We describe a low cost alternative to the standard variational DMRG (density matrix renormalization group) algorithm that is analogous to the combination of the selected configuration interaction plus perturbation theory (SCI+PT). We denote the resulting method p-DMRG (perturbative DMRG) to distinguish it from the standard variational DMRG. p-DMRG is expected to be useful for systems with very large active spaces, for which variational DMRG becomes too expensive. Similar to SCI+PT, in p-DMRG, a zeroth-order wave function is first obtained by a standard DMRG calculation but with a small bond dimension. Then, the residual correlation is recovered by a second-order perturbative treatment. We discuss the choice of partitioning for perturbation theory, which is crucial for its accuracy and robustness. To circumvent the problem of a large bond dimension in the first-order wave function, we use a sum of matrix product states to expand the first-order wave function, yielding substantial savings in computational cost and memory. We also propose extrapolation schemes to reduce the errors in the zeroth- and first-order wave functions. Numerical results for Cr 2 with a (28e, 76o) active space and 1,3-butadiene with an (22e, 82o) active space reveal that p-DMRG provides ground state energies of a similar quality to variational DMRG with very large bond dimensions but at a significantly lower computational cost. This suggests that p-DMRG will be an efficient tool for benchmark studies in the future.
We describe a low cost alternative to the standard variational DMRG (density matrix renormalization group) algorithm that is analogous to the combination of the selected configuration interaction plus perturbation theory (SCI+PT). We denote the resulting method p-DMRG (perturbative DMRG) to distinguish it from the standard variational DMRG. p-DMRG is expected to be useful for systems with very large active spaces, for which variational DMRG becomes too expensive. Similar to SCI+PT, in p-DMRG, a zeroth-order wave function is first obtained by a standard DMRG calculation but with a small bond dimension. Then, the residual correlation is recovered by a second-order perturbative treatment. We discuss the choice of partitioning for perturbation theory, which is crucial for its accuracy and robustness. To circumvent the problem of a large bond dimension in the first-order wave function, we use a sum of matrix product states to expand the first-order wave function, yielding substantial savings in computational cost and memory. We also propose extrapolation schemes to reduce the errors in the zeroth- and first-order wave functions. Numerical results for Cr 2 with a (28e, 76o) active space and 1,3-butadiene with an (22e, 82o) active space reveal that p-DMRG provides ground state energies of a similar quality to variational DMRG with very large bond dimensions but at a significantly lower computational cost. This suggests that p-DMRG will be an efficient tool for benchmark studies in the future.
We propose an inner space perturbation theory (isPT) to replace the expensive iterative diagonalization in the standard density matrix renormalization group theory (DMRG). The retained reduced density matrix eigenstates are partitioned into the active and secondary space. The first-order wave function and the second- and third-order energies are easily computed by using one step Davidson iteration. Our formulation has several advantages including (i) keeping a balance between the efficiency and accuracy, (ii) capturing more entanglement with the same amount of computational time, (iii) recovery of the standard DMRG when all the basis states belong to the active space. Numerical examples for the polyacenes and periacene show that the efficiency gain is considerable and the accuracy loss due to the perturbation treatment is very small, when half of the total basis states belong to the active space. Moreover, the perturbation calculations converge in all our numerical examples.
The density matrix renormalization group (DMRG) is one of the most powerful numerical methods available for many-body systems. It has been applied to solve many physical problems, including the calculation of ground states and dynamical properties. In this work, we develop a perturbation theory of the DMRG (PT-DMRG) to greatly increase its accuracy in an extremely simple and efficient way. Using the canonical matrix product state (MPS) representation for the ground state of the considered system, a set of orthogonal basis functions $\left\{|{\ensuremath{\psi}}_{i}\ensuremath{\rangle}\right\}$ is introduced to describe the perturbations to the ground state obtained by the conventional DMRG. The Schmidt numbers of the MPS that are beyond the bond dimension cutoff are used to define these perturbation terms. The perturbed Hamiltonian is then defined as ${\stackrel{\ifmmode \tilde{}\else \~{}\fi{}}{H}}_{ij}=\ensuremath{\langle}{\ensuremath{\psi}}_{i}|\stackrel{\ifmmode \hat{}\else \^{}\fi{}}{H}|{\ensuremath{\psi}}_{j}\ensuremath{\rangle}$; its ground state permits us to calculate physical observables with a considerably improved accuracy compared to the original DMRG results. We benchmark the second-order perturbation theory with the help of a one-dimensional Ising chain in a transverse field and the Heisenberg chain, where the precision of the DMRG is shown to be improved O(10) times. Furthermore, for moderate L the errors of the DMRG and PT-DMRG both scale linearly with ${L}^{\ensuremath{-}1}$ (with L being the length of the chain). The linear relation between the dimension cutoff of the DMRG and that of the PT-DMRG at the same precision shows a considerable improvement in efficiency, especially for large dimension cutoffs. In the thermodynamic limit we show that the errors of the PT-DMRG scale with $\sqrt{{L}^{\ensuremath{-}1}}$. Our work suggests an effective way to define the tangent space of the ground-state MPS, which may shed light on the properties beyond the ground state. This second-order PT-DMRG can be readily generalized to higher orders, as well as applied to models in higher dimensions.
This article presents an efficient and parallelized implementation of the density matrix renormalization group (DMRG) algorithm for quantum chemistry calculations. The DMRG method as a large-scale multireference electronic structure model is by nature particularly efficient for one-dimensionally correlated systems, while the present development is oriented toward applications for polynuclear transition metal compounds, in which the macroscopic one-dimensional structure of electron correlation is absent. A straightforward extension of the DMRG algorithm is proposed with further improvements and aggressive optimizations to allow its application with large multireference active space, which is often demanded for metal compound calculations. Special efficiency is achieved by making better use of sparsity and symmetry in the operator and wave function representations. By accomplishing computationally intensive DMRG calculations, the authors have found that a large number of renormalized basis states are required to represent high entanglement of the electron correlation for metal compound applications, and it is crucial to adopt auxiliary perturbative correction to the projected density matrix during the DMRG sweep optimization in order to attain proper convergence to the solution. Potential energy curve calculations for the Cr(2) molecule near the known equilibrium precisely predicted the full configuration interaction energies with a correlation space of 24 electrons in 30 orbitals [denoted by (24e,30o)]. The energies are demonstrated to be accurate to 0.6mE(h) (the error from the extrapolated best value) when as many as 10,000 renormalized basis states are employed for the left and right DMRG block representations. The relative energy curves for [Cu(2)O(2)](2+) along the isomerization coordinate were obtained from DMRG and other correlated calculations, for which a fairly large orbital space (32e,62o) is modeled as a full correlation space. The DMRG prediction nearly overlaps with the energy curve from the coupled cluster with singles, doubles, and perturbative triple [CCSD(T)] calculations, while the multireference complete active space self-consistent field (CASSCF) calculations with the small reference configuration (8e,8o) are found to overestimate the biradical character of the electronic state of [Cu(2)O(2)](2+) according to the one-electron density matrix analysis.
Despite the success of modern quantum chemistry in predicting properties of organic molecules, the treatment of inorganic systems, which have many close lying states, remains out of quantitative reach for current methods. To treat non-dynamic correlation, we take advantage of the density matrix renormalization group (DMRG) method that has become very successful in the field of solid state physics. We present a detailed study of the DMRG method, and we pay special attention to the evolution of the understanding behind the mathematical structure of the DMRG wave function. Our primary goal is to develop a density matrix renormalization group self--consistent--field (DMRG-SCF) approach, analogous to the complete active space self--consistent field (CASSCF) method, but dealing with large active spaces that are too demanding for the full configuration interaction (FCI) method. \nAs a first step towards such a DMRG-SCF procedure, we present a spin-adapted DMRG algorithm designed to target spin- and spatial-symmetry states that are hard to obtain while using an unrestricted algorithm. \nOur next step is a modification of the DMRG algorithm to obtain decreasing energy at every step during the sweep. This monotonically convergent DMRG scheme lets us obtain the two-body density matrix as a by--product of the existing procedure without any additional cost in storage. Additionally, the two-body density matrix produced at convergence using this scheme is free from the N-representability problem that is present when the two--body density matrix is produced with the two-site DMRG scheme without additional storage cost. Finally, taking advantage of the modifications developed herein, we present results obtained from our DMRG-SCF method. Lastly, we discuss possible ways of incorporating dynamical correlation into the DMRG scheme, in order to obtain a modern multireference approach.
We present two efficient and intruder-free methods for treating dynamic correlation on top of general multiconfiguration reference wave functions — including such as obtained by the density matrix renormalization group (DMRG) with large active spaces. The new methods are the second order variant of the recently proposed multireference linearized coupled cluster method (MRLCC) [Sharma, S.; Alavi, A. J. Chem. Phys. 2015, 143, 102815] and of N-electron valence perturbation theory (NEVPT2), with expected accuracies similar to MRCI+Q and (at least) CASPT2, respectively. Great efficiency gains are realized by representing the first order wave function with a combination of internal contraction (IC) and matrix product state perturbation theory (MPSPT). With this combination, only third order reduced density matrices (RDMs) are required. Thus, we obviate the need for calculating (or estimating) RDMs of fourth or higher order; these had so far posed a severe bottleneck for dynamic correlation treatments involving the large active spaces accessible to DMRG. Using several benchmark systems, including first and second row containing small molecules, Cr 2, pentacene, and oxo-Mn(Salen), we show that active spaces containing at least 30 orbitals can be treated using this method. On a single node, MRLCC2 and NEVPT2 calculations can be performed with over 550 and 1100 virtual orbitals, respectively. We also critically examine the errors incurred due to the three sources of errors introduced in the present implementation – calculating second order instead of third order energy corrections, use of internal contraction, and approximations made in the reference wave function due to DMRG.
During the past 15 years, the density matrix renormalization group (DMRG) has become increasingly important for ab initio quantum chemistry. The underlying matrix product state (MPS) ansatz is a low-rank decomposition of the full configuration interaction tensor. The virtual dimension of the MPS controls the size of the corner of the many-body Hilbert space that can be reached. Whereas the MPS ansatz will only yield an efficient description for noncritical one-dimensional systems, it can still be used as a variational ansatz for other finite-size systems. Rather large virtual dimensions are then required. The two most important aspects to reduce the corresponding computational cost are a proper choice and ordering of the active space orbitals, and the exploitation of the symmetry group of the Hamiltonian. By taking care of both aspects, DMRG becomes an efficient replacement for exact diagonalization in quantum chemistry. DMRG and Hartree-Fock theory have an analogous structure. The former can be interpreted as a self-consistent mean-field theory in the DMRG lattice sites, and the latter in the particles. It is possible to build upon this analogy to introduce post-DMRG methods. Based on an approximate MPS, these methods provide improved ansätze for the ground state, as well as for excitations. Exponentiation of the single-particle (single-site) excitations for a Slater determinant (an MPS with open boundary conditions) leads to the Thouless theorem for Hartree-Fock theory (DMRG), an explicit nonredundant parameterization of the entire manifold of Slater determinants (MPS wavefunctions). This gives rise to the configuration interaction expansion for DMRG. The Hubbard-Stratonovich transformation lies at the basis of auxiliary field quantum Monte Carlo for Slater determinants. An analogous transformation for spin-lattice Hamiltonians allows to formulate a promising variant for MPSs.