Statistical theory of electron densities

An optimized Thomas–Fermi theory is proposed which retains the simplicity of the original theory and is a suitable reference theory for Monte Carlo density functional treatments of condensed materials. The key ingredient of the optimized theory is a neighborhood sampled potential which contains effects of the inhomogeneities in the one-electron potential. In contrast to the traditional Thomas–Fermi approach, the optimized theory predicts a finite electron density in the vicinity of a nucleus. Consideration of the example of an ideal electron gas subject to a central Coulomb field indicates that implementation of the approach is straightforward. The optimized theory is found to fail completely when a classically forbidden region is approached. However, these circumstances are not of primary interest for calculations of interatomic forces. It is shown how the energy functional of the density may be constructed by integration of a generalized Hellmann–Feynman relation. This generalized Hellmann–Feynman relation proves to be equivalent to the variational principle of density functional quantum mechanics, and, therefore, the present density theory can be viewed as a variational consequence of the constructed energy functional.