The plasma polarization shift computed with a Local Density Functional model of an ion-sphere model is compared with results calculated using an optimum central field effective exchange potential. Indications are that the bulk of the shift is an artifact of the approximate exchange functional describing the interaction between bound and continuum orbitals in the LDA.

The Bethe-Salpeter formalism is used to study two-body bound states within a scalar theory: two scalar fields interacting via the exchange of a third massless scalar field. The Schwinger-Dyson equation is derived using functional and diagrammatic techniques, and the Bethe-Salpeter equation is obtained in an analogous way, showing it to be a two-particle generalization of the Schwinger-Dyson equation. The authors also present a numerical method for solving the Bethe-Salpeter equation without three-dimensional reduction. The ground and first excited state masses and wavefunctions are computed within the ladder approximation and space-like form factors are calculated.

Battery goals for electric vehicles are doubled range and accleration, performance, life, and total cost comparable to internal-combustion cars. Sponsored battery technologies face both technical and materials challenges to meet these goals. The materials issues for both the mid-term and long-term batteries are the focus of this paper. The expected demand for battery materials in the future is estimated.