An improved density-matrix expansion is used to calculate the nuclear energy density functional from chiral two- and three-nucleon interactions. The two-body interaction comprises long-range one- and two-pion exchange contributions and a set of contact terms contributing up to fourth power in momenta. In addition we employ the leading-order chiral three-nucleon interaction with its parameters c E, c D and c 1,3,4 fixed in calculations of nuclear few-body systems. With this input the nuclear energy density functional is derived to first order in the two- and three-nucleon interaction. We find that the strength functions F_? (ρ) and F_(so) (ρ) of the surface and spin-orbit terms compare in the relevant density range reasonably with the results of phenomenological Skyrme forces. However, an improved description requires (at least) the treatment of the two-body interaction to second order. This observation is in line with the deficiencies in the nuclear matter equations of state ē(ρ) that remain in the Hartree-Fock approximation with low-momentum two- and three-nucleon interactions.
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