Time-dependent multiparticle correlation functions and response functions are formulated with the functional derivatives in the grand-canonical ensemble. Equations for the single-particle Green's functions are the Dyson equations describing scattering of the single particles by density-fluctuation excitations. Equations for the density-fluctuation excitations are truncated with a dynamic version of the convolution approximation to triple correlations. A closed set of equations for the Green's functions and excitations are thereby obtained, which constitutes a dynamic hypernetted-chain scheme for the degenerate electron liquids. The formalism is extended also to the description of the spin-dependent response and correlations.
Time-dependent multiparticle correlation functions and response functions are formulated with the functional derivatives in the grand-canonical ensemble. Equations for the single-particle Green's functions are the Dyson equations describing scattering of the single particles by density-fluctuation excitations. Equations for the density-fluctuation excitations are truncated with a dynamic version of the convolution approximation to triple correlations. A closed set of equations for the Green's functions and excitations are thereby obtained, which constitutes a dynamic hypernetted-chain scheme for the degenerate electron liquids. The formalism is extended also to the description of the spin-dependent response and correlations.
The quantum dynamics of correlated fermionic or bosonic many-body systems following external excitation can be successfully studied using nonequilibrium Green functions (NEGFs) or reduced density matrix methods. Approximations are introduced via a proper choice of the many-particle self-energy or decoupling of the BBGKY-hierarchy, respectively. These approximations are based on Feynman's diagram approaches or on cluster expansions into single-particle and correlation operators. In a recent paper [E. Schroedter, J.-P. Joost, and M. Bonitz, Condens. Matter Phys. 25, 23401 (2022)] we presented a different approach in which, instead of equations of motion for the many-particle NEGF (or density operators), equations for the correlation functions of fluctuations are analyzed. In particular, we derived the stochastic GW and polarization approximations that are closely related to the nonequilibrium GW approximation. Here, we extend this approach to the computation of two-time observables depending on the specific ordering of the underlying operators. In particular, we apply this extension to the calculation of the density correlation function and dynamic structure factor of correlated Hubbard clusters in and out of equilibrium.
Electron correlations of an electron liquid at metallic densities are studied by means of a diagrammatic method, the primary aim being the interpretation of the spectral structure observed for several metals in recent inelastic electron and x-ray scattering experiments. Several sum rules and requirements such as the positivity of the pair distribution function, the compressibility sum rule, the frequency moment sum rules, and the conservation law of the local electron number which have hitherto been regarded as guiding principles in theoretical formulation are first examined and discussed in a critical manner. Detailed examinations are made of the proper polarization function within the Hartree-Fock approximation. The lowest-order perturbation expressions giving two-pair excitations and one-pair---one-plasmon excitations are next examined. It is pointed out that these expressions are indeed divergent in the usual one-pair excitation region; the renormalization of the one-particle Green's function is indispensable there. From the above considerations and further discussions, the quasi-one-pair excitation approximation is presented for the purpose of describing the spectral shape in the dynamical structure factor $S(q,\ensuremath{\omega})$ in the intermediate wave-number and intermediate frequency regions. In the quasi-one-pair excitation approximation the proper polarization function is constructed from a coherent part of the renormalized one-particle Green's function and a static part of the irreducible particle-hole interaction including strong short-range correlations.
A new approach for the calculation of the linear response of both the ground and thermal-equilibrium states of many-electron systems is proposed via an integral formulation of the density-functional theory. Based on the path-integral representation of the one-particle Green's function, the frequency-dependent linear-response function for the Kohn-Sham noninteracting system is expressed as an explicit functional of the Kohn-Sham local potential, instead of the summation over the single-electron orbitals. Thus the dynamic linear density response can be determined as the solution of self-consistent equations which only need as input the total electron density of the ground or the equilibrium state. Exchange and correlation effects are incorporated. Because orbitals are not employed, the formulation provides the possibility for calculations of linear-response properties, such as dynamic polarizability and photoabsorption cross sections of systems with very many electrons. The present formulation can also be applied to general fermions.
Preparation, I have often said, is rightly two-thirds of any venture. Amelia Earhart Summary Correlation functions provide a direct way to characterize and analyze many-body systems, both theoretically and experimentally. In this chapter we review the properties of one- and two-body correlation functions in quantum systems, with emphasis on several key quantities: static density correlations that determine the energy and thermodynamic potentials, dynamic correlation functions such as response functions that describe excitations of the system, and Green's functions that are basic tools in the theory of interacting many-body systems. Correlation functions are central quantities in the description of interacting many-body systems, both in the theoretical formulation and in the analysis of experiments. In contrast to single numbers like the total energy, correlation functions reveal far more information about the electrons, how they arrange themselves, and the spectra of their excitations. In contrast to the many-body wavefunctions that contain all the information on the system, correlation functions extract the information most directly relevant to experimentally measurable properties. Dynamic current–current correlation functions are sufficient to determine the electrical and optical properties: one-body Green's functions describe the spectra of excitations when one electron is added to or removed from the system, static and dynamic correlations are measured using scattering techniques, and so forth. In this chapter we present the basic definitions and properties of correlation functions and Green's functions that are the basis for much of the developments in the following chapters. In general, a correlation function quantifies the correlation between two or more quantities at different points in space r , time t , or spin σ . Very often the correlation function can be specified as a function of the Fourier-transformed variables, momentum (wavevector) k , and frequency ω . It is useful to distinguish between a dynamic correlation function which describes the correlation between events at different times and a static or equal-time correlation function, by which we mean that of a property measured or computed with “snapshots” of the system. Also, the different correlation functions can be classified by the number of particles and/or fields involved.
An ensemble Green's function formalism, based on the von Neumann density matrix approach, to calculate one-electron excitation spectra of a many-electron system with degenerate ground states is proposed. A set of iterative equations for the ensemble Green's function and self-energy is derived and a simplest approximation corresponding to an ensemble GW approximation is naturally obtained. The derivation is based on the Schwinger functional derivative technique and does not assume any adiabatic connection between a noninteracting and an interacting ground state.
This is the first of a series of papers dealing with many-particle systems from a unified, nonperturbative point of view. It contains derivations and discussions of various field-theoretical techniques which will be applied in subsequent papers. In a short introduction the general method of approach is summarized, and its relationship to other field-theoretic problems indicated. In the second section the macroscopic properties of the spectra of many-particle systems are described. Asymptotic evaluations are performed which characterize these macroscopic features in terms of intensive parameters, and the relationship of these parameters to thermodynamics is discussed. The special characteristics of the ground state are shown to follow as a limiting case of the asymptotic evaluations. The third section is devoted to the time-dependent field correlation functions, or Green's functions, which describe the microscopic behavior of a multiparticle system. These functions are defined, and related to intensive macroscopic variables when the energy and number of particles are large. Spectral representations and other properties of various one-particle Green's functions are derived. In the fourth section the treatment of non-equilibrium processes is considered. As a particular example, the electromagnetic properties of a system are expressed in terms of the special two-particle Green's function which describes current correlation. The discussion yields specifically a fluctuation-dissipation theorem, a sum rule for conductivity, and certain dispersion relations. The fifth section deals with the differential equations which determine the Green's functions. The boundary conditions that characterize the Green's function equations are exhibited without reference to adiabatic decoupling. A method for solving the equations approximately, by treating the correlations among successively larger numbers of particles, is considered. The first approximation in this sequence is shown to yield a generalized Hartree-like equation. A related, but rigorous, identity for the single-particle Green's function is then derived. A second approximation, which takes certain two-particle correlations into account, is shown to produce various additional effects: The interaction between particles is altered in a manner characterized by the intensive macroscopic parameters, and the modification and spread of the energy-momentum relation come into play. In the final section compact formal expressions for the Green's functions and other physical quantities are derived. Alternative equations and systematic approximations for the Green's functions are obtained.