CURRENT-DENSITY-FUNCTIONAL THEORY OF QUANTUM DOTS IN A MAGNETIC-FIELD

We present a study of ground-state energies and densities of quantum dots in a magnetic field, which takes into account correlation effects through the current-density-functional theory. The method is first tested against exact results for the energy and density of two- and three-electron quantum dots, and it is found to yield an accuracy better than 3%. Then we extend the study to larger dots and compare the results with available experimental data. The orbital and spin angular momenta of the ground state, and the evolution of the density profile as a function of the magnetic field are calculated. Quantitative evidence of edge reconstruction at high magnetic field is presented. © 1994 The American Physical Society.