Physical Properties, Exciton Analysis, and Visualization of Core-Excited States: An Intermediate State Representation Approach

The theoretical simulation of X-ray absorption spectra is in general a challenging task. However, for small and medium-sized organic molecules, the algebraic diagrammatic construction scheme (ADC) for the polarization operator in combination with the core valence separation approximation (CVS) has proven to yield core-excitation energies and transition moments with almost quantitative accuracy allowing for reliable construction of X-ray absorption spectra. Still, to understand core-excitation processes in detail, it is not sufficient to only compute energies, but also properties like static dipole moments and state densities are important as they provide deeper insight into the nature of core-excited states. Here, we present for the first time an implementation of the intermediate state representation (ISR) approach in combination with the CVS approximation (CVS-ISR), which gives, in combination with the CVS-ADC method, direct access to core-excited state properties. The performance of the CVS-ADC/CVS-ISR approach is demonstrated by means of small- and medium-sized organic molecules. Besides the calculation of core-excited state dipole moments, advanced analyses of core-excited state densities are performed using descriptors like exciton sizes and distances. Plotting electron and hole densities helps to determine the character of the state, and in particular, the investigation of detachment/attachment densities provides information about orbital relaxation effects that are crucial for understanding core excitations.