Time dependent Density-Functional Theory: Prospects and Applications2nd International Workshop and School2006, August 27 - September 11History:
The first School and workshop was hosted by the Benasque Center for Science, Spain from August 28th to September 12th, 2004. The aim of the school was to introduce theoretical, practical, and numerical aspects of time-dependent density-functional theory (TDDFT) to young graduate students, post-docs and even older scientists that are envisaging a project for which TDDFT would be the tool of choice. SCOPE Time-dependent density-functional
theory (TDDFT) is an extension of density functional theory (DFT) to
time-dependent problems, and can be viewed as an alternative
formulation of time-dependent quantum mechanics. As in DFT, the
wave-function no longer has the leading role: the basic variable of
TDDFT is the one-body electron density, n(r,t). The advantages are
clear: a complex function in 3N-dimensional space (where N is the
number of electrons in the system) - the many-body wave-function - is
replaced by a real function that depends solely on the 3-dimensional
vector r - the density. Usually n(r,t) is obtained using an
auxiliary system of non-interacting electrons that feel an effective
time-dependent potential, the time-dependent Kohn-Sham potential. Its
exact form is, however, unknown, and has to be approximated. The use of TDDFT is increasing,
and it is fast becoming one of the
tools of choice to get accurate and reliable predictions for
excited-state properties in solid state physics, chemistry and
biophysics, both in the linear and non-linear regimes. This interest
has been motivated by the recent developments of TDDFT (and
time-dependent current functional theory) and include the description
of photo-absorption cross section of molecules and nanostructures,
electron-ion dynamics in the excited state triggered by either a small
or high intense laser fields, van der Waals interactions, development
of new functionals coping with memory and non-locality effects,
applications to biological systems (chromophores), transport phenomena,
optical spectra of solids and low-dimensional structures (as nanotubes,
polymers, surfaces...). The school will be attended by a
maximum of around 40 students, and will last 10 days, with theoretical
sessions (mostly) in the mornings and practical (tutorial) sessions in
the afternoons. The theoretical sessions will consist of two 1.5h
lectures (divided in two 45m sessions including discussions). The
practical sessions will last for 3 hours and a computer will be
allocated for each two students. This will allow the students to have
some time every day for studying and talking to the teachers. The
program of the school starts with basic TDDFT, then continues with more
complex theoretical and numerical aspects of TDDFT, and will end with
an outline of some of its many applications. Basic knowledge on ground
state DFT calculations is required. Also during the school we will
address other approaches to describe excite state properties based on
either many-body Format of the workshop:
Starts on September 7th
in the morning and ends Sunday 10th late afternoon. We plan an
informal workshop with sufficient time for
discussions. The informal character of the talks will be encouraged and
presentations
which are partly tutorial, given the mixed character of the audience,
are
most welcome. The time for each talk will be divided into 75% for the
presentation plus 25% for discussion. Speakers will be encouraged to
divide their available time into two separate parts if their topic
falls under more than one heading. The aim of the workshop will be to
stimulate discussions and collaborations among participants. Desks and
computer facilities will be provided.
The call for participation will be mainly directed to students and scientists specialized on computational physics, quantum chemistry and biophysics. We will limit the number of participants to 70, in order to ensure a maximum interaction between all the scientists participating. Attendance of graduate students and postdocs will be strongly encouraged through the inclusion of short contributed talks and a poster session. Furthermore, we will award short oral presentations to Ph.D. students who present an outstanding poster. |