 Local-density approximation

A density-functional approximation using the energy per particle of a uniform electron gas at the local density. Its exchange-energy-per-electron tail decays exponentially with an exponentially decaying density.

The Local-Density Approximation (LDA) is an approach used in the field of density functional theory (DFT) to approximate the exchange-correlation energy of a many-electron system. In LDA, it is assumed that the exchange-correlation energy at a point in space is a function of the electron density at that same point. This means that the approximation relies on the idea that the behavior of the system can be described by the properties of an electron gas with uniform density.