Fragment-based Time-dependent Density-functional Theory

Abstract

Using the Runge-Gross theorem that establishes the foundation of Time-dependent Density Functional Theory (TDDFT) we prove that for a given electronic Hamiltonian, choice of initial state, and choice of fragmentation, there is a unique single-particle potential (dubbed time-dependent partition potential) which, when added to each of the pre-selected fragment potentials, forces the fragment densities to evolve in such a way that their sum equals the exact molecular density at all times. This uniqueness theorem suggests new ways of computing time-dependent properties of electronic systems via fragment-TDDFT calculations. We derive a formally exact relationship between the partition potential and the total density, and illustrate our approach on a simple model system for binary fragmentation in a laser field.