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The nuclear–electronic orbital (NEO) method is a multicomponent quantum chemistry theory that describes electronic and nuclear quantum effects simultaneously while avoiding the Born–Oppenheimer approximation for certain nuclei. Typically specified hydrogen nuclei are treated quantum mechanically at the same level as the electrons, and the NEO potential energy surface depends on the classical nuclear coordinates. This approach includes nuclear quantum effects such as zero-point energy and nuclear delocalization directly into the potential energy surface. An extended NEO potential energy surface depending on the expectation values of the quantum nuclei incorporates coupling between the quantum and classical nuclei. Herein, theoretical methodology is developed to optimize and characterize stationary points on the standard or extended NEO potential energy surface, to generate the NEO minimum energy path from a transition state down to the corresponding reactant and product, and to compute thermochemical properties. For this purpose, the analytic coordinate Hessian is developed and implemented at the NEO Hartree–Fock level of theory. These NEO Hessians are used to study the SN2 reaction of ClCH3Cl− and the hydride transfer of C4H9+. For each system, analysis of the single imaginary mode at the transition state and the intrinsic reaction coordinate along the minimum energy path identifies the dominant nuclear motions driving the chemical reaction. Visualization of the electronic and protonic orbitals along the minimum energy path illustrates the coupled electronic and protonic motions beyond the Born–Oppenheimer approximation. This work provides the foundation for applying the NEO approach at various correlated levels of theory to a wide range of chemical reactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multicomponent density functional theory (DFT) has many practical advantages for incorporating nuclear quantum effects into quantum chemistry calculations. Within the nuclear-electronic orbital (NEO) framework, specified nuclei, typically protons, are treated quantum mechanically on the same level as the electrons. Previously, electron-proton correlation functionals based on the local density approximation (LDA), denoted epc17 and epc18, were developed and shown to provide more accurate proton densities and energies compared to the neglect of electron-proton correlation, but a quantitatively accurate description of both densities and energies simultaneously has remained elusive. Herein, an electron-proton correlation functional that depends on the electron and proton density gradients, as well as the densities, is derived and implemented. Compared to the LDA functionals, the resulting generalized gradient approximation functional, denoted epc19, is able to simultaneously provide accurate proton densities and energies, as well as reproduce the impact of nuclear quantum effects on optimized geometries. In addition, without further parameterization, the NEO-DFT/epc19 method provides accurate densities and energies for deuterium as well as hydrogen. These results demonstrate that the form of the epc19 functional is able to capture the essential aspects of electron-proton correlation and highlights the importance of including gradient terms. This approach will enable the exploration of nuclear quantum effects and isotope effects in a wide range of systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multicomponent quantum chemistry allows the quantum mechanical treatment of electrons and specified protons on the same level. Typically the goal is to identify a self-consistent-field (SCF) solution that is the global minimum associated with the molecular orbital coefficients of the underlying Hartree-Fock (HF) or density functional theory (DFT) calculation. To determine whether the solution is a minimum or a saddle point, herein we derive the stability conditions for multicomponent HF and DFT in the nuclear-electronic orbital (NEO) framework. The gradient is always zero for an SCF solution, whereas the Hessian must be positive semi-definite for the solution to be a minimum rather than a saddle point. The stability matrices for NEO-HF and NEO-DFT have the same matrix structures, which are identical to the working matrices of their corresponding linear response time-dependent theories (NEO-TDHF and NEO-TDDFT) but with a different metric. A negative eigenvalue of the stability matrix is a necessary but not sufficient condition for the corresponding NEO-TDHF or NEO-TDDFT working equation to have an imaginary eigenvalue solution. Electron-proton systems could potentially exhibit three types of instabilities: electronic, protonic, and electron-proton vibronic instabilities. The internal and external stabilities for theories with different constraints on the spin and spatial orbitals can be analyzed. This stability analysis is a useful tool for characterizing SCF solutions and is helpful when searching for lower-energy solutions. Initial applications to HCN, HNC, and 2-cyanomalonaldehyde, in conjunction with NEO ∆SCF calculations, highlight possible connections between stationary points in nuclear coordinate space for conventional electronic structure calculations and stationary points in orbital space for NEO calculations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]