Dresden 2017 – scientific programme

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O: Fachverband Oberflächenphysik

O 30: Electronic Structure Theory: New Concepts and Developments in Density Functional Theory and Beyond - III

O 30.5: Talk

Tuesday, March 21, 2017, 11:45–12:00, GER 38

Semi-local exchange functionals showing ultranonlocal response: the hope to replace exact exchange — •Thilo Aschebrock and Stephan Kümmel — Theoretical Physics IV, University of Bayreuth, D-95440 Bayreuth, Germany

The widespread success of Density Functional Theory (DFT) is based on a favorable ratio of accuracy to computional cost, especially with semi-local approximations to the exchange-correlation energy. However, functionals such as the local density approximation (LDA), generalized-gradient approximations (GGA) or meta-generalized-gradient approximations (meta-GGA), typically miss important exact exchange features related to the derivative discontinuity. These are essential for accurately describing long-range charge transfer processes. The electrical response of molecular chains, which is dramatically overestimated by local and semi-local density functionals, is a prime example. The key to its correct description is a term in the Kohn-Sham exchange potential that counteracts the external field and has been named "ultranonlocal". We here present how these field-counteracting properties can be incorporated into semi-local DFT on the meta-GGA level. Thereby we show that by utilizing the kinetic-energy-density, it is possible to model ultranonlocal effects in the Kohn-Sham potential by virtue of a semi-local energy expression.