  Starting with an accurate pseudopotential description of the single-particle
states, and following by configuration-interaction treatment of correlated
electrons in vertically coupled, self-assembled InAs/GaAs quantum
dot-molecules, we show how simpler, popularly-practiced approximations, depict
the basic physical characteristics including the singlet-triplet splitting,
degree of entanglement (DOE) and correlation. The mean-field-like
single-configuration approaches such as Hartree-Fock and local spin density,
lacking correlation, incorrectly identify the ground state symmetry and give
inaccurate values for the singlet-triplet splitting and the DOE. The Hubbard
model gives qualitatively correct results for the ground state symmetry and
singlet-triplet splitting, but produces significant errors in the DOE because
it ignores the fact that the strain is asymmetric even if the dots within a
molecule are identical. Finally, the Heisenberg model gives qualitatively
correct ground state symmetry and singlet-triplet splitting only for rather
large inter-dot separations, but it greatly overestimates the DOE as a
consequence of ignoring the electron double occupancy effect.
