CP2K is an open source electronic structure and molecular dynamics software package to perform atomistic simulations of solid-state, liquid, molecular, and biological systems. It is especially aimed at massively parallel and linear-scaling electronic structure methods and state-of-the-art ab initio molecular dynamics simulations. Excellent performance for electronic structure calculations is achieved using novel algorithms implemented for modern high-performance computing systems. This review revisits the main capabilities of CP2K to perform efficient and accurate electronic structure simulations. The emphasis is put on density functional theory and multiple post–Hartree–Fock methods using the Gaussian and plane wave approach and its augmented all-electron extension.

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Recent advances in the theory of polarization and the development of linear-scaling methods have revitalized interest in the use of Wannier functions for obtaining a localized orbital picture within a periodic supercell. To examine complex chemical systems it is imperative for the localization procedure to be efficient; on the other hand, the method should also be simple and general. Motivated to meet these requirements we derive in this paper a spread functional to be minimized as a starting point for obtaining maximally localized Wannier functions through a unitary transformation. The functional turns out to be equivalent to others discussed in the literature with the difference of being valid in simulation supercells of arbitrary symmetry in the ⌫-point approximation. To minimize the spread an iterative scheme is developed and very efficient optimization methods, such as conjugate gradient, direct inversion in the iterative subspace, and preconditioning are applied to accelerate the convergence. The iterative scheme is quite general and is shown to work also for methods first developed for finite systems ͑e.g., Pipek-Mezey, Boys-Foster͒. The applications discussed range from crystal structures such as Si to isolated complex molecules and are compared to previous investigations on this subject.

Density functional (DF) calculations have been performed for lithium clusters Lin and their monoxides LinO with up to ten atoms. There are numerous stable structures, and new isomers have been found in each family. The structural patterns of the homonuclear and oxide clusters are quite distinct. The combination of DF calculations with molecular dynamics (MD) sheds light on the observed pseudorotation of Li3 and Li5. We compare with available experimental data and discuss the bonding and structural patterns in the clusters and their oxides, which are often described as “hyperlithiated.”

In this review we present the techniques of ab initio molecular dynamics simulation improved to its current stage where the analysis of existing processes and the prediction of further chemical features and real-world processes are feasible. For this reason we describe the relevant developments in ab initio molecular dynamics leading to this stage. Among them, parallel implementations, different basis set functions, density functionals, and van der Waals corrections are reported. The chemical features accessible through AIMD are discussed. These are IR, NMR, as well as EXAFS spectra, sampling methods like metadynamics and others, Wannier functions, dipole moments of molecules in condensed phase, and many other properties. Electrochemical reactions investigated by ab initio molecular dynamics methods in solution, on surfaces as well as complex interfaces, are also presented.