Density Functional Methods in the Statistical Mechanics of Materials

Methods of density functional theory in statistical mechanics have been applied extensively over the past 15 years to problems in the equilibrium and dynamic properties of materials. They allow the incorporation of microscopic atomic and molecular forces at a much lower computational cost than direct simulation. This review discusses recent advances in the calculation of density functionals for materials, with particular emphasis on fluids at walls and in porous media, on crystal nucleation and growth from the melt, and on complex fluids and biomolecules. The extension of equilibrium density functional methods to approximate theories of phase transition dynamics is emphasized.