential form, leading to a formulation of the working equations in terms of cluster amplitudes. By expressing the corresponding many-body tensor equations in terms of cluster amplitudes, we could unambiguously check connectivity types and the asymptotic behaviour of all tensors/scalars involved (in the formal limit of an infinite number of correlated particles). In particular, the appearance of disconnected cluster amplitudes corresponds to unphysical correlations. Besides, we demonstrate that the equation-of-motion coupled-cluster approach, as well as certain excited-state configuration-interaction methods, can be recast in a fully connected (exponential) form, thus breaking the common belief that all truncated configuration-interaction methods violate connectivity. Our work is based on the recently developed algebraic framework which can be viewed as a complement to the classical diagrammatic analysis.
We discuss reduced-scaling strategies employing the recently introduced subsystem embedding subalgebra (SES) coupled-cluster (CC) formalism to describe quantum many-body systems. These strategies utilize properties of the SES CC formulations where the equations describing certain classes of subsystems can be integrated into computational flows composed of coupled eigenvalue problems of reduced dimensionality. Additionally, these flows can be determined at the level of the CC ansatz by the inclusion of selected classes of cluster amplitudes, which define the wave-function ``memory'' of possible partitioning of the many-body system into constituent subsystems. One of the possible ways of solving these coupled problems is through implementing procedures where the information is passed between the subsystems in a self-consistent manner. As a special case we consider local flow formulations where the local character of correlation effects can be closely related to the properties of subsystem embedding subalgebras employing a localized molecular basis. We also generalize flow equations to the time domain and to downfolding methods utilizing a double-exponential unitary CC ansatz, where the reduced dimensionality of constituent subproblems offers a possibility of efficient utilization of limited quantum resources in modeling realistic systems.