Calculations of nonlinear response properties using the intermediate state representation and the algebraic-diagrammatic construction polarization propagator approach: Two-photon absorption spectra

An earlier proposed approach to molecular response functions based on the intermediate state representation (ISR) of polarization propagator and algebraic-diagrammatic construction (ADC) approximations is for the first time employed for calculations of nonlinear response properties. The two-photon absorption (TPA) spectra are considered. The hierarchy of the first- and second-order ADC/ISR computational schemes, ADC(1), ADC(2), ADC(2)-x, and ADC(3/2), is tested in applications to H 2 O, HF, and C 2 H 4 (ethylene). The calculated TPA spectra are compared with the results of coupled cluster (CC) models and time-dependent density-functional theory (TDDFT) calculations, using the results of the CC3 model as benchmarks. As a more realistic example, the TPA spectrum of C 8 H 10 (octatetraene) is calculated using the ADC(2)-x and ADC(2) methods. The results are compared with the results of TDDFT method and earlier calculations, as well as to the available experimental data. A prominent feature of octatetraene and other polyene molecules is the existence of low-lying excited states with increased double excitation character. We demonstrate that the two-photon absorption involving such states can be adequately studied using the ADC(2)-x scheme, explicitly accounting for interaction of doubly excited configurations. Observed peaks in the experimental TPA spectrum of octatetraene are assigned based on our calculations.