Energy inconsistency with PySCF / adcc

Hello,

I ran the following optimisation of triazine:

--------------------------------------------------------------
User input:
--------------------------------------------------------------
$molecule
0 1
N1
C1 N1 cn
N2 C1 cn N1 ncn
C2 N2 cn C1 cnc N1 dih1
N3 C2 cn N2 ncn C1 dih1
C3 N3 cn C2 cnc N2 dih1
H1 C1 hc N2 hcn C2 dih2
H2 C3 hc N3 hcn C2 dih2
H3 C2 hc N2 hcn C1 dih2

cn	=	1.384568
hc	=	1.080504
ncn	=	120.0000
cnc	=	120.0000
hcn	=	120.0000
dih1	=	  0.0000
dih2	=	180.0000
$end

$rem
JOBTYPE OPT
METHOD MP2
BASIS aug-cc-pVTZ

MEM_TOTAL 128000
MEM_STATIC 2000
$end

--------------------------------------------------------------

And yielded an energy of -279.850508035596 Hartrees:

 Final energy is -279.850508035596

	******************************
	**  OPTIMIZATION CONVERGED  **
	******************************
 ----------------------------------------------------------------
             Standard Nuclear Orientation (Angstroms)
    I     Atom           X                Y                Z
 ----------------------------------------------------------------
    1      N       1.3729488567     0.0000000029    -0.0000000000
    2      C       0.6473606386     1.1212615444    -0.0000000000
    3      N      -0.6864744459     1.1890086148    -0.0000000000
    4      C      -1.2947212671    -0.0000000025     0.0000000000
    5      N      -0.6864744404    -1.1890086154     0.0000000000
    6      C       0.6473606409    -1.1212615462     0.0000000000
    7      H       1.1887311799     2.0589428196     0.0000000000
    8      H       1.1887311809    -2.0589428232     0.0000000000
    9      H      -2.3774623434     0.0000000057    -0.0000000000
 ----------------------------------------------------------------
 Molecular Point Group                 D3h   NOp = 12
 Largest Abelian Subgroup              C2v   NOp =  4
 Nuclear Repulsion Energy =         211.84217054 hartrees
 There are       21 alpha and       21 beta electrons

If I use the same geometry as an input to run MP2 in PySCF or adcc with the same basis set, I get energies of -279.954536 Hartrees, roughly 3 eV lower.

Moreover, I performed a scan along one of the normal modes using PySCF and got even lower energies, implying the geometry is not a true minimum eventhough I get all positive frequencies in Q-Chem:

--------------------------------------------------------------
User input:
--------------------------------------------------------------

$molecule
READ
$end

$rem
JOBTYPE FREQ
METHOD MP2
BASIS aug-cc-pVTZ
BASIS_LIN_DEP_THRESH 4

MEM_TOTAL 128000
MEM_STATIC 2000
$end
--------------------------------------------------------------
 Requested basis set is aug-cc-pVTZ
 There are 111 shells and 345 basis functions
 **********************************************************************
 **                                                                  **
 **                       VIBRATIONAL ANALYSIS                       **
 **                       --------------------                       **
 **                                                                  **
 **        VIBRATIONAL FREQUENCIES (CM**-1) AND NORMAL MODES         **
 **     FORCE CONSTANTS (mDYN/ANGSTROM) AND REDUCED MASSES (AMU)     **
 **                  INFRARED INTENSITIES (KM/MOL)                   **
 **                                                                  **
 **********************************************************************
 

 Mode:                 1                      2                      3
 Frequency:       353.34                 353.34                 680.06
 Force Cnst:      0.2514                 0.2514                 2.4238
 Red. Mass:       3.4183                 3.4183                 8.8953
 IR Active:          YES                    YES                    YES
 IR Intens:        0.000                  0.000                 16.696
 Raman Active:       YES                    YES                    YES
               X      Y      Z        X      Y      Z        X      Y      Z
 N         -0.000 -0.000  0.277    0.000  0.000 -0.038    0.178  0.413  0.000
 C         -0.000 -0.000 -0.142    0.000 -0.000 -0.184   -0.279  0.104 -0.000
 N          0.000  0.000 -0.106   -0.000 -0.000  0.258   -0.230  0.005 -0.000
 C          0.000  0.000  0.230    0.000  0.000 -0.031   -0.157 -0.349  0.000
 N         -0.000 -0.000 -0.171    0.000 -0.000 -0.221    0.327 -0.143 -0.000
 C         -0.000  0.000 -0.088   -0.000  0.000  0.215    0.174 -0.017  0.000
 H         -0.000 -0.000 -0.447    0.000 -0.000 -0.578   -0.285 -0.190  0.000
 H          0.000  0.000 -0.277   -0.000 -0.000  0.677   -0.172 -0.220 -0.000
 H          0.000 -0.000  0.725    0.000  0.000 -0.098   -0.255 -0.303  0.000
 TransDip   0.000 -0.000  0.000   -0.000 -0.000 -0.000   -0.093 -0.092  0.000

 Mode:                 4                      5                      6
 Frequency:       680.06                 766.00                 933.48
 Force Cnst:      2.4238                 0.6806                 0.9724
 Red. Mass:       8.8953                 1.9688                 1.8940
 IR Active:          YES                    YES                    YES
 IR Intens:       16.695                 27.010                  0.959
 Raman Active:       YES                    YES                    YES
               X      Y      Z        X      Y      Z        X      Y      Z
 N          0.230  0.006  0.000   -0.000  0.000 -0.127    0.000 -0.000  0.079
 C          0.278  0.104 -0.000    0.000 -0.000  0.101    0.000  0.000 -0.139
 N         -0.178  0.413  0.000    0.000  0.000 -0.127   -0.000 -0.000  0.079
 C         -0.174 -0.017  0.000   -0.000 -0.000  0.101    0.000 -0.000 -0.139
 N         -0.327 -0.144  0.000   -0.000 -0.000 -0.127   -0.000  0.000  0.079
 C          0.157 -0.349 -0.000    0.000  0.000  0.101   -0.000 -0.000 -0.139
 H          0.285 -0.190 -0.000    0.000 -0.000  0.554   -0.000 -0.000  0.555
 H          0.255 -0.303 -0.000    0.000  0.000  0.554    0.000  0.000  0.555
 H          0.172 -0.220 -0.000   -0.000 -0.000  0.554   -0.000  0.000  0.555
 TransDip   0.092 -0.093 -0.000    0.000 -0.000  0.166   -0.000 -0.000  0.031

 Mode:                 7                      8                      9
 Frequency:      1006.40                1035.26                1035.26
 Force Cnst:      8.2435                 0.9314                 0.9314
 Red. Mass:      13.8141                 1.4750                 1.4750
 IR Active:          YES                    YES                    YES
 IR Intens:        0.000                  0.000                  0.000
 Raman Active:       YES                    YES                    YES
               X      Y      Z        X      Y      Z        X      Y      Z
 N         -0.285 -0.494  0.000   -0.000 -0.000  0.022   -0.000  0.000  0.025
 C         -0.056  0.000  0.000    0.000  0.000 -0.162    0.000 -0.000  0.030
 N         -0.285  0.494 -0.000    0.000 -0.000  0.011   -0.000 -0.000 -0.031
 C          0.028  0.048  0.000   -0.000 -0.000  0.107   -0.000  0.000  0.125
 N          0.571  0.000  0.000   -0.000  0.000 -0.033    0.000 -0.000  0.006
 C          0.028 -0.048 -0.000    0.000 -0.000  0.055   -0.000 -0.000 -0.155
 H         -0.066 -0.000  0.000    0.000  0.000  0.786    0.000 -0.000 -0.145
 H          0.033 -0.057  0.000    0.000 -0.000 -0.267   -0.000 -0.000  0.753
 H          0.033  0.057  0.000   -0.000 -0.000 -0.519   -0.000  0.000 -0.608
 TransDip  -0.000 -0.000  0.000   -0.000  0.000 -0.000   -0.000 -0.000 -0.000

 Mode:                10                     11                     12
 Frequency:      1139.63                1194.99                1194.99
 Force Cnst:      4.6964                 2.0048                 2.0048
 Red. Mass:       6.1374                 2.3828                 2.3828
 IR Active:          YES                    YES                    YES
 IR Intens:        0.000                  0.452                  0.452
 Raman Active:       YES                    YES                    YES
               X      Y      Z        X      Y      Z        X      Y      Z
 N         -0.018 -0.031  0.000   -0.037 -0.109  0.000    0.087 -0.016 -0.000
 C          0.392  0.000 -0.000   -0.125  0.117  0.000   -0.125 -0.117 -0.000
 N         -0.018  0.031  0.000    0.087  0.016  0.000   -0.037  0.109 -0.000
 C         -0.196 -0.340 -0.000   -0.048 -0.169  0.000    0.161 -0.040  0.000
 N          0.036  0.000  0.000   -0.083  0.061 -0.000   -0.083 -0.061  0.000
 C         -0.196  0.340 -0.000    0.161  0.040 -0.000   -0.048  0.169 -0.000
 H          0.422 -0.000 -0.000   -0.135  0.525 -0.000   -0.135 -0.525  0.000
 H         -0.211  0.365 -0.000    0.646  0.316  0.000    0.074  0.255  0.000
 H         -0.211 -0.365 -0.000    0.075 -0.255 -0.000    0.645 -0.316 -0.000
 TransDip  -0.000 -0.000 -0.000    0.015  0.015 -0.000    0.015 -0.015  0.000

 Mode:                13                     14                     15
 Frequency:      1245.51                1400.20                1444.32
 Force Cnst:     11.3144                 1.2983                 2.1807
 Red. Mass:      12.3790                 1.1240                 1.7743
 IR Active:          YES                    YES                    YES
 IR Intens:        0.000                  0.000                 44.676
 Raman Active:       YES                    YES                    YES
               X      Y      Z        X      Y      Z        X      Y      Z
 N          0.302 -0.175 -0.000    0.040 -0.023  0.000   -0.145  0.069  0.000
 C         -0.000  0.448  0.000   -0.000 -0.031 -0.000    0.070  0.027 -0.000
 N         -0.302 -0.175 -0.000   -0.040 -0.023  0.000   -0.013 -0.063  0.000
 C          0.388 -0.224  0.000   -0.027  0.016 -0.000   -0.044 -0.004 -0.000
 N         -0.000  0.349 -0.000   -0.000  0.046  0.000    0.035  0.117  0.000
 C         -0.388 -0.224  0.000    0.027  0.016 -0.000    0.039 -0.087 -0.000
 H         -0.000 -0.104 -0.000   -0.000  0.575  0.000    0.077 -0.554 -0.000
 H          0.090  0.052 -0.000   -0.498 -0.287  0.000    0.229  0.010 -0.000
 H         -0.090  0.052 -0.000    0.498 -0.287  0.000    0.641 -0.403  0.000
 TransDip   0.000 -0.000  0.000   -0.000 -0.000  0.000    0.151 -0.151 -0.000

 Mode:                16                     17                     18
 Frequency:      1444.32                1595.06                1595.06
 Force Cnst:      2.1807                 8.7712                 8.7712
 Red. Mass:       1.7743                 5.8514                 5.8513
 IR Active:          YES                    YES                    YES
 IR Intens:       44.676                 92.768                 92.767
 Raman Active:       YES                    YES                    YES
               X      Y      Z        X      Y      Z        X      Y      Z
 N         -0.013  0.063 -0.000   -0.202  0.163 -0.000   -0.135 -0.096  0.000
 C          0.070 -0.027  0.000    0.087 -0.289  0.000    0.087  0.289 -0.000
 N         -0.145 -0.069 -0.000   -0.135  0.096  0.000   -0.202 -0.163 -0.000
 C          0.039  0.087  0.000    0.326 -0.225 -0.000    0.151  0.051  0.000
 N          0.035 -0.117  0.000   -0.110  0.188 -0.000   -0.110 -0.188  0.000
 C         -0.044  0.004  0.000    0.151 -0.051  0.000    0.325  0.225 -0.000
 H          0.077  0.554  0.000    0.089  0.433 -0.000    0.089 -0.433  0.000
 H          0.641  0.403 -0.000   -0.077 -0.184 -0.000   -0.528 -0.267 -0.000
 H          0.228 -0.010  0.000   -0.528  0.267  0.000   -0.077  0.184  0.000
 TransDip   0.151  0.151  0.000    0.218 -0.218 -0.000    0.218  0.218 -0.000

 Mode:                19                     20                     21
 Frequency:      3214.95                3214.95                3218.30
 Force Cnst:      6.6461                 6.6461                 6.6938
 Red. Mass:       1.0914                 1.0914                 1.0969
 IR Active:          YES                    YES                    YES
 IR Intens:       13.235                 13.235                  0.000
 Raman Active:       YES                    YES                    YES
               X      Y      Z        X      Y      Z        X      Y      Z
 N         -0.001  0.001 -0.000    0.000 -0.001  0.000   -0.000 -0.000  0.000
 C          0.051  0.001 -0.000   -0.049  0.001 -0.000   -0.052  0.000 -0.000
 N         -0.000 -0.001  0.000    0.001  0.001 -0.000   -0.000  0.000  0.000
 C         -0.010 -0.014  0.000   -0.034 -0.060  0.000    0.026  0.045 -0.000
 N          0.000  0.001  0.000   -0.000  0.001  0.000    0.000  0.000  0.000
 C          0.034 -0.059 -0.000    0.011 -0.016  0.000    0.026 -0.045 -0.000
 H         -0.585 -0.000  0.000    0.565 -0.000  0.000    0.575  0.000  0.000
 H         -0.391  0.677  0.000   -0.112  0.194 -0.000   -0.288  0.498  0.000
 H          0.099  0.170 -0.000    0.394  0.683 -0.000   -0.288 -0.498  0.000
 TransDip   0.084 -0.081  0.000   -0.081 -0.084 -0.000    0.000 -0.000  0.000

Does someone have any clue on what is going on?

Thank you in advance for any help!

Have you confirmed that all options are the same, e.g., frozen core, use of Cartesian vs. pure d functions, use of RI, etc? And that the SCF solution is stable?

Update: by the way, running your input with RIMP2 (which is much faster), I get about the same frequencies. Energy remains about 3 eV lower than what you’re reporting. Use PRINT_GENERAL_BASIS = TRUE to make sure the same basis functions are being used.