# How Large is the Elephant in the Density Functional Theory Room?

## TL;DR

This paper demonstrates that with proper Gaussian basis set choices, traditional methods can match the accuracy of multi-wavelet approaches in density functional theory, challenging prior claims of Gaussian limitations.

## Contribution

It shows that Gaussian basis sets can achieve high accuracy comparable to multi-wavelet methods with proper selection, correcting previous assumptions.

## Key findings

- Gaussian basis sets can match multi-wavelet accuracy with proper choice
- Identified issues in multi-wavelet calculations affecting results
- Challenges the notion that Gaussian basis sets are inherently problematic

## Abstract

A recent paper compares density functional theory results for atomization energies and dipole moments using a multi-wavelet based method with traditional Gaussian basis set results, and concludes that Gaussian basis sets are problematic for achieving high accuracy. We show that by a proper choice of Gaussian basis sets they are capable of achieving essentially the same accuracy as the multi-wavelet approach, and identify a couple of possible problems in the multi-wavelet calculations.

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Source: https://tomesphere.com/paper/1704.08832