skip to main content
OSTI.GOV title logo U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Title: Current density partitioning in time-dependent current density functional theory

Journal Article · · Journal of Chemical Physics
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4867003· OSTI ID:22253427
 [1];  [1]
  1. Department of Chemistry, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana 47907 (United States)

We adapt time-dependent current density functional theory to allow for a fragment-based solution of the many-electron problem of molecules in the presence of time-dependent electric and magnetic fields. Regarding a molecule as a set of non-interacting subsystems that individually evolve under the influence of an auxiliary external electromagnetic vector-scalar potential pair, the partition 4-potential, we show that there are one-to-one mappings between this auxiliary potential, a sharply-defined set of fragment current densities, and the total current density of the system. The partition electromagnetic (EM) 4-potential is expressed in terms of the real EM 4-potential of the system and a gluing EM 4-potential that accounts for exchange-correlation effects and mutual interaction forces between fragments that are required to yield the correct electron dynamics. We prove the zero-force theorem for the fragmented system, establish a variational formulation in terms of action functionals, and provide a simple illustration for a charged particle in a ring.

OSTI ID:
22253427
Journal Information:
Journal of Chemical Physics, Vol. 140, Issue 18; Other Information: (c) 2014 AIP Publishing LLC; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0021-9606
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English