Solved and unsolved problems in relativistic quantum chemistry

A hierarchy of approximations in relativistic many-electron theory is discussed that starts with the Dirac equation and its expansion in a kinetically balanced basis, via a formulation of non-interacting electrons in Fock space (which is the only consistent way to deal with negative-energy states). The most straightforward approximate Hamiltonian for interacting electrons is derived from quantum electrodynamics (QED) in Coulomb gauge with the neglect of transversal photons. This allows an exact (non-perturbative) decoupling of the electromagnetic field from the fermionic field. The electric interaction of the fermions is non-retarded and non-quantized. The quantization of the fermionic field leads to a polarizable vacuum. The simplest (but somewhat problematic) approximation is a no-pair projected theory with external-field projectors. The Dirac-Coulomb operator in configuration space (first quantization) is not acceptable, even if the Brown-Ravenhall disease is much less virulent than often claimed. Effects of transversal photons, such as the Breit interaction and renormalized self-interaction can be taken care of perturbatively at the end, but there are still many open questions. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.