Cotton-Mouton effect and shielding polarizabilities of ethylene: An MCSCF study Original Research Article

The static hypermagnetizabilities and nuclear shielding polarizabilities of the carbon and hydrogen atoms of ethylene have been computed using multiconfigurational linear-response theory and a finite-field method, in a mixed analytical-numerical approach. Extended sets of magnetic-field-dependent basis functions have been employed in large MCSCF calculations, involving active spaces giving rise to a few million configurations in the finite-field perturbed symmetry. The convergence of the observables with respect to the extension of the basis set as well as the effect of electron correlation have been investigated. Whereas for the shielding polarizabilities we can compare with other published SCF results, the ab initio estimates for the static hypermagnetizabilities and the observable to which they are related - the Cotton-Mouton constant, - are presented for the first time.