A systematic search for global and energetically low-lying minimum structures of neutral
gold clusters Aun (n= 2–20) is performed within a seeded genetic algorithm technique using
density functional theory together with a relativistic pseudopotential. Choosing the
energetically lowest lying structures we obtain electronic properties by applying a larger
basis set within an energy-consistent relativistic small-core pseudopotential approach. The
possibility of extrapolating these properties to the bulk limit for such small cluster sizes is …