A1 Large Quantum Coulomb Systems
Project Leaders
Prof. Dr. Rupert Frank, Prof. Dr. Phan Thành Nam, Prof. Jan Philip Solovej, PhD
Researchers
Prof. Dr. Heinz Siedentop, Jonas Peteranderl
Summary
Large quantum Coulomb systems are fundamental for the understanding of physical and chemical properties of matter. The underlying mathematical structure is the multi-particle Schrödinger equation of charged particles interacting through the Coulomb potential. The overall goal of the project is to analyze from a mathematical point of view quantities which are central to the physical understanding of the structure of matter. In particular, we will investigate qualitative and quantitative properties of atoms and molecules. The novelty in our focus is that we want to address fundamental quantities of direct importance to the chemical and physical properties of complex atoms and molecules. Mostof the previous rigorous work has focused on understanding the total atomic or molecular energy and the properties of the bulk of electrons. However, in order to understand the chemical and physical properties it is important to understand ionization energies, binding energies, and valence electrons. These will be our main focus.