The Ionization Conjecture in Thomas–Fermi–Dirac–von Weizsäcker Theory

We prove that in Thomas–Fermi–Dirac–von Weizsäcker theory, a nucleus of charge Z > 0 can bind at most Z + C electrons, where C is a universal constant. This result is obtained through a comparison with Thomas‐Fermi theory which, as a by‐product, gives bounds on the screened nuclear potential and the radius of the minimizer. A key ingredient of the proof is a novel technique to control the particles in the exterior region, which also applies to the liquid drop model with a nuclear background potential.© 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.