Time-dependent density functional theory for calculating origin-independent optical rotation and rotatory strength tensors.

An approach to calculate origin-independent electronic chiroptical property tensors using time-dependent density functional theory (TDDFT) and gauge-including atomic orbital (GIAO) basis sets is evaluated. Computations of origin-dependent optical rotation tensors and of rotatory strengths needed to simulate circular dichroism spectra are presented. The optical rotation tensor computations employ solutions of coupled perturbed Kohn-Sham equations for a dynamic electric field and a static magnetic field. Because the magnetic field is time independent, the GIAO treatment is somewhat simplified compared to a previously reported method, at some added computational cost if hybrid functionals are employed. GIAO rotatory strengths are also calculated, using transition density matrices from a standard TDDFT excitation energy module. A new implementation in the NWChem quantum chemistry package is employed for representative computations of origin-invariant chiroptical response tensors for methyloxirane, norbornenone, and the ketosteroid androstadienone. For the steroid molecule the vibrational structure of the CD spectrum is modeled explicitly by using calculated Franck-Condon factors. The agreement with experiment is favorable.