  A novel density functional, which accounts correctly for the equation of
state, the static response function and the phonon-roton dispersion in bulk
liquid helium, is used to predict static and dynamic properties of helium
droplets. The static density profile is found to exhibit significant
oscillations, which are accompanied by deviations of the evaporation energy
from a liquid drop behaviour in the case of small droplets. The connection
between such oscillations and the structure of the static response function in
the liquid is explicitly discussed. The energy and the wave function of excited
states are then calculated in the framework of time dependent density
functional theory. The new functional, which contains backflow-like effects, is
expected to yield quantitatively correct predictions for the excitation
spectrum also in the roton wave-length range.
