Attainable accuracy in the numerical integration of the Thomas—Fermi kinetic-energy functional using a modeled electron density

In the Hohenberg and Kohn formation of the density-functional theory of an electronic system, the basic variable is the electron (number) density. This quantity, however, is not known. For this reason, in an actual calculation, one has to resort to an approximate electron (number) density in order to evaluate the integral occurring in the Hohenberg and Kohn density functional framework. This poses the question: what is the accuracy beyond which one cannot penetrate in the numerical evaluation of the integrals? The present work attempts to provide an answer to this question by considering the Ne atom as an example and using the simplest energy-density functional, namely the Thomas-Fermi functional. In this functional, composed of three terms, there is only one term, the kinetic-energy functional, that has to be evaluated numerically. The evaluation of this integral is done by modeling the electron (number) density of the Ne atom and resorting to Simpson's compound rule. Following this, an error bound for the integral is established. This is the central result of this paper.     

Exchange and correlation energy in density functional theory

Several different versions of density functional theory (DFT) that satisfy Hohenberg–Kohn theorems are characterized by different definitions of a reference or model state determined by an N‐electron ground state. A common formalism is developed in which exact Kohn–Sham equations are derived for standard Kohn–Sham theory, for reference‐state density functional theory, and for unrestricted Hartree–Fock (UHF) theory considered as an exactly soluble model Hohenberg–Kohn theory. A natural definition of exchange and correlation energy functionals is shown to be valid for all such theories. An easily computed necessary condition for the locality of exchange and correlation potentials is derived. While it is shown that in the UHF model of DFT the optimized effective potential (OEP) exchange satisfies this condition by construction, the derivation shows that this condition is not, in general, sufficient to define an exact local exchange potential. It serves as a test to eliminate proposed local potentials that are not exact for ground states. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Int J Quant Chem 77: 521–525, 2000     

Comment on “On the original proof by reductio ad absurdum of the Hohenberg–Kohn theorem for many‐electron Coulomb systems”

We argue with Kryachko's criticism [Int J Quantum Chem 2005, 103, 818] of the original proof of the second Hohenberg‐Kohn theorem. The Kato cusp condition can be used to refute a “to‐be‐refuted” statement as an alternative to the original proof by Hohenberg and Kohn applicable for Coulombic systems. Since alternative ways to prove falseness of the “to‐be‐refuted” statement in a reduction ad absurdum proof do not exclude each other, Kryachko's criticism is not justified. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Quantum Chem, 2007     

Density functional theory on phase space

Forty‐five years after the point de départ [Hohenberg and Kohn, Phys Rev, 1964, 136, B864] of density functional theory, its applications in chemistry and the study of electronic structures keep steadily growing. However, the precise form of the energy functional in terms of the electron density still eludes us—and possibly will do so forever [Schuch and Verstraete, Nat Phys, 2009, 5, 732]. In what follows we examine a formulation in the same spirit with phase space variables. The validity of Hohenberg–Kohn–Levy‐type theorems on phase space is recalled. We study the representability problem for reduced Wigner functions, and proceed to analyze properties of the new functional. Along the way, new results on states in the phase space formalism of quantum mechanics are established. Natural Wigner orbital theory is developed in depth, with the final aim of constructing accurate correlation‐exchange functionals on phase space. A new proof of the overbinding property of the Müller functional is given. This exact theory supplies its home at long last to that illustrious ancestor, the Thomas–Fermi model. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Quantum Chem, 2012     

About the compatibility between ansatzes and constraints for a local formulation of orbital‐free density functional theory

Functional properties that are exact for the Hohenberg–Kohn functional may turn into mutually exclusive constraints at a given level of ansatz. This is exemplarily shown for the local density approximation. Nevertheless, it is possible to reach exactly the Kohn–Sham data from an orbital‐free density functional framework based on simple one‐point functionals by starting from the Levy–Perdew–Sahni formulation. The energy value is obtained from the density‐potential pair, and therefore does not refer to the functional dependence of the potential expression. Consequently, the potential expression can be obtained from any suitable model and is not required to follow proper scaling behavior.     

Hohenberg–Kohn theorem for Coulomb type systems and its generalization

Density functional theory (DFT) has become a basic tool for the study of electronic structure of matter, in which the Hohenberg–Kohn theorem plays a fundamental role in the development of DFT. In this paper, we present a simple, selfcontained and mathematically rigorous proof using the Fundamental Theorem of Algebra. We also show the Hohenberg–Kohn theorem for systems with some more general external potentials.     

General performance of density functionals

The density functional theory (DFT) foundations date from the 1920s with the work of Thomas and Fermi, but it was after the work of Hohenberg, Kohn, and Sham in the 1960s, and particularly with the appearance of the B3LYP functional in the early 1990s, that the widespread application of DFT has become a reality. DFT is less computationally demanding than other computational methods with a similar accuracy, being able to include electron correlation in the calculations at a fraction of time of post-Hartree-Fock methodologies. In this review we provide a brief outline of the density functional theory and of the historic development of the field, focusing later on the several types of density functionals currently available, and finishing with a detailed analysis of the performance of DFT across a wide range of chemical properties and system types, reviewed from the most recent benchmarking studies, which encompass several well-established density functionals together with the most recent efforts in the field. Globally, an overall picture of the level of performance of the plethora of currently available density functionals for each chemical property is drawn, with particular attention being dedicated to the relative performance of the popular B3LYP density functional.     

Variational principle, Hohenberg–Kohn theorem, and density function origin shifts

Origin shifts performed on the density functions (DF) permit to express the Hohenberg–Kohn theorem (HKT) as a consequence of the variational principle. Upon ordering the expectation values of Hermitian operators, an extended variational principle can be described using origin shifted DF. Under some restrictions, HKT can be extended for some specific Hermitian operators.     

Chemistry and the near-sighted nature of the one-electron density matrix

Two different macrospopic pieces of copper have different external potentials and, because of the unique functional relationship between the electron density and the external potential as demanded by density functional theory, should possess different electron density distributions. Experimentally, however, an atom in the bulk exhibits the same electron density in both samples and they possess identical sets of intensive properties. Density functional theory does not account for the fundamental observation underlying the theory of atoms in molecules: that what are apparently identical distributions of charge can be observed for an atom or a grouping of atoms in systems with different external potentials and that these atoms contribute essentially identical amounts to the energies and all other properties of the systems in which they occur. It is shown that, unlike the external potential, the kinetic energy density and the potential energy density, defined by the virial of the Ehrenfest force acting on electron density, are short-range functions. As recorded in the first article on atoms in molecules, they exhibit a local dependence on the electron density that causes them to faithfully mimic the transferability of the atomic charge distributions from one system to another. The electron, the kinetic energy, and the virial densities are all determined directly by the one-electron density matrix, a function termed near-sighted by Professor Kohn. It is this near-sighted property of the one-matrix that underlies the working hypothesis of chemistry—that of a functional group exhibiting a characteristic set of properties. The observations obtained from the theory of atoms in molecules and the atomic theorems it determines demonstrate the existence of a local relationship between the electron density and all properties of a system. © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Explicit density–potential relation for 4-electron atoms in 2-orbital S states

An explicit relation is derived between the one-body potential energy and the electron density for the ground state of the Be atom in a nonrelativistic framework. This same relation applies to any four-electron atomic ion (or to Be itself) in a state where the electrons occupy two doubly filled orbitals. The relation is interpreted as an exact Hartree-like model of the Hohenberg–Kohn theorem within the general context of N electrons and a potential that is not necessarily spherically symmetrical.     

A density functional for the correlation energy,deduced in the framework of the correlation factor approach

An approximate density functional is deduced from a wave function within the correlation factor method. The new functional does not include terms depending on the gradient of the density, but shows the simplicity of local density functionals without spin polarization. However, it includes correctly the inhomogeneity effects and, also, the nonlocal nature of an electronic system. The approach adopted here stresses the goodness of the expression taken by Colle and Salvetti for building a correlation factor and, at the same time, allows us to gain light on the nature of the deficiencies of those functionals obtained, up to now, from the perspective of the Hohenberg and Kohn theorem.     

Density functional theory and self-dual phase-space representations of quantum mechanics

Attempts to put classical and quantum mechanics on an equal footing gave rise to establishing of many known phase-space representations of quantum mechanics. The class of self-dual representations occupies a distinguished position among them, as they could be endowed with a Hilbert space structure closely resembling the standard picture of quantum mechanics. Using a phase-space variational principle and the concept of a phase-space wave function, we established a phase-space version of the density functional theory parallel to the original Hohenberg–Kohn formalism and the constrained-search approach by Levy and Lieb. © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

The theorem of hohenberg and kohn for subdomains of a quantum system

The theorem of Hohenberg and Kohn is extended to subdomains of a bounded quantum system. It is shown that the ground state particle density of an arbitrary subdomain uniquely determines the ground state properties of this subdomain, of any other subdomain, and of the total domain of the system.     

A simple approximation for the Pauli potential yielding self‐consistent electron densities exhibiting proper atomic shell structure

A simple approximation for the Pauli potential for the groundstate of atomic systems is given, which in connection with Hohenberg–Kohn variational procedure yields self‐consistent electron densities exhibiting proper atomic shell structure. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Does an exact local exchange potential exist?

In Kohn–Sham density functional theory, equations for occupied orbital functions of a model state are derived from the exact ground‐state energy functional of Hohenberg and Kohn. The exchange‐correlation potential in these exact Kohn–Sham equations is commonly assumed to be a local potential function rather than a more general linear operator. This assumption is tested and shown to fail for the exchange potential in a Hartree–Fock model for atoms, for which accurate solutions are known. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Interesting properties of Thomas–Fermi kinetic and Parr electron–electron‐repulsion DFT energy functional generated compact one‐electron density approximation for ground‐state electronic energy of molecular systems

The reduction of the electronic Schrodinger equation or its calculating algorithm from 4N‐dimensions to a (nonlinear, approximate) density functional of three spatial dimension one‐electron density for an N‐electron system, which is tractable in the practice, is a long desired goal in electronic structure calculation. If the Thomas‐Fermi kinetic energy (～∫ρ^5/3d r ₁) and Parr electron–electron repulsion energy (～∫ρ^4/3d r ₁) main‐term functionals are accepted, and they should, the later described, compact one‐electron density approximation for calculating ground state electronic energy from the 2nd Hohenberg–Kohn theorem is also noticeable, because it is a certain consequence of the aforementioned two basic functionals. Its two parameters have been fitted to neutral and ionic atoms, which are transferable to molecules when one uses it for estimating ground‐state electronic energy. The convergence is proportional to the number of nuclei (M) needing low disc space usage and numerical integration. Its properties are discussed and compared with known ab initio methods, and for energy differences (here atomic ionization potentials) it is comparable or sometimes gives better result than those. It does not reach the chemical accuracy for total electronic energy, but beside its amusing simplicity, it is interesting in theoretical point of view, and can serve as generator function for more accurate one‐electron density models. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Comput Chem 2009     

Hohenberg–Kohn theorems in the presence of magnetic field

In this article, we examine Hohenberg–Kohn theorems for Current Density Functional Theory, that is, generalizations of the classical Hohenberg–Kohn theorem that includes both electric and magnetic fields. In the Vignale and Rasolt formulation (Vignale and Rasolt, Phys. Rev. Lett. 1987, 59, 2360), which uses the paramagnetic current density, we address the issue of degenerate ground states and prove that the ensemble‐representable particle and paramagnetic current density determine the degenerate ground states. For the formulation that uses the total current density, we note that the proof suggested by Diener (Diener, J. Phys.: Condens. Matter. 1991, 3, 9417) is unfortunately not correct. Furthermore, we give a proof that the magnetic field and the ensemble‐representable particle density determine the scalar and vector potentials up to a gauge transformation. This generalizes the result of Grayce and Harris (Grayce and Harris, Phys. Rev. A 1994, 50, 3089) to the case of degenerate ground states. We moreover prove the existence of a positive wavefunction that is the ground state of infinitely many different Hamiltonians. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Time‐dependent density functional calculations on the electronic spectra of the neutral nickel complex [Ni(LISQ)2] (LISQ = 3,5‐di‐tert‐butyl‐o‐diiminobenzosemiquinonate(1−)) and its monoanion and dication

The electronic spectrum of the neutral nickel complex [Ni(L^ISQ)₂] (L^ISQ = 3,5‐di‐tert‐butyl‐o‐diiminobenzosemiquinonate(1^?)) and the spectra of its anion and dication have been calculated by means of time‐dependent density functional theory. The electronic ground state of the neutral complex exhibits an open shell singlet diradical character. The mandatory multireference problem for this electronic ground state has been treated approximately by using the unrestricted and spin symmetry broken Kohn‐Sham Slater determinant as the wave function for the noninteracting reference system in the time‐dependent density functional calculations. A reasonable agreement with observed transition energies and band intensities has been achieved. This holds also for the long wavelength transitions that are shown to be of charge transfer type. The charge distributions in the electronic ground state and the corresponding low lying excited states, however, are rather similar. Thus, the known failure of standard time‐dependent density functional theory to describe improperly long range charge transfer transitions is absent in this work. The applied computational scheme might be adequate for calculating electronic spectra of transition metal complexes with noninnocent ligands. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Comput Chem, 2009     

Density functionals for coulomb systems

This paper has three aims: (i) To discuss some of the mathematical connections between N-particle wave functions ψ and their single-particle densities ρ (x). (ii) To establish some of the mathematical underpinnings of “universal density functional” theory for the ground state energy as begun by Hohenberg and Kohn. We show that the HK functional is not defined for all ρ and we present several ways around this difficulty. Several less obvious problems remain, however. (iii) Since the functional mentioned above is not computable, we review examples of explicit functionals that have the virtue of yielding rigorous bounds to the energy.