No Arabic abstract
In the framework of time-dependent density functional theory (TDDFT), the exact exchange-correlation (xc) kernel $f_{xc}(n,q,omega)$ determines the ground-state energy, excited-state energies, lifetimes, and the time-dependent linear density response of any many-electron system. The recently developed MCP07 xc kernel $f_{xc}(n,q,omega)$ of A. Ruzsinszky et al. [Phys. Rev. B 101, 245135 (2020)] yields excellent uniform electron gas (UEG) ground-state energies and plausible plasmon lifetimes. As MCP07 is constructed to describe $f_{xc}$ of the UEG, it cannot capture optical properties of real materials. To verify this claim, we follow Nazarov et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 102, 113001 (2009)] to construct the long-range, dynamic xc kernel, $lim_{qto 0}f_{xc}(n,q,omega) = -alpha(omega)e^2/q^2$, of a weakly inhomogeneous electron gas, using MCP07 and other common xc kernels. The strong wavevector and frequency dependence of the ultranonlocality coefficient $alpha(omega)$ is demonstrated for a variety of simple metals and semiconductors. We examine how imposing exact constraints on an approximate kernel shapes $alpha(omega)$. Comparisons to kernels derived from correlated-wavefunction calculations are drawn.
We propose a spatially and temporally nonlocal exchange-correlation (xc) kernel for the spin-unpolarized fluid phase of ground-state jellium, for use in time-dependent density functional and linear response calculations. The kernel is constructed to satisfy known properties of the exact xc kernel, to accurately describe the correlation energies of bulk jellium, and to satisfy frequency-moment sum rules at a wide range of bulk jellium densities. All exact constraints satisfied by the recent MCP07 kernel [A. Ruzsinszky, et al., Phys. Rev. B 101, 245135 (2020)] are maintained in the new tightly-constrained 2021 (TC21) kernel, while others are added.
A curious behavior of electron correlation energy is explored. Namely, the correlation energy is the energy that tends to drive the system toward that of the uniform electron gas. As such, the energy assumes its maximum value when a gradient of density is zero. As the gradient increases, the energy is diminished by a gradient suppressing factor, designed to attenuate the energy from its maximum value similar to the shape of a bell curve. Based on this behavior, we constructed a very simple mathematical formula that predicted the correlation energy of atoms and molecules. Combined with our proposed exchange energy functional, we calculated the correlation energies, the total energies, and the ionization energies of test atoms and molecules; and despite the unique simplicities, the functionals accuracies are in the top tier performance, competitive to the B3LYP, BLYP, PBE, TPSS, and M11. Therefore, we propose that, as guided by the simplicities and supported by the accuracies, the correlation energy is the energy that locally tends to drive the system toward the uniform electron gas.
We review the theory and application of adiabatic exchange-correlation (xc-) kernels for ab initio calculations of ground state energies and quasiparticle excitations within the frameworks of the adiabatic connection fluctuation dissipation theorem and Hedins equations, respectively. Various different xc-kernels, which are all rooted in the homogeneous electron gas, are introduced but hereafter we focus on the specific class of renormalized adiabatic kernels, in particular the rALDA and rAPBE. The kernels drastically improve the description of short-range correlations as compared to the random phase approximation (RPA), resulting in significantly better correlation energies. This effect greatly reduces the reliance on error cancellations, which is essential in RPA, and systematically improves covalent bond energies while preserving the good performance of the RPA for dispersive interactions. For quasiparticle energies, the xc-kernels account for vertex corrections that are missing in the GW self-energy. In this context, we show that the short-range correlations mainly correct the absolute band positions while the band gap is less affected in agreement with the known good performance of GW for the latter. The renormalized xc-kernels offer a rigorous extension of the RPA and GW methods with clear improvements in terms of accuracy at little extra computational cost.
An alternative type of approximation for the exchange and correlation functional in density functional theory is proposed. This approximation depends on a variable $u$ that is able to detect inhomogeneities in the electron density $rho$ without using derivatives of $rho$. Instead, $u$ depends on the orbital energies which can also be used to measure how a system differs from the homogeneous electron gas. Starting from the functional of Perdew, Burke, and Ernzerhof (PBE) [Phys. Rev. Lett. 77, 3865 (1996)], a functional depending on $u$ is constructed. Tests on the lattice constant, bulk modulus, and cohesive energy of solids show that this $u$-dependent PBE-like functional is on average as accurate as the original PBE or its solid-state version PBEsol. Since $u$ carries more nonlocality than the reduced density gradient $s$ used in functionals of the generalized gradient approximation (GGA) like PBE and $alpha$ used in meta-GGAs, it will be certainly useful for the future development of more accurate exchange-correlation functionals.
Accurately describing excited states within Kohn-Sham (KS) density functional theory (DFT), particularly those which induce ionization and charge transfer, remains a great challenge. Common exchange-correlation (xc) approximations are unreliable for excited states owing, in part, to the absence of a derivative discontinuity in the xc energy ($Delta$), which relates a many-electron energy difference to the corresponding KS energy difference. We demonstrate, analytically and numerically, how the relationship between KS and many-electron energies leads to the step structures observed in the exact xc potential, in four scenarios: electron addition, molecular dissociation, excitation of a finite system, and charge transfer. We further show that steps in the potential can be obtained also with common xc approximations, as simple as the LDA, when addressed from the ensemble perspective. The article therefore highlights how capturing the relationship between KS and many-electron energies with advanced xc approximations is crucial for accurately calculating excitations, as well as the ground-state density and energy of systems which consist of distinct subsystems.