Atomic and molecular collisions is a research area focused on the dynamics of interactions between atoms, molecules, ions, and electrons over a wide range of energies, from ultracold to relativistic regimes. It investigates elastic, inelastic, and reactive scattering processes, including energy transfer, excitation, ionization, charge transfer, and chemical reaction pathways. The field combines quantum scattering theory, potential energy surface calculations, and semiclassical or fully quantum dynamical methods with beam, trap, and plasma experiments. Applications span astrophysics, atmospheric and plasma physics, fusion research, radiation damage, and controlled chemistry, providing benchmark data for cross sections, rate coefficients, and collisional models used in simulations of complex many-body systems.
Researchers have identified a form of molecular motion that has not previously been observed. When what are known as "guest molecules"—molecules that are accommodated within a host molecule—penetrate droplets of DNA polymers, ...
Nanophysics
Jun 12, 2025
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For the first time, a research team has successfully produced one of the most neutron-rich isotopes, hydrogen-6, in an electron scattering experiment.
General Physics
Apr 30, 2025
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182
A key objective of ongoing research rooted in molecular physics is to understand and precisely control chemical reactions at very low temperatures. At low temperatures, the chemical reactions between charged particles (i.e., ...
At ultracold temperatures, interatomic collisions are relatively simple, and their outcome can be controlled using a magnetic field. However, research by scientists led by Prof. Michal Tomza from the Faculty of Physics of ...
General Physics
Mar 10, 2025
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The quantum rules shaping molecular collisions are now coming into focus, offering fresh insights for chemistry and materials science. When molecules collide with surfaces, a complex exchange of energy takes place between ...
Quantum Physics
Feb 27, 2025
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125
When atoms collide, their exact structure—for example, the number of electrons they have or even the quantum spin of their nuclei—has a lot to say about how they bounce off each other. This is especially true for atoms cooled ...
General Physics
Feb 18, 2025
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85
An international team of scientists has unveiled new insights into the dissociation dynamics of sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) under high-energy X-ray excitation. The study, conducted using advanced synchrotron radiation techniques, ...
General Physics
Feb 18, 2025
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64
For the first time, researchers have been able to measure the quantum state of electrons ejected from atoms that have absorbed high-energy light pulses. This is thanks to a new measurement technique developed by researchers ...
Optics & Photonics
Feb 12, 2025
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96
Scattering takes place across the universe at large and miniscule scales. Billiard balls clank off each other in bars, the nuclei of atoms collide to power the stars and create heavy elements, and even sound waves deviate ...
Quantum Physics
Feb 11, 2025
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114
Quantum physics is a very diverse field: it describes particle collisions shortly after the Big Bang as well as electrons in solid materials or atoms far out in space. But not all quantum objects are equally easy to study. ...
Quantum Physics
Jan 7, 2025
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