Generalized relativistic effective core potential: Theoretical grounds

The generalized relativistic effective core potential (GRECP) method is analyzed from theoretical and computational points of view. The Hamiltonian in the frozen-core approximation is compared with the Hamiltonian containing the GRECP operator. It is demonstrated that the GRECP operator can be derived from rather natural physical grounds and the procedure of the GRECP generation can be justified theoretically. The accuracy of the RECP approximations in the simulation of the interactions and densities in the valence and outer-core regions is analyzed. The reliability of the simulation of the interaction with the inner-core electrons removed from the calculations with the GRECP is also studied. The importance of additional nonlocal terms both with the potentials for the outer-core pseudospinors and with the potentials depending on the occupation numbers of the outermost core shells in the expression for the GRECP operator is demonstrated in calculations on the Ag, Ba, Hg, Tl, and U atoms. The difference between the outer core and valence potentials was investigated. It is shown that in the valence region the two-component pseudospinors coincide with the large components of four-component spinors in calculations for the same configuration states with a very high accuracy. Problems of Gaussian approximation caused by rather singular shapes of the potentials are considered. To attain a required high accuracy of approximation of the numerical potentials by Gaussians, serious additional efforts were undertaken. ©1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Int J Quant Chem 71: 359–401, 1999