Spin-Symmetry Projected constrained Unrestricted Hartree-Fock

Abstract

We introduce an electronic structure approach for spin symmetry breaking and restoration from the mean-field level. The spin-projected constrained-unrestricted Hartree-Fock (SPcUHF) method restores the broken spin symmetry inherent in spin-constrained-UHF determinants by employing a non-orthogonal Configuration Interaction (NOCI) projection method. This method includes all possible configurations in spin space compatible with a Clebsch-Gordon recoupling scheme in a NOCI calculation. The tunable one-pair-at-a-time characteristics of the symmetry-breaking process in c-UHF allow us to reduce the computational costs of full projection. SPcUHF is tested on 4-, 6-, and 8-electron systems that exhibit dominant static and/or dynamic correlations.