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Strongly correlated systems have been a major challenge for a long time in the field of theoretical chemistry. For such systems, the relevant portion of the Hilbert space scales exponentially, preventing efficient simulation on large systems. However, in many cases, the Hilbert space can be partitioned into clusters on the basis of strong and weak interactions. In this work, we mainly focus on an approach where we partition the system into smaller orbital clusters in which we can define many-particle cluster states and use traditional many-body methods to capture the rest of the inter-cluster correlations. This dissertation can be mainly divided into two parts. In the first part of this dissertation, the clustered ansatz, termed as tensor product states (TPS), is used to study large strongly correlated systems. In the second part, we study a particular type of strongly correlated system, correlated triplet pair states that arise in singlet fission. The many-body expansion (MBE) is an efficient tool that has a long history of use for calculating interaction energies, binding energies, lattice energies, and so on. We extend the incremental full configuration interaction originally proposed for a Slater determinant to a tensor product state (TPS) based wavefunction. By partitioning the active space into smaller orbital clusters, our approach starts from a cluster mean-field reference TPS configuration and includes the correlation contribution of the excited TPSs using a many-body expansion. This method, named cluster many-body expansion (cMBE), improves the convergence of MBE at lower orders compared to directly doing a block-based MBE from an RHF reference. The performance of the cMBE method is also tested on a graphene nano-sheet with a very large active space of 114 electrons in 114 orbitals, which would require 1066 determinants for the exact FCI solution. Selected CI (SCI) using determinants becomes intractable for large systems with strong correlation. We introduce a method for SCI algorithms using tensor product states which exploits local molecular structure to significantly reduce the number of SCI variables. We demonstrate the potential of this method, called tensor product selected configuration interaction (TPSCI), using a few model Hamiltonians and molecular examples. These numerical results show that TPSCI can be used to significantly reduce the number of SCI variables in the variational space, and thus paving a path for extending these deterministic and variational SCI approaches to a wider range of physical systems. The extension of the TPSCI algorithm for excited states is also investigated. TPSCI with perturbative corrections provides accurate excitation energies for low-lying triplet states with respect to extrapolated results. In the case of traditional SCI methods, accurate excitation energies are obtained only after extrapolating calculations with large variational dimensions compared to TPSCI. We provide an intuitive connection between lower triplet energy mani- folds with Hückel molecular orbital theory, providing a many-body version of Hückel theory for excited triplet states. The n-body Tucker ansatz (which is a truncated TPS wavefunction) developed in our group provides a good approximation to the low-lying states of a clusterable spin system. In this approach, a Tucker decomposition is used to obtain local cluster states which can be truncated to prune the full Hilbert space of the system. As a truncated variational approach, it has been observed that the self-consistently optimized n-body Tucker method is not size- extensive, a property important for many-body methods. We explore the use of perturbation theory and linearized coupled-cluster methods to obtain a robust yet efficient approximation. Perturbative corrections to the n-body Tucker method have been implemented for the Heisenberg Hamiltonian and numerical data for various lattices and molecular systems has been presented to show the applicability of the method. In the second part of this dissertation, we focus on studying a particular type of strongly correlated states that occurs in singlet fission material. The correlated triplet pair state 1(TT) is a key intermediate in the singlet fission process, and understanding the mechanism by which it separates into two independent triplet states is critical for leveraging singlet fission for improving solar cell efficiency. This separation mechanism is dominated by two key interactions: (i) the exchange interaction (K) between the triplets which leads to the spin splitting of the biexciton state into 1(TT),3(TT) and 5(TT) states, and (ii) the triplet-triplet energy transfer integral (t) which enables the formation of the spatially separated (but still spin entangled) state 1(T...T). We develop a simple ab initio technique to compute both the triplet-triplet exchange (K) and triplet-triplet energy transfer coupling (t). Our key findings reveal new conditions for successful correlated triplet pair state dissociation. The biexciton exchange interaction needs to be ferromagnetic or negligible compared to the triplet energy transfer for favorable dissociation. We also explore the effect of chromophore packing to reveal geometries where these conditions are achieved for tetracene. We also provide a simple connectivity rule to predict whether the through-bond coupling will be stabilizing or destabilizing for the (TT) state in covalently linked singlet fission chromophores. By drawing an analogy between the chemical system and a simple spin-lattice, one is able to determine the ordering of the multi-exciton spin state via a generalized usage of Ovchinnikov's rule. In the case of meta connectivity, we predict 5(TT) to be formed and this is later confirmed by experimental techniques like time-resolved electron spin resonance (TR-ESR). / Doctor of Philosophy / The study of the correlated motion of electrons in molecules and materials allows scientists to gain useful insights into many physical processes like photosynthesis, enzyme catalysis, superconductivity, chemical reactions and so on. Theoretical quantum chemistry tries to study the electronic properties of chemical species. The exact solution of the electron correlation problem is exponentially complex and can only be computed for small systems. Therefore, approximations are introduced for practical calculations that provide good results for ground state properties like energy, dipole moment, etc. Sometimes, more accurate calculations are required to study the properties of a system, because the system may not adhere to the as- sumptions that are made in the methods used. One such case arises in the study of strongly correlated molecules. In this dissertation, we present methods which can handle strongly correlated cases. We partition the system into smaller parts, then solve the problem in the basis of these smaller parts. We refer to this block-based wavefunction as tensor product states and they provide accurate results while avoiding the exponential scaling of the full solution. We present accurate energies for a wide variety of challenging cases, including bond breaking, excited states and π conjugated molecules. Additionally, we also investigate molecular systems that can be used to increase the efficiency of solar cells. We predict improved solar efficiency for a chromophore dimer, a result which is later experimentally verified.

Cette thèse traite du développement et de l’implémentation de nouvelles méthodes visant à décrire la corrélation électronique forte dans les molécules et les solides. Après avoir introduit l’état de l’art des méthodes utilisées en chimie quantique et en physique de la matière condensée, une nouvelle méthode hybride combinant théorie de la fonction d’onde et théorie de la fonctionnelle de la densité (DFT) est présentée et s’intitule “site-occupation embedding theory” (SOET). Celle-ci est appliquée au modèle de Hubbard à une dimension. Ensuite, le problème du gap fondamental est revisité en DFT pour les ensembles, où la dérivée discontinue est réécrite comme une fonctionnelle de la densité de l'état fondamental. Enfin, une extension à la chimie quantique est proposée, basée sur une fonction d’onde de séniorité zéro complémentée par une fonctionnelle de la matrice densité, et exprimée dans la base des orbitales naturelles. / The thesis deals with the development and implementation of new methods for the description of strong electron correlation effects in molecules and solids. After introducing the state of the art in quantum chemistry and in condensed matter physics, a new hybrid method so-called ``site-occupation embedding theory'' (SOET) is presented and is based on the merging of wavefunction theory and density functional theory (DFT). Different formulations of this theory are described and applied to the one-dimensional Hubbard model. In addition, a novel ensemble density functional theory approach has been derived to extract the fundamental gap exactly. In the latter approach, the infamous derivative discontinuity is reformulated as a derivative of a weight-dependent exchange-correlation functional. Finally, a quantum chemical extension of SOET is proposed and based on a seniority-zero wavefunction, completed by a functional of the density matrix and expressed in the natural orbital basis.

Ce travail de thèse consiste à visualiser sur un détecteur sensible en position les oscillations spatiales des électrons lents (~ meV) émis par photoionisation au seuil en présence d’un champ électrique extérieur. La figure d’interférence obtenue représente quantiquement le module carré de la fonction d’onde électronique. Ce travail fondamental nous permet d’avoir accès à la dynamique électronique quelques µm autour de l’atome et donc de mettre en évidence plusieurs mécanismes quantiques (champ coulombien, interaction électron/électron..) se déroulant à l’échelle atomique. Malgré la présence d’un cœur électronique quoique limité dans Li, nous avons réussi, expérimentalement et pour la première fois, à visualiser la fonction d’onde associée aux états Stark quasi-discrets couplés au continuum d’ionisation. En outre, à l’aide des simulations quantiques de propagation du paquet d’ondes, basées sur la méthode de « Split-operator », nous avons réalisé une étude complète sur les atomes H, Li et Cs tout en dévoilant les effets significatifs des résonances Stark. Un très bon accord, sur et hors résonances, a été obtenu entre les résultats simulés et les résultats expérimentaux. Par ailleurs, nous avons développé un modèle analytique généralisable permettant de comprendre profondément le fonctionnement d’un spectromètre de VMI. Ce modèle repose sur l’approximation paraxiale, il est basé sur un calcul d’optique matricielle en faisant une analogie entre la trajectoire électronique et le rayon lumineux. Un excellent accord a été obtenu entre les prédictions du modèle et les résultats expérimentaux. / This work of thesis aims to visualize, on a position sensitive detector, the spatial oscillations of slow electrons (~meV) emitted by a threshold photoionization in the presence of an external electric field. The interference figure obtained represents the square magnitude of electronic wavefunction. This fundamental work allows us to have access to the electronic dynamics and thus to highlight several quantum mechanisms that occur at the atomic scale (field Coulomb, electron/electron interaction..). Despite the presence an electronic core in Li atom, we have succeeded, experimentally and for the first time, to visualize the wave function associated with the quasi-discrete Stark states coupled to the ionization continuum. Besides, using simulations of wave packet propagation, based on the "Split-operator” method, we have conducted a comprehensive study of the H, Li and Cs atoms while revealing the significant effects of the Stark resonances. A very good agreement, on and off resonances, was obtained between simulated and experimental results. In addition, we have developed a generalized analytical model to understand deeply the function of VMI spectrometer. This model is based on the paraxial approximation; it is based on matrix optics calculation by making an analogy between the electronic trajectory and the light beam. An excellent agreement was obtained between the model predictions and the experimental results.

Ein fragment-basierter Ansatz zur Berechnung von vertikalen Anregungsenergien in periodischen Systemen wurde entwickelt. Das Ziel war eine wellenfunktions-basierte Hierarchie von lokalen post-Hartree-Fock Methoden, welche über das weitverbreitete Ein-Elektronen Bild der Bandlücke hinausgehen und eine Möglichkeit zur systematischen Verbesserung der Ergebnisse liefern. Darüber hinaus sollte durch die Verwendung von lokalen Orbitalen eine nahtlose Einbettung des Fragments ermöglicht und eine effektive Methode für die Untersuchung von Defekten in periodischen Systemen geschaffen werden. Als erster Schritt wird das fragment-basierte Configuration Interaction Singles (CIS) Model vorgestellt. Im Anschluss erfolgt der Wechsel zum fragment-basierten lokalen algebraic-diagrammatic construction Modells zweiter Ordnung (DF-LADC(2)). Beide Methoden wurden für ein neutrales Farbzentrum in Magnesiumoxid (MgO) getestet. Dabei wurden Fragmente mit bis zu 57 Atomen verwendet. Eine Konvergenz mit der Fragmentgröße, der Größe der Superzellen und des K-mesh konnte erreicht werden. Dennoch wurde eine erste Anregungsenergie von 5.9 eV erhalten, was 0.9 eV über dem veröffentlichten experimentellen Wert liegt. Mit hoher Wahrscheinlichkeit rührt die Abweichung vom Basissatzvollständigkeitsfehler her. ”Finite-Cluster”-Berechnungen bestätigen entsprechende Basissatzfehler. Interessanterweise stimmt die erste Anregungsenergie für ein Oberflächenfarbzentrum in MgO mit einigen experimentellen Werten überein. Allerdings decken die experimentellen Werte für diese Systeme einen weiten Bereich ab (1.15 - 4.2 eV). / An embedded-fragment approach for calculation of vertical excitation energies in periodic systems has been developed. The aim is a wave-function-based hierarchy of local post-Hartree-Fock models, which goes beyond the very common one-electron picture of the band gap and offers a way for systematic improvability of the results. The use of local occupied and virtual orbitals allows for a seamless embedding model for the fragment and becomes especially effective in studying defects in solids. As a first step in the hierarchy an embedded-fragment Configuration Interaction Singles (CIS) model is presented. The second step is an embedded-fragment local algebraic diagrammatic construction scheme of second order (DF-LADC(2)). Both methods are tested for an neutral color center in bulk and surface magnesium oxide (MgO). Different fragments with up to 57 atoms were studied. A convergence with fragment size, super-cell size and k-mesh has been achieved. However a first excitation energy of 5.9 eV is obtained for the bulk MgO, which is 0.9 eV above the reported experimental value. The deviation most likely originates from the basis set incompleteness error, which, according to finite cluster studies, can be sizable. Interestingly for a surface color center in MgO the observed first excitation energy of 4.1 eV agrees with some of the experimental values (4.2 eV). However for the surface color centers in MgO the scatter of the experimental results is very large (1.15 eV - 4.2 eV).

This thesis is a study of certain aspects of quantum gravity in two- and three-dimensional de Sitter spaces. The model used in dS2 is the Jackiw- Tetitelboim gravity which involves a scalar coupling. At low-energy limit this model becomes Schwarzian theory for which one can compute one-loop partition function. Along the way, the model is recasted into the first order formalism which helps to find an appropriate measure for the partition function. The layout for quantum gravity in dS3 is practically the same and many results appear to be quite similar. Although, there are as many dissimilarities. Ultimately, the goal is different, namely to determine one-loop correction to the central charge of the theory dual to dS3 . Additionally, a putative genus expansion for Jackiw-Teitelboim gravity is investigated along with some concrete computations being done. / Detta examensarbete ̈ar en studie av vissa aspekter av kvantgravita-tion i två och tredimensionella de Sitter-rummen. Den behandlar Jackiw-Teitelboim gravitation i dS2 , en model med en skalär koppling. Vid lågenergigränns blir modellen till Schwarzian teorin som används för att beräkna första ordningskorrektionen till partitionsfunktion. På vägen dit skrivs om modelen till första ordningens formalism som sedan hjälper att hitta ett lämpligt mått för partitionsfunktionen. Plannen för dS3 ser ut i princip likadant och en stor del av resultater är liknande. Emellertid finns det lika många olikheter. I slut änden, målet är annorludna, nämligen att beräkna första ordningens korrektion till centrala laddningen av teorin som dual till dS3 . Dessutom, en förmodad genus expansion för Jackiw-Teitelboim gravitation är undersökt och vissa konkreta beräkningar är gjorda.