On basis set optimisation in quantum chemistry

Abstract

In this article, we propose general criteria to construct optimal atomic centered basis sets in quantum chemistry. We focus in particular on two criteria, one based on the ground-state one-body density matrix of the system and the other based on the ground-state energy. The performance of these two criteria are then numerically tested and compared on a parametrized eigenvalue problem, which corresponds to a one-dimensional toy version of the ground-state dissociation of a diatomic molecule.