Particle-particle ladder based basis-set corrections applied to atoms and molecules using coupled-cluster theory.

We investigate the basis-set convergence of electronic correlation energies calculated using coupled cluster theory and a recently proposed finite basis-set correction technique. The correction is applied to atomic and molecular systems and is based on a diagrammatically decomposed coupled cluster singles and doubles (CCSD) correlation energy. Only the second-order energy and the particle-particle ladder term are corrected for their basis-set incompleteness error. We present absolute correlation energies and results for a large benchmark set. Our findings indicate that basis set reductions by two cardinal numbers are possible for atomization energies, ionization potentials, and electron affinities without compromising accuracy when compared to conventional CCSD calculations. In the case of reaction energies, we find that reductions by one cardinal number are possible compared to conventional CCSD calculations. The employed technique can readily be applied to other many-electron theories without the need for three- or four-electron integrals.