Time-dependent density-functional theory (TDDFT) describes the quantum dynamics of interacting electronic many-body systems formally exactly and in a practical and efficient manner. TDDFT has become the leading method for calculating excitation energies and optical properties of large molecules, with accuracies that rival traditional wave-function based methods, but at a fraction of the computational cost. This book is the first graduate-level text on the concepts and applications of TDDFT, including many examples and exercises, and extensive coverage of the literature. The book begins with a self-contained review of ground-state DFT, followed by a detailed and pedagogical treatment of the formal framework of TDDFT. It is explained how excitation energies can be calculated from linear-response TDDFT. Among the more advanced topics are time-dependent current-density-functional theory, orbital functionals, and many-body theory. Many applications are discussed, including molecular excitations, ultrafast and strong-field phenomena, excitons in solids, van der Waals interactions, nanoscale transport, and molecular dynamics.

This is a very pedagogical introduction to the central ideas of time-dependent density-functional theory. The theory is described in depth and illustrated with many insightful examples and applications in atomic, molecular and condensed matter physics. This is a valuable book for both students and researchers. * Robert van Leeuwen, University of Jyväskylä *

Carsten A. Ullrich, Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Missouri - Columbia.