Self-consistent screening of a proton in jellium

Abstract

The nonlinear screening of a fixed proton in jellium for the metallic density range covering rs=1 to rs=6 has been calculated self-consistently using the density-functional formalism. A new method is introduced for achieving self-consistency in a straightforward manner. For rs>4, the screening charge near the proton is essentially hydrogenic; the interaction energy in this range of rs is nearly the same as that found for the hydrogen atom using the same formalism and differs by about 10% from the exact binding energy of the atom.