Thermal Density Functional Theory in Context

TL;DR

This paper reviews thermal density functional theory, highlighting its foundations, tools for approximation, and its relation to ground-state DFT, emphasizing its strengths as a comprehensive framework for quantum statistical systems.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive overview of thermal DFT, including its foundations, reformulations, and connections to ground-state theory, aiding future research and development.

Findings

Thermal DFT extends ground-state DFT to finite temperatures.

Tools for analyzing and approximating thermal DFT are discussed.

Thermal DFT offers a consistent framework for quantum statistical systems.

Abstract

This chapter introduces thermal density functional theory, starting from the ground-state theory and assuming a background in quantum mechanics and statistical mechanics. We review the foundations of density functional theory (DFT) by illustrating some of its key reformulations. The basics of DFT for thermal ensembles are explained in this context, as are tools useful for analysis and development of approximations. We close by discussing some key ideas relating thermal DFT and the ground state. This review emphasizes thermal DFT's strengths as a consistent and general framework.