Natural localized molecular orbitals

• Published in: The Journal of chemical physics 1985-08, Vol.83 (4), p.1736-1740
• Main Authors: REED, A. E, WEINHOLD, F
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Atomic and molecular physics; Electron correlation calculations for atoms and molecules; Electronic structure of atoms, molecules and their ions: theory; Exact sciences and technology; Physics
• ISSN: 0021-9606; 1089-7690
• DOI: 10.1063/1.449360

The method of natural localized molecular orbitals (NLMOs) is presented as a novel and efficient technique for obtaining LMOs for SCF and CI wave functions. It is an extension of the previously developed natural atomic orbital (NAO) and natural bond orbital (NBO) methods, and uses only the information contained in the one-particle density matrix. Results are presented for methane and cytosine to indicate that NLMOs closely resemble LMOs obtained by the Boys and Edmiston–Ruedenberg methods, with the exception that the NLMO procedure automatically preserves the MO σ–π separation in planar molecules. The computation time is modest, generally only a small fraction of the SCF computation time. In addition, the derivation of NLMOs from NBOs gives direct insight into the nature of the LMO ‘‘delocalization tails,’’ thus enhancing the role of LMOs as a bridge between chemical intuition and molecular wave functions.