<i>v</i>-representability for systems with low degeneracy

Abstract

We consider the v-representability of the particle density for a noninteracting system of spinless fermions by introducing the idea of proper order of a set of energy levels. It is shown that if ${\mathit{E}}_{1}$(\ensuremath{\lambda}), ${\mathit{E}}_{2}$(\ensuremath{\lambda}), and ${\mathit{E}}_{3}$(\ensuremath{\lambda}) are three energy levels associated with some local potential ${\mathit{V}}_{\ensuremath{\lambda}}$(r) that is a continuous function of \ensuremath{\lambda}=(${\ensuremath{\lambda}}_{1}$,${\ensuremath{\lambda}}_{2}$,${\ensuremath{\lambda}}_{3}$) over all possible points \ensuremath{\lambda}, where ${\ensuremath{\lambda}}_{\mathit{i}}$ is the occupation number of the ith state and M=${\ensuremath{\lambda}}_{1}$+${\ensuremath{\lambda}}_{2}$+${\ensuremath{\lambda}}_{3}$ is the total number of particles distributed over the three levels, then there must be at least one \ensuremath{\lambda} for which the three levels are in so-called proper order, in which the levels below the highest occupied level are filled. This result provides a basis for the proof of ensemble v-representability of some N-particle density for which the ground-state degeneracy of the system is no more than three. As examples, three- and two-dimensional central systems are examined, and an N-particle central density is shown to be ensemble v-representable for small N (N\ensuremath{\le}14 and N\ensuremath{\le}9 for three- and two-dimensional cases, respectively). The implications for density-functional theory are discussed.