Molecular Auger Decay Rates from Complex-Variable Coupled-Cluster Theory

TL;DR

This paper introduces a complex-variable coupled-cluster method to accurately compute Auger decay rates of core-vacant states in molecules, overcoming the challenge of modeling the continuum coupling without explicit Auger electron wave functions.

Contribution

The authors develop a novel complex-scaled coupled-cluster approach to calculate Auger decay rates and branching ratios, enabling accurate treatment of electronic resonances without explicit continuum wave functions.

Findings

Accurate total decay widths for neon, water, dinitrogen, and benzene.

Coupled-cluster methods outperform in evaluating partial decay widths.

Less demanding basis set requirements for Auger decay calculations.

Abstract

The emission of an Auger electron is the predominant relaxation mechanism of core-vacant states in molecules composed of light nuclei. In this non-radiative decay process, one valence electron fills the core vacancy while a second valence electron is emitted into the ionization continuum. Because of this coupling to the continuum, core-vacant states represent electronic resonances that can be tackled with standard quantum-chemical methods only if they are approximated as bound states, meaning that Auger decay is neglected. Here, we present an approach to compute Auger decay rates of core-vacant states from coupled-cluster and equation-of-motion coupled-cluster wave functions combined with complex scaling of the Hamiltonian or, alternatively, complex-scaled basis functions. Through energy decomposition analysis, we illustrate how complex-scaled methods are capable of describing the coupling to the ionization continuum without the need to model the wave function of the Auger electron explicitly. In addition, we introduce in this work several approaches for the determination of partial decay widths and Auger branching ratios from complex-scaled coupled-cluster wave functions. We demonstrate the capabilities of our new approach by computations on core-ionized states of neon, water, dinitrogen, and benzene. Coupled-cluster and equation-of-motion coupled-cluster theory in the singles and doubles approximation both deliver excellent results for total decay widths, whereas we find partial widths more straightforward to evaluate with the former method. We also observe that the requirements towards the basis set are less arduous for Auger decay than for other types of resonances so that extensions to larger molecules are readily possible.