A mathematical analysis of the adiabatic Dyson equation from time-dependent density functional theory

Abstract: In this article, we analyze the Dyson equation for the density-density response function (DDRF) that plays a central role in linear response time-dependent density functional theory (LR-TDDFT). First, we present a functional analytic setting that allows for a unified treatment of the Dyson equation with general adiabatic approximations for discrete (finite and infinite) and continuum systems. In this setting, we derive a representation formula for the solution of the Dyson equation in terms of an operator version of the Casida matrix. While the Casida matrix is well-known in the physics literature, its general formulation as an (unbounded) operator in the N-body wavefunction space appears to be new. Moreover, we derive several consequences of the solution formula obtained here; in particular, we discuss the stability of the solution and characterize the maximal meromorphic extension of its Fourier transform. We then show that for adiabatic approximations satisfying a suitable compactness condition, the maximal domains of meromorphic continuation of the initial density-density response function and the solution of the Dyson equation are the same. The results derived here apply to widely used adiabatic approximations such as (but not limited to) the random phase approximation (RPA) and the adiabatic local density approximation (ALDA). In particular, these results show that neither of these approximations can shift the ionization threshold of the Kohn-Sham system.