First-principles GW-BSE excitations in organic molecules

Abstract: We present a first-principles method for the calculation of optical excitations in nanosystems. The method is based on solving the Bethe-Salpeter equation (BSE) for neutral excitations. The electron self-energy is evaluated within the GW approximation, with dynamical screening effects described within time-dependent density-functional theory in the adiabatic, local approximation. This method is applied to two systems: the benzene molecule, C$6$H$_6$, and azobenzene, C${12}$H$_{10}$N$_2$. We give a description of the photoisomerization process of azobenzene after an $n-\pi^\star$ excitation, which is consistent with multi-configuration calculations.