Perspective: New directions in dynamical density functional theory

TL;DR

This paper reviews recent advances in dynamical density functional theory (DDFT), highlighting new applications in chemistry, connections to other theories, and proposing future research directions in nonequilibrium soft matter physics.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive overview of recent developments in DDFT and discusses potential future research directions in the field.

Findings

Growth in applications of DDFT in chemistry

Connections between DDFT and phase field crystal models

Stimulated research on power functional theory

Abstract

Classical dynamical density functional theory (DDFT) has become one of the central modeling approaches in nonequilibrium soft matter physics. Recent years have seen the emergence of novel and interesting fields of application for DDFT. In particular, there has been a remarkable growth in the amount of work related to chemistry. Moreover, DDFT has stimulated research on other theories such as phase field crystal models and power functional theory. In this perspective, we summarize the latest developments in the field of DDFT and discuss a variety of possible directions for future research.