Density functional theory for superconductors

Two recently proposed exchange-correlation functionals describing the superconducting phase of matter are reviewed and further explored: Whereas the first is a generalization of the local density approximation dealing with purely electronic correlations, the second is a functional derived from Kohn-Sham perturbation theory that includes electronic and phononic correlations on the same footing. Superconducting properties of simple metals obtained with the latter functional agree rather well with experimental results.