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arXiv:2512.08276 · Physical review. B./Physical review. B

Transcorrelated wave-function framework for solids: An application to bulk and defected silicon

Kristoffer Simula, Johannes Hauskrecht, Evelin Martine Corvid Christlmaier, Pablo López Ríos, Daniel Kats, Denis Usvyat, Ali Alavi

Published Apr 6, 2026• 2 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

Accurate wave-function descriptions of pristine and defected solids remain challenging because of the simultaneous presence of finite-size, basis-set, and correlation errors. While embedding techniques alleviate finite-size effects and correlated wave-function approaches systematically improve correlation, basis-set incompleteness continues to limit practical accuracy. Here, we present a study of transcorrelated (TC) many-body wave-function methods on properties of solid state systems. We augment the existing xTC theory to periodic systems, and establish an unified transcorrelated embedding framework that integrates periodic TC theory with fragment-based correlated solvers. Using silicon as a test case, we validate the method against coupled-cluster, FCIQMC, and diffusion Monte Carlo benchmarks for bulk. Then, we apply transcorrelated embedding to the calculation of formation energies of two silicon self-interstitials. The TC Hamiltonian yields rapid basis convergence and quantitatively reliable defect formation energies at the triple- ζ level, substantially reducing the basis-set bottleneck for wave-function treatments of crystalline defects.

DOI
10.1103/d65l-5865

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Accurate wave-function descriptions of pristine and defected solids remain challenging because of the simultaneous presence of finite-size, basis-set, and correlation errors. While embedding techniques alleviate finite-size effects and correlated wave-function approaches systematically improve correlation, basis-set incompleteness continues to limit practical accuracy. Here, we present a study of transcorrelated (TC) many-body wave-function methods on properties of solid state systems. We augment the existing xTC theory to periodic systems, and establish an unified transcorrelated embedding framework that integrates periodic TC theory with fragment-based correlated solvers. Using silicon as a test case, we validate the method against coupled-cluster, FCIQMC, and diffusion Monte Carlo benchmarks for bulk. Then, we apply transcorrelated embedding to the calculation of formation energies of two silicon self-interstitials. The TC Hamiltonian yields rapid basis convergence and quantitatively reliable defect formation energies at the triple- ζ level, substantially reducing the basis-set bottleneck for wave-function treatments of crystalline defects.
We propose a streamlined combination of the transcorrelation (TC) and coupled cluster (CC) theory, which not only increases the convergence rate with respect to the basis set but also extends the applicability of the lowest-order CC approximations to strongly correlated systems. Using the three-dimensional uniform electron gas as a model for real periodic solids and highly accurate ground-state energies from the state-of-the-art quantum Monte Carlo methods as benchmark, we show that, with the correct physical insights incorporated, our TC-CC methods gain drastic improvements in accuracy compared with canonical CC methods, and the errors of our methods remain $\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.001$ Hartree per electron (Ha/electron) across a wide range of densities. With the greatly improved efficiencies and the balanced and accurate performances at both low and high densities, our methods present great promise for applications on real solids with weak and strong correlations.
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Understanding emergent many-body phenomena in correlated materials remains one of the grandest challenges in solid-state quantum chemistry calculations. The individuality of electrons diminishes as correlation increases, which leads to the emergence of new features in the system. Seeking to address such problems accurately requires the aid of non-perturbative many-body techniques as well as the corresponding high-quality basis sets. In periodic systems, a given element may be present in different spatial arrangements displaying vastly different physical and chemical properties, and an elemental basis set independent of the physical properties of materials may lead to significant simulation inaccuracies. In fact, with the rapid progress of quantum chemistry methods in condensed-phase simulations, the need for a library of reliable Gaussian basis sets explicitly designed for periodic calculations has become urgent. In the meantime, the development of parameter-free, systematic and reliable quantum chemistry methods for simultaneously treating weak and strong correlations in periodic systems has never stopped. Their ability to treat realistic solid materials needs to be tested, and the obtained results can serve as benchmarks for empirical parameter-guided solid-state calculations. In this thesis, we present numerical studies of various solid-state systems, emphasizing the design and optimization of Gaussian basis sets and assessing the band structure properties of the periodic solid systems. The work begins by introducing the theoretical framework of the electronic structure theory and presenting the fundamentals of a fully self-consistent GW approximation and the self-energy embedding theory (SEET) in Chapters 2 and 3. It continues with a description of the Gaussian basis set optimization scheme we devised for solid-state quantum chemistry calculations. The scheme we present is designed to avoid a lack of material specificity within a given basis set by simultaneously minimizing the total energy of the system and optimizing the band energies when compared to the reference plane wave calculation while accounting for the overlap matrix condition number. We compare the quality of the Gaussian basis sets generated via our method against the existing basis sets. And the optimization scheme is tested to yield improved results. We finally present a quantitative study of electronic properties of realistic materials with the treatment of Green's function based weakly correlated self-consistent GW approximation and the strongly correlated self-energy embedding theory. In the transition metal oxide BiVO3, we found the inaccurate illustration of orbitals including t_{2g} in transition metal Vanadium by DFT. Our calculation shows a systematic trend of DFT failure in illustrating both insulating and metallic solutions, demonstrating the dangers of using DFT when the experimental data is scarce.
We introduce a novel and efficient explicitly correlated implementation of second-order perturbation theory for solids. The required three-electron integrals are computed directly using a plane wave basis set. We parametrize the employed correlation factors using results previously obtained for a finite uniform electron gas simulation cell. We demonstrate for a range of solids that basis set converged correlation energies, equilibrium volumes, and bulk moduli can be obtained efficiently in this theory using a few ten orbitals per atom. To stretch the capabilities of this novel method we compute the Schottky defect formation energy in MgO, studying systems with 54 atoms in the supercell. We verify the accuracy of the calculated formation energies using the more accurate coupled cluster singles and doubles theory. Furthermore, we discuss other potential applications for the derived and implemented expressions such as an occupied orbital only correlation energy functional.
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We suggest an efficient method to resolve electronic cusps in electronic structure calculations by using an effective transcorrelated Hamiltonian. This effective Hamiltonian takes a simple form for plane wave bases, containing up to two-body operators only, and its use incurs almost no additional computational overhead compared to that of the original Hamiltonian. We apply this method in combination with the full configuration interaction quantum Monte Carlo (FCIQMC) method to the homogeneous electron gas. As a projection technique, the non-Hermitian nature of the transcorrelated Hamiltonian does not cause complications or numerical difficulties for FCIQMC. The rate of convergence of the total energy to the complete basis set limit is improved from O(M−1){\cal O}(M^{-1})O(M−1) to O(M−5/3){\cal O}\left({M^{-5/3}}\right)O(M−5/3), where MMM is the total number of orbital basis functions.