The Local Density Approximation

There is no systematic way in which the exchange correlation functional Vxc[F] can be systematically improved in standard HF-LCAO theory, we can improve on the model by increasing the accuracy of the basis set, doing configuration interaction or MPn calculations. What we have to do in density functional theory is to start from a model for which there is an exact solution, and this model is the uniform electron gas. Parr and Yang (1989) write 

The exchange part is given by the Dirac exchange-energy functional 

Accurate values of the correlation functional are available thanks to the quantum Monte Carlo calculations of Ceperley and Alder (1980). These values have been interpolated in order to give an analytic form to the correlation potential (Vosko, Wilk and Nusair, 1980). 

What kind of approximation would be appropriate for the exchange-correlation energy It is not so easy to guess, but we know that it would be very good if we could find a local approximation, since then the approximation would reduce to an integral over a function of the density 

The correlation energy is not as easy, since it actually depends on the physical ground state wave function of the uniform gas, and not just the density. The usual way to include correlation is by introducing an enhancement factor Fxc such that 

For high density system, the enhancement factor becomes unity, and exchange effects dominate over the correlation effects. When the density becomes lower, the enhancement factor kicks in and includes correlation effects into the exchange energies. The enhancement factor is not unique, but can be derived differently in different approximations. The most reliable ones are parameterizations of molecular Monte-Carlo data. Some well known, and regularly used, parameterizations have been made by Hedin and Lundqvist [29], von Barth and Hedin [22], Gun-narsson and Lundqvist [30], Ceperly and Adler [31], Vosko, Wilk, and Nusair [32], and Perdew and Zunger [27]. 

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In a number of classic papers Hohenberg, Kohn and Sham established a theoretical framework for justifying the replacement of die many-body wavefiinction by one-electron orbitals [15, 20, 21]. In particular, they proposed that die charge density plays a central role in describing the electronic stnicture of matter. A key aspect of their work was the local density approximation (LDA). Within this approximation, one can express the exchange energy as... 

Stampfl C, van de Walle C G, Vogel D, Kruger P and Pollmann J 2000 Native defects and impurities in InN First-principles studies using the local-density approximation and self-interaction and relaxation-corrected pseudopotentials Phys. Rev. B 61 R7846-9... 

The local density approximation (LDA) is the oldest and simplest of the functional types stiU in use. It is based on the idea of a imiform electron gas, a homogeneous... 

The following relatively simple expression is commonly used for the exchange-only energy under the local density approximation [Slater 1974] ... 

The application of density functional theory to isolated, organic molecules is still in relative infancy compared with the use of Hartree-Fock methods. There continues to be a steady stream of publications designed to assess the performance of the various approaches to DFT. As we have discussed there is a plethora of ways in which density functional theory can be implemented with different functional forms for the basis set (Gaussians, Slater type orbitals, or numerical), different expressions for the exchange and correlation contributions within the local density approximation, different expressions for the gradient corrections and different ways to solve the Kohn-Sham equations to achieve self-consistency. This contrasts with the situation for Hartree-Fock calculations, wlrich mostly use one of a series of tried and tested Gaussian basis sets and where there is a substantial body of literature to help choose the most appropriate method for incorporating post-Hartree-Fock methods, should that be desired. 

A second calculation was done for a two-layer tubule using density functional theory in the local density approximation to establish the optimum interlayer distance between an inner (5,5) armchair tubule and an outer armchair (10,10) tubule. The result of this calculation yielded a 3.39 A interlayer separation... 

The electronic properties of single-walled carbon nanotubes have been studied theoretically using different methods[4-12. It is found that if n — wr is a multiple of 3, the nanotube will be metallic otherwise, it wiU exhibit a semiconducting behavior. Calculations on a 2D array of identical armchair nanotubes with parallel tube axes within the local density approximation framework indicate that a crystal with a hexagonal packing of the tubes is most stable, and that intertubule interactions render the system semiconducting with a zero energy gap[35]. 

According to many authors (e.g. Handy, 1993), the local density approximation (LDA) is not adequate for useful predictions in computational chemistry. 

In the Local Density Approximation (LDA) it is assumed that the density locally can be treated as a uniform electron gas, or equivalently that the density is a slowly varying... 

Theoretical calculations were performed with the linear muffin tin orbital (LMTO) method and the local density approximation for exchange and correlation. This method was used in combination with supercell models containing up to 16 atoms to calculate the DOS. The LMTO calculations are run self consistently and the DOS obtained are combined with the matrix elements for the transitions from initial to final states as described in detail elsewhere (Botton et al., 1996a) according to the method described by Vvedensky (1992). A comparison is also made between spectra calculated for some of the B2 compounds using the Korringa-Kohn-Rostoker (KKR) method. 

Our work demonstrates that EELS and in particular the combination of this technique with first principles electronic structure calculations are very powerful methods to study the bonding character in intermetallic alloys and study the alloying effects of ternary elements on the electronic structure. Our success in modelling spectra indicates the validity of our methodology of calculating spectra using the local density approximation and the single particle approach. 

The local density approximation is highly successful and has been used in density functional calculations for many years now. There were several difficulties in implementing better approximations, but in 1991 Perdew et al. successfully parametrised a potential known as the generalised gradient approximation (GGA) which expresses the exchange and correlation potential as a function of both the local density and its gradient ... 

Perdew, J.P. and Cole, L.A. (1982) On the local density approximation for Breit interaction. Joumoi of Physics C, 15, L905-L908. 

Here, exc(p(r)) is the exchange-correlation energy per particle of a uniform electron gas of density p( ). This energy per particle is weighted with the probability p(r) that there is in fact an electron at this position in space. Writing Exc in this way defines the local density approximation, LDA for short. The quantity exc(p(r)) can be further split into exchange and correlation contributions,... 

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