Spin Density Topology

Despite its role in spin density functional theory and it being the basic observable for describing and understanding magnetic phenomena, few studies have appeared on the electron spin density subtleties thus far. A systematic full topological analysis of this function is lacking, seemingly in contrast to the blossoming in the last 20 years of many studies on the topological features of other scalar fields of chemical interest. We aim to fill this gap by unveiling the kind of information hidden in the spin density distribution that only its topology can disclose. The significance of the spin density critical points, the 18 different ways in which they can be realized and the peculiar topological constraints on their number and kind, arising from the presence of positive and negative spin density regions, is addressed. The notion of molecular spin graphs, spin maxima (minima) joining paths, spin basins and of their valence is introduced. We show that two kinds of structures are associated with a spin–polarized molecule: the usual one, defined through the electron density gradient, and the magnetic structure, defined through the spin density gradient and composed in general by at least two independent spin graphs, related to spin density maxima and minima. Several descriptors, such as the spin polarization index, are introduced to characterize the properties of spin density critical points and basins. The study on the general features of the spin density topology is followed by the specific example of the water molecule in the 3B1 triplet state, using spin density distributions of increasing accuracy.