Derivative Discontinuity in Many-Body Perturbation Theory and Chemical Potentials in Random Phase Approximation

Fuente: arXiv
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Autores principales: Li, Jiachen, Yang, Weitao
Formato: Preprint
Publicado: 2026
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author Li, Jiachen
Yang, Weitao
author_facet Li, Jiachen
Yang, Weitao
contents We derive analytical expressions for chemical potentials within the random phase approximation (RPA), equivalently the $GW$ energy functional evaluated using non interacting Green's functions ($G_s$). The chemical potential is obtained using two formally equivalent approaches: a direct derivative of the total energy with respect to particle number, and a functional derivative via the chain rule through $G_s$, both validated with finite difference benchmarks. We show that the functional derivative of the $GW$ correlation energy$\unicode{x2013}$i.e., the $GW$ correlation self energy$\unicode{x2013}$exhibits a discontinuity at integer particle numbers with finite jumps. This resolves the apparent inconsistency between accurate $GW$ quasiparticle energies and the large delocalization errors observed in RPA total energies, as standard $GW$ self energies neglect this nonanalytic behavior. Our results suggest that derivative discontinuities are a fundamental feature of correlation energy functionals, analogous to the known discontinuity in the exact exchange correlation energy.
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publishDate 2026
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spellingShingle Derivative Discontinuity in Many-Body Perturbation Theory and Chemical Potentials in Random Phase Approximation
Li, Jiachen
Yang, Weitao
Chemical Physics
We derive analytical expressions for chemical potentials within the random phase approximation (RPA), equivalently the $GW$ energy functional evaluated using non interacting Green's functions ($G_s$). The chemical potential is obtained using two formally equivalent approaches: a direct derivative of the total energy with respect to particle number, and a functional derivative via the chain rule through $G_s$, both validated with finite difference benchmarks. We show that the functional derivative of the $GW$ correlation energy$\unicode{x2013}$i.e., the $GW$ correlation self energy$\unicode{x2013}$exhibits a discontinuity at integer particle numbers with finite jumps. This resolves the apparent inconsistency between accurate $GW$ quasiparticle energies and the large delocalization errors observed in RPA total energies, as standard $GW$ self energies neglect this nonanalytic behavior. Our results suggest that derivative discontinuities are a fundamental feature of correlation energy functionals, analogous to the known discontinuity in the exact exchange correlation energy.
title Derivative Discontinuity in Many-Body Perturbation Theory and Chemical Potentials in Random Phase Approximation
topic Chemical Physics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2603.19112