Scott correction for large atoms and molecules in a self-generated magnetic field

We consider a large neutral molecule with total nuclear charge Z in non-relativistic quantum mechanics with a self-generated classical electromagnetic field. To ensure stability, we assume that Zα 2 ≤ κ 0 for a sufficiently small κ 0, where α denotes the fine structure constant. We show that, in the simultaneous limit Z → ∞, α → 0 such that κ = Zα 2 is fixed, the ground state energy of the system is given by a two term expansion c 1Z 7/3 + c 2(κ) Z 2 + o(Z 2). The leading term is given by the non-magnetic Thomas-Fermi theory. Our result shows that the magnetic field affects only the second (so-called Scott) term in the expansion.