A unified scheme for <i>ab initio</i> molecular orbital theory and path integral molecular dynamics

Abstract

We present a general approach for accurate calculation of chemical substances which treats both nuclei and electrons quantum mechanically, adopting ab initio molecular orbital theory for the electronic structure and path integral molecular dynamics for the nuclei. The present approach enables the evaluation of physical quantities dependent on the nuclear configuration as well as the electronic structure, within the framework of Born–Oppenheimer adiabatic approximation. As an application, we give the path integral formulation of electric response properties—dipole moment and polarizability, which characterize the changes both in electronic structure and nuclear configuration at a given temperature when uniform electrostatic field is present. We also demonstrate the calculation of a water molecule using the present approach and the result of temperature and isotope effects is discussed.