The Maximal Excess Charge in Müller Density-Matrix-Functional Theory

Abstract

We consider an atom described by Muller theory, which is similar to Hartree–Fock theory, but with a modified exchange term. We prove that a nucleus of charge Z can bind at most Z + C electrons, where C is a universal constant. Our proof proceeds by comparison with Thomas–Fermi theory, and a key ingredient is a novel bound on the number of electrons far from the nucleus.