A polarization propagator for X-ray spectra

A polarization propagator for x-ray spectra is outlined and implemented in density functional theory. It rests on a formulation of a resonant-convergent first-order polarization propagator approach which makes it possible to directly calculate the x-ray absorption cross section at a particular frequency without explicitly addressing the excited states. The quality of the predicted x-ray spectrum relates only to the type of density functional applied without any separate treatment of dynamical relaxation effects.