Enrico Clementi

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Enrico Clementi (November 19, 1931 in Cembra, Italy - March 30, 2021) was an Italian chemist, a pioneer in computational techniques for quantum chemistry and molecular dynamics. [1]

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Dr. Clementi received his Ph.D. in Chemistry from University of Pavia, where he was a student in the Collegio Cairoli, in 1954 and joined IBM Research in 1961. At IBM he was first responsible for atomic calculations, then manager of a scientific computation department until 1974. As an IBM Fellow (elected 1969), he led research and development in parallel computer architecture and fundamental research in chemistry, biophysics and fluid dynamics. In 1991 he retired from IBM to join Université Louis Pasteur in Strasbourg, France as Professor of Chemistry from 1992 until 2000. Dr Clementi's work has been recognized by awards and honours: IBM Fellow (1969), Fellow of the American Physical Society (1984), President of the International Society of Quantum Biology, Alexander von Humboldt award (2001), Member of the International Academy of Quantum Molecular Science.

Selected publications

Books

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Computational chemistry</span> Branch of chemistry

Computational chemistry is a branch of chemistry that uses computer simulations to assist in solving chemical problems. It uses methods of theoretical chemistry incorporated into computer programs to calculate the structures and properties of molecules, groups of molecules, and solids. The importance of this subject stems from the fact that, with the exception of some relatively recent findings related to the hydrogen molecular ion, achieving an accurate quantum mechanical depiction of chemical systems analytically, or in a closed form, is not feasible. The complexity inherent in the many-body problem exacerbates the challenge of providing detailed descriptions of quantum mechanical systems. While computational results normally complement information obtained by chemical experiments, it can occasionally predict unobserved chemical phenomena.

Quantum chemistry, also called molecular quantum mechanics, is a branch of physical chemistry focused on the application of quantum mechanics to chemical systems, particularly towards the quantum-mechanical calculation of electronic contributions to physical and chemical properties of molecules, materials, and solutions at the atomic level. These calculations include systematically applied approximations intended to make calculations computationally feasible while still capturing as much information about important contributions to the computed wave functions as well as to observable properties such as structures, spectra, and thermodynamic properties. Quantum chemistry is also concerned with the computation of quantum effects on molecular dynamics and chemical kinetics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Theoretical chemistry</span> Branch of chemistry

Theoretical chemistry is the branch of chemistry which develops theoretical generalizations that are part of the theoretical arsenal of modern chemistry: for example, the concepts of chemical bonding, chemical reaction, valence, the surface of potential energy, molecular orbitals, orbital interactions, and molecule activation.

A linear combination of atomic orbitals or LCAO is a quantum superposition of atomic orbitals and a technique for calculating molecular orbitals in quantum chemistry. In quantum mechanics, electron configurations of atoms are described as wavefunctions. In a mathematical sense, these wave functions are the basis set of functions, the basis functions, which describe the electrons of a given atom. In chemical reactions, orbital wavefunctions are modified, i.e. the electron cloud shape is changed, according to the type of atoms participating in the chemical bond.

In computational physics and chemistry, the Hartree–Fock (HF) method is a method of approximation for the determination of the wave function and the energy of a quantum many-body system in a stationary state.

The Roothaan equations are a representation of the Hartree–Fock equation in a non orthonormal basis set which can be of Gaussian-type or Slater-type. It applies to closed-shell molecules or atoms where all molecular orbitals or atomic orbitals, respectively, are doubly occupied. This is generally called Restricted Hartree–Fock theory.

In the Hartree–Fock method of quantum mechanics, the Fock matrix is a matrix approximating the single-electron energy operator of a given quantum system in a given set of basis vectors. It is most often formed in computational chemistry when attempting to solve the Roothaan equations for an atomic or molecular system. The Fock matrix is actually an approximation to the true Hamiltonian operator of the quantum system. It includes the effects of electron-electron repulsion only in an average way. Because the Fock operator is a one-electron operator, it does not include the electron correlation energy.

Electronic correlation is the interaction between electrons in the electronic structure of a quantum system. The correlation energy is a measure of how much the movement of one electron is influenced by the presence of all other electrons.

Multi-configurational self-consistent field (MCSCF) is a method in quantum chemistry used to generate qualitatively correct reference states of molecules in cases where Hartree–Fock and density functional theory are not adequate. It uses a linear combination of configuration state functions (CSF), or configuration determinants, to approximate the exact electronic wavefunction of an atom or molecule. In an MCSCF calculation, the set of coefficients of both the CSFs or determinants and the basis functions in the molecular orbitals are varied to obtain the total electronic wavefunction with the lowest possible energy. This method can be considered a combination between configuration interaction and Hartree–Fock.

In computational chemistry, post–Hartree–Fock (post-HF) methods are the set of methods developed to improve on the Hartree–Fock (HF), or self-consistent field (SCF) method. They add electron correlation which is a more accurate way of including the repulsions between electrons than in the Hartree–Fock method where repulsions are only averaged.

In theoretical and computational chemistry, a basis set is a set of functions that is used to represent the electronic wave function in the Hartree–Fock method or density-functional theory in order to turn the partial differential equations of the model into algebraic equations suitable for efficient implementation on a computer.

Koopmans' theorem states that in closed-shell Hartree–Fock theory (HF), the first ionization energy of a molecular system is equal to the negative of the orbital energy of the highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO). This theorem is named after Tjalling Koopmans, who published this result in 1934.

The International Academy of Quantum Molecular Science (IAQMS) is an international scientific learned society covering all applications of quantum theory to chemistry and chemical physics. It was created in Menton in 1967. The founding members were Raymond Daudel, Per-Olov Löwdin, Robert G. Parr, John Pople and Bernard Pullman. Its foundation was supported by Louis de Broglie.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">PQS (software)</span> Quantum chemistry software program

PQS is a general purpose quantum chemistry program. Its roots go back to the first ab initio gradient program developed in Professor Peter Pulay's group but now it is developed and distributed commercially by Parallel Quantum Solutions. There is a reduction in cost for academic users and a site license. Its strong points are geometry optimization, NMR chemical shift calculations, and large MP2 calculations, and high parallel efficiency on computing clusters. It includes many other capabilities including Density functional theory, the semiempirical methods, MINDO/3, MNDO, AM1 and PM3, Molecular mechanics using the SYBYL 5.0 Force Field, the quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics mixed method using the ONIOM method, natural bond orbital (NBO) analysis and COSMO solvation models. Recently, a highly efficient parallel CCSD(T) code for closed shell systems has been developed. This code includes many other post Hartree–Fock methods: MP2, MP3, MP4, CISD, CEPA, QCISD and so on.

Restricted open-shell Hartree–Fock (ROHF) is a variant of Hartree–Fock method for open shell molecules. It uses doubly occupied molecular orbitals as far as possible and then singly occupied orbitals for the unpaired electrons. This is the simple picture for open shell molecules but it is difficult to implement. The foundations of the ROHF method were first formulated by Clemens C. J. Roothaan in a celebrated paper and then extended by various authors, see e.g. for in-depth discussions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">MOLCAS</span> Computational chemistry software

MOLCAS is an ab initio computational chemistry program, developed as a joint project by a number of international institutes. MOLCAS is developed by scientists to be used by scientists. It is not primarily a commercial product and it is not sold in order to produce a fortune for its owner.

Clemens C. J. Roothaan was a Dutch physicist and chemist known for his development of the self-consistent field theory of molecular structure.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nuclear structure</span> Structure of the atomic nucleus

Understanding the structure of the atomic nucleus is one of the central challenges in nuclear physics.

MADNESS is a high-level software environment for the solution of integral and differential equations in many dimensions using adaptive and fast harmonic analysis methods with guaranteed precision based on multiresolution analysis and separated representations .

In chemical bonds, an orbital overlap is the concentration of orbitals on adjacent atoms in the same regions of space. Orbital overlap can lead to bond formation. Linus Pauling explained the importance of orbital overlap in the molecular bond angles observed through experimentation; it is the basis for orbital hybridization. As s orbitals are spherical (and have no directionality) and p orbitals are oriented 90° to each other, a theory was needed to explain why molecules such as methane (CH4) had observed bond angles of 109.5°. Pauling proposed that s and p orbitals on the carbon atom can combine to form hybrids (sp3 in the case of methane) which are directed toward the hydrogen atoms. The carbon hybrid orbitals have greater overlap with the hydrogen orbitals, and can therefore form stronger C–H bonds.

References

  1. "Obituary Enrico Clementi" (PDF). iaqms.org. Retrieved 13 August 2021.