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Main Authors: Shang, Tian Shuai, Li, Jian, Liang, Haozhao, Wu, Xinhui, Ma, Cheng, Mi, Wenhui, Shao, Xuecheng, Wang, Yanchao
Format: Preprint
Published: 2026
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Online Access:https://arxiv.org/abs/2605.18142
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author Shang, Tian Shuai
Li, Jian
Liang, Haozhao
Wu, Xinhui
Ma, Cheng
Mi, Wenhui
Shao, Xuecheng
Wang, Yanchao
author_facet Shang, Tian Shuai
Li, Jian
Liang, Haozhao
Wu, Xinhui
Ma, Cheng
Mi, Wenhui
Shao, Xuecheng
Wang, Yanchao
contents To explore the applicability of orbital-free density functional theory (OF-DFT) in nuclear physics, we perform a systematic benchmark of 36 one-point kinetic energy density functionals, which are originally developed for electron systems in condensed matter physics. It is found that the direct use of the original parameters for electron systems leads to inconsistent performance, with certain functionals exhibiting physically unacceptable asymptotic behaviors. However, through parameter re-optimization targeting nuclear densities, different mathematical forms of generalized gradient approximation (GGA) functionals converge to a consistent root-mean-square error of approximately 13 MeV. From a physical perspective, this consistent behavior signifies that the optimized semi-local GGAs have successfully captured the macroscopic, liquid-drop-like background of the nucleus, while the residual deviations appear as periodic oscillations at the magic numbers that could reflect the quantum shell effects.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2605_18142
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Systematic study of one-point kinetic energy density functionals for atomic nuclei
Shang, Tian Shuai
Li, Jian
Liang, Haozhao
Wu, Xinhui
Ma, Cheng
Mi, Wenhui
Shao, Xuecheng
Wang, Yanchao
Nuclear Theory
Materials Science
To explore the applicability of orbital-free density functional theory (OF-DFT) in nuclear physics, we perform a systematic benchmark of 36 one-point kinetic energy density functionals, which are originally developed for electron systems in condensed matter physics. It is found that the direct use of the original parameters for electron systems leads to inconsistent performance, with certain functionals exhibiting physically unacceptable asymptotic behaviors. However, through parameter re-optimization targeting nuclear densities, different mathematical forms of generalized gradient approximation (GGA) functionals converge to a consistent root-mean-square error of approximately 13 MeV. From a physical perspective, this consistent behavior signifies that the optimized semi-local GGAs have successfully captured the macroscopic, liquid-drop-like background of the nucleus, while the residual deviations appear as periodic oscillations at the magic numbers that could reflect the quantum shell effects.
title Systematic study of one-point kinetic energy density functionals for atomic nuclei
topic Nuclear Theory
Materials Science
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2605.18142