Within density functional theory, a coordinate-scaling relation for the coupling-constant dependence of the exchange-correlation kernel ${f}_{\mathrm{xc}}(\mathbf{r},{\mathbf{r}}^{\ensuremath{'}};\ensuremath{\omega})$ is utilized to express the correlation energy of a many-electron system in terms of
fxc. As a test of several of the available approximations for the exchange-correlation kernel, or equivalently the local-field factor, we calculate the uniform-gas correlation energy. While the random phase approximation
(fxc = 0) makes the correlation energy per electron too negative by about 0.5 eV, the adiabatic local-density approximation
[fxc = fxc(q = $0,\ensuremath{\omega}$
= 0)] makes a comparable error in the opposite direction. The adiabatic nonlocal approximation
[fxc = ${f}_{\mathrm{xc}}(q,\ensuremath{\omega}$
= 0)] reduces this error to about 0.1 eV, and inclusion of the full frequency dependence
[fxc = ${f}_{\mathrm{xc}}(q,\ensuremath{\omega})]$ in an approximate parametrization reduces it further to less than 0.02 eV. We also report the wave-vector analysis and the imaginary-frequency analysis of the correlation energy for each choice of kernel.
The adiabatic connection formula of ground-state density functional theory relates the correlation energy to a coupling-constant integral over a purely potential contribution, and is widely used to understand and improve approximations. The corresponding formula for thermal density functional theory is cast as an integral over temperatures instead, ranging upward from the system's physical temperature. We also show how to relate different correlation components to each other, either in terms of temperature or coupling-constant integrations. We illustrate our results on the uniform electron gas.
The exact time-dependent correlation energy in time-dependent density-functional theory is shown to sometimes become positive, which is impossible with most present TDDFT approximations. Both the correlation potential and energy can be strongly nonlocal in time. A new inequality is derived for the time-dependent exchange-correlation energy. The correlation energy appears to scale to a constant function of scaled time in the high-density limit. In the linear response regime, the correlation energy is shown to become purely adiabatic, but the correlation potential is generally nonadiabatic. The usefulness of the virial theorem as a test of numerical accuracy is demonstrated. All results are found or inspired by exact numerical solution of a simple model system (Hooke’s atom), and inversion of the corresponding Kohn–Sham equations.
Within density-functional theory a time-dependent perturbation theory is derived that yields exact orbital-dependent expressions for the time-dependent exchange-correlation potential in the form of a perturbation series. This leads to an exact time-dependent Kohn-Sham scheme based on perturbation theory. In first order an ``exchange-only'' Kohn-Sham procedure is obtained, that is a generalization of a recently presented time-dependent optimized potential method. The exact, in higher order, but quite complicated expressions for the exchange-correlation potential may serve as a starting point for the construction of approximate exchange-correlation potentials. An adiabatic connection or coupling constant path between a time-dependent physical system and its corresponding Kohn-Sham system is introduced.
This chapter discusses time-dependent current-density-functional theory (TDCDFT). It first asks under what circumstances one should choose the current density as basic variable, instead of the particle density. There are several reasons: a current-based formulation is more suitable for constructing functionals beyond the adiabatic approximation. Furthermore, the current is the natural variable to describe coupling to electromagnetic fields and vector potentials. The basic existence theorems of TDCDFT are proved, and several exact properties and the linear-response regime are discussed. The second half of the chapter deals with the so-called Vignale-Kohn functional, which is a local and frequency-dependent approximation to the exchange-correlation vector potential. The Vignale-Kohn functional is expressed in terms of viscoelastic stresses in the electron liquid. Several applications in the linear-response regime and in real time are presented. The Vignale-Kohn functional works well for describing dissipative effects in collective, plasmon-like electron dynamics.