Exchange-correlation functional ($E_{\mathrm{xc}}[n]=F[n]-T_s[n]-E_H[n]$)

The part of the exact density functional left after subtracting the auxiliary noninteracting kinetic energy and classical Hartree electrostatic energy. It includes fermionic exchange, correlation and the difference between interacting and noninteracting kinetic energies. Its functional derivative enters the Kohn-Sham equations. Practical approximations to this functional, rather than the existence of a density description itself, are a central source of error.