Spin-Polarized CDFT

This work presents, within a pedagogical perspective, the fundamental aspects of the so-called spin-polarized conceptual density functional theory (SP-CDFT) framework, i.e. the non-relativistic limit of spin DFT. This formalism allows us to properly deal with both charge transfer and spin-polarization processes within the perspective of the so-called perturbative approach to chemical reactivity. Reactivity becomes represented in response functions relating the state functions to perturbations in the essential critical variables. It is recalled that both electronic- and nuclei-related responses can be considered at arbitrary orders of perturbation based on any suitable representation, e.g. [N, N_s] and [N_α, N_β]. References to studies of recent application concerning global, local, and non-local SP-CDFT descriptors illustrate the broad impact of such approaches in chemical sciences.