Nonlocal-density-functional theory of inhomogeneous electron gas: Metal surface

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Abstract
We develop a theoretical framework within the density-functional formalism in which the nonlocal character of the exchange and correlation potential is appropriately taken into account in the description of an inhomogeneous many-electron system near the metal surface. The proposed theoretical scheme is sufficiently simple so that the self-consistent calculations of the electron density and the associated surface quantities such as the surface energy and work function can be practically carried out; the validity and accuracy of the approximations introduced for the simplification are examined and ascertained with the aid of exact sum rules. In the process we derive a useful analytic expression for the radial distribution function of the electrons at metallic densities.