English

Solving one-body ensemble N-representability problems with spin

Quantum Physics 2025-12-03 v2 Mathematical Physics math.MP Chemical Physics

Abstract

The Pauli exclusion principle is fundamental to understanding electronic quantum systems. It namely constrains the expected occupancies nin_i of orbitals φi\varphi_i according to 0ni20 \leq n_i \leq 2. In this work, we first refine the underlying one-body NN-representability problem by taking into account simultaneously spin symmetries and a potential degree of mixedness w\boldsymbol w of the NN-electron quantum state. We then derive a comprehensive solution to this problem by using basic tools from representation theory, convex analysis and discrete geometry. Specifically, we show that the set of admissible orbital one-body reduced density matrices is fully characterized by linear spectral constraints on the natural orbital occupation numbers, defining a convex polytope ΣN,S(w)[0,2]d\Sigma_{N,S}(\boldsymbol w) \subset [0,2]^d. These constraints are independent of MM and the number dd of orbitals, while their dependence on N,SN, S is linear, and we can thus calculate them for arbitrary system sizes and spin quantum numbers. Our results provide a crucial missing cornerstone for ensemble density (matrix) functional theory.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2412.01805,
  title  = {Solving one-body ensemble N-representability problems with spin},
  author = {Julia Liebert and Federico Castillo and Jean-Philippe Labbé and Tomasz Maciazek and Christian Schilling},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2412.01805},
  year   = {2025}
}
R2 v1 2026-06-28T20:20:15.034Z