Van der Waals Functionals via Local Approximations for Susceptibilities

Abstract

The van der Waals * (vdW) or Dispersion interaction between distant sections of a molecular or condensed matter system is a component of the correlation energy. The part of the correlation energy clearly distinguishable as vdW energy is usually much smaller than, say, a covalent bonding energy. Nevertheless the vdW energy and other weak interactions are of great potential importance in biological and pharmaceutical applications, in physisorption studies and in the description of novel chemical species such as complexes containing rare-gas atoms.