Mark van Schilfgaarde’s research has been associated with electronic structure theory and methods that implement them. He has pioneered a number of major advances in both the theory itself, particularly with ab initio methods that do not require empirical data or depend on models, their implementation in practical methods, and their application to a rich variety of phenomena in many kinds of materials.

He is known for his work in Quasiparticle Self-Consistent GW theory, a new formulation of one of the most advanced approaches to electronic structure (the GW approximation). Quasiparticle Self-Consistent GW theory dramatically improves the quality of GW and makes it suitable for many new kinds of materials. It also provides a suitable framework for many kinds of extensions, such as spin wave excitations and impact ionization. The most recent developments are aimed at extending the theory to treat strongly correlated systems by combining Quasiparticle Self-Consistent GW theory with Dynamical Mean Field Theory. 

Mark van Schilfgaarde is also known for practical implementations of new approaches to electronic structure. He co-authored a number of density-functional and GW codes that have been widely used around the world. In 1987-88, as a guest scientist in O.K. Andersen’s group in Stuttgart, he wrote its standard Linear Muffin-Tin Orbitals package, which has been a primary vehicle for many new developments in electronic structure. 

Electronic structure theory

Quasiparticle Self-Consistent GW theory

Quantum theory of motion