It is shown that the macroscopic and microscopic dielectric responses to a constant electric field can be directly dealt with by a method which is general, alternative to linear-response theory, and not restricted to linear effects. The basic features of the theory are discussed; explicit calculations of the macroscopic dielectric constant, miccroscopic local fields, and transverse effective charges are presented for Ge and GaAs within the local-density functional theory.

• Received 16 February 1983

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.51.686