Higher order derivatives for nuclear indexes in the framework of density functional theory

General and exact relationships for higher order derivatives of the nuclear Fukui function with respect to the electron number at constant external po tential have been explicitly derived in the framework of the four Legendre transformed ensembles of density functional theory. These relationships com plement and extend to nuclear reactivities some developments [F. De Proft, S. Liu, and P. Geerlings, J. Chem. Phys. 108, 7549 (1998)] and recent advan ces [E. Chamorro, R. Contreras, and P. Fuentealba, J. Chem. Phys. 113, 1086 1 (2000)] found for the high order electron responses introduced in the fra mework of a nonlocal (pair-site) reactivity formalism. (C) 2001 American In stitute of Physics.