Secondary Kinetic Peak in the Kohn-Sham Potential and Its Connection to the Response Step

We consider a prototypical 1D model Hamiltonian for a stretched heteronuclear molecule and construct individual components of the corresponding KS potential, namely, the kinetic, the N - 1, and the conditional potentials. These components show very special features, such as peaks and steps, in regions where the density is drastically low. Some of these features are quite well-known, whereas others, such as a secondary peak in the kinetic potential or a second bump in the conditional potential, are less or not known at all. We discuss these features building on the analytical model treated in Giarrusso et al. J. Chem. Theory Comput. 2018, 14, 4151. In particular, we provide an explanation for the underlying mechanism which determines the appearance of both peaks in the kinetic potential and elucidate why these peaks delineate the region over which the plateau structure, due to the N - 1 potential, stretches. We assess the validity of the Heitler-London Ansatz at large but finite internuclear distance, showing that, if optimal orbitals are used, this model is an excellent approximation to the exact wave function. Notably, we find that the second natural orbital presents an extra node very far out on the side of the more electronegative atom.