Abstract
This article is a summary of what is know rigorously about Thomas-Fermi (TF) theory with and without the Dirac and von Weizsäcker corrections. It is also shown that TF theory agrees asymptotically, in a certain sense, with nonrelativistic quantum theory as the nuclear charge z tends to infinity. The von Weizsäcker correction is shown to correct certain undesirable features of TF theory and to yield a theory in much better agreement with what is believed (but as yet unproved) to be the structure of real atoms. Many open problems in the theory are presented.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 603-641 |
Number of pages | 39 |
Journal | Reviews of Modern Physics |
Volume | 53 |
Issue number | 4 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Jan 1 1981 |
All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes
- Physics and Astronomy(all)