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The time-dependent Kohn–Sham scheme
Carsten A. Ullrich
Abstract
This chapter introduces the time-dependent Kohn-Sham scheme. The first section shows how an interacting time-dependent many-body system can be replaced by an auxiliary noninteracting system which reproduces the exact time-dependent density. This noninteracting system is called the Kohn-Sham system. It features an effective single-particle potential, consisting of external, Hartree, and exchange-correlation potential. The Kohn-Sham formalism is then generalized to spin-dependent systems. The exchange-correlation potential needs to be approximated in practice. Of particular importance is the adiabatic approximation, which uses any static exchange-correlation potential and evaluates it with time-dependent densities. The last two sections deal with practical issues related to the numerical implementation of the time-dependent Kohn-Sham scheme, namely, the meaning of self-consistency and unitary time propagation. The Crank-Nicholson algorithm is introduced, and important practical concepts such as the predictor-corrector scheme and absorbing boundary conditions are discussed.