Non-linear optics and local-field factors in liquid chloroform: A time-dependent density-functional theory study*

Chloroform is often used as a solvent when measuring non-linear optical properties of organic molecules. We assess the influence of the solution environment on the molecular properties by calculating directly the non-linear susceptibilities of liquid chloroform at optical frequencies. We use the Sternheimer equation in time-dependent density-functional theory [J. Chem. Phys. 126, 184106 (2007)], on snapshots from ab initio molecular dynamics. We compare the results to those in the gas and solid phases, and to experimental values. We also calculate ab initio local-field factors, used to analyze electric-field-induced second-harmonic generation (EFISH) and hyper-Rayleigh scattering (HRS) experiments.