An All-DFTB Approach to the Parametrization of the System-Bath Hamiltonian Describing Exciton-Vibrational Dynamics of Molecular Assemblies

Abstract

Spectral density functions are central to the simulation of complex many body systems. Their determination requires to make approximations not only to the dynamics but also to the underlying electronic structure theory. Here, blending different methods bears the danger of an inconsistent description. To solve this issue we propose an all-DFTB approach to determine spectral densities for the description of Frenkel excitons in molecular assemblies. The protocol is illustrated for a model of a PTCDI crystal, which involves the calculation of monomeric excitation energies, Coulomb couplings between monomer transitions, as well as their spectral distributions due to thermal fluctuations of the nuclei. Using dynamically defined normal modes, a mapping onto the standard harmonic oscillator spectral densities is achieved.