Quantitative Description of Strongly Correlated Materials by Combining Downfolding Techniques and Tensor Networks
We present a high-accuracy procedure for electronic structure calculations of strongly correlated materials. To address limitations in current electronic structure methods, we employ density functional theory in combination with the constrained random phase approximation to construct an effective multiband Hubbard model, which is subsequently solved using tensor networks. Our work focuses on one-dimensional and quasi-one-dimensional materials, for which we employ the machinery of matrix product states. We apply this framework to the conjugated polymers <i>trans</i>-polyacetylene and polythiophene, as well as the quasi-one-dimensional charge-transfer insulator Sr<sub>2</sub>CuO<sub>3</sub>. The predicted band gaps show quantitative agreement with state-of-the-art computational techniques and experimental measurements. Beyond band gaps, tensor networks provide access to a wide range of physically relevant properties, including spin magnetization and various excitation energies. Their flexibility supports the implementation of complex Hamiltonians with longer-range interactions, while the bond dimension enables systematic control over accuracy. Furthermore, the computational cost scales efficiently with system size, demonstrating the framework's scalability.
Authors
- Tom Braeckevelt (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9669-3715)
- Jutho Haegeman (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0858-291X)
- Lukas Devos
- Laurens Vanderstraeten (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3227-9822)
- Véronique Van Speybroeck (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2206-178X)
- Daan Vrancken (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0006-4072-1613)
- Simon Ganne
- Daan Verraes
Institutions
- Université Libre de Bruxelles (BE)
- Ghent University (BE)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Journal of Chemical Theory and Computation
- Published
- 2025-08-10
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jctc.5c00796
- Primary Topic
- Physics of Superconductivity and Magnetism
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- Vlaams Supercomputer Centrum
- Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek
- Universiteit Gent
- Vlaamse regering