Optimal-transport formulation of electronic density-functional theory

DOI10.1103/PHYSREVA.85.062502MaRDI QIDQ6233137zbMATH OpenWikidataFDO

Authors Giuseppe Buttazzo, Luigi De Pascale, Paola Gori-Giorgi

Publication date 21 May 2012

Full work available at URL https://doi.org/10.1103/PHYSREVA.85.062502

Abstract: The most challenging scenario for Kohn-Sham density functional theory, that is when the electrons move relatively slowly trying to avoid each other as much as possible because of their repulsion (strong-interaction limit), is reformulated here as an optimal transport (or mass transportation theory) problem, a well established field of mathematics and economics. In practice, we show that solving the problem of finding the minimum possible internal repulsion energy for $N$ electrons in a given density $ho(v)$ is equivalent to find the optimal way of transporting $N-1$ times the density $ho$ into itself, with cost function given by the Coulomb repulsion. We use this link to put the strong-interaction limit of density functional theory on firm grounds and to discuss the potential practical aspects of this reformulation.

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