A simple scheme for magnetic balance in four-component relativistic Kohn-Sham calculations of nuclear magnetic resonance shielding constants in a Gaussian basis

We report the implementation of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) shielding tensors within the four-component relativistic Kohn-Sham density functional theory including non-collinear spin magnetization and employing London atomic orbitals to ensure gauge origin independent results, together with a new and efficient scheme for assuring correct balance between the large and small components of a molecular four-component spinor in the presence of an external magnetic field (simple magnetic balance). To test our formalism we have carried out calculations of NMR shielding tensors for the HX series (X = F, Cl, Br, I, At), the Xe atom, and the Xe dimer. The advantage of simple magnetic balance scheme combined with the use of London atomic orbitals is the fast convergence of results (when compared with restricted kinetic balance) and elimination of linear dependencies in the basis set (when compared to unrestricted kinetic balance). The effect of including spin magnetization in the description of NMR shielding tensor has been found important for hydrogen atoms in heavy HX molecules, causing an increase of isotropic values of 10%, but negligible for heavy atoms. (C) 2012 American Institute of Physics. [doi: 10.1063/1.3671390]