The ionization problem in quantum mechanics

  • Phan Thành Nam

    Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Germany
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Abstract

While it is well known experimentally that a neutral atom can bind at most one or two extra electrons, deriving this fact rigorously from first principles of quantum mechanics remains a very challenging problem, often referred to as the ionization conjecture. We will review some of Elliott H. Lieb’s fundamental contributions to this topic and discuss their impacts on several recent developments.