This article is a summary of what is know rigorously about Thomas-Fermi (TF) theory with and without the Dirac and von Weizsacker corrections. It is also shown that TF theory agrees asymptotically, in a certain sense, with nonrelativistic quantum theory as the nuclear charge z tends to infiinity. The von Weizsacker correction is shown to correct certain undesirable features of TF theory and to yield a theory in much better agreement with what is believed (but as yet unproved) to be the structure of real atoms. Many open problems in the theory are presented.
CITATION STYLE
Lieb, E. H. (1991). Thomas-fermi and related theories of atoms and molecules. In The Stability of Matter: From Atoms to Stars (pp. 191–230). Springer Berlin Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-02725-7_17
Mendeley helps you to discover research relevant for your work.