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.
A new study published in Physical Review Letters and led by researchers from the Institute of Modern Physics (IMP) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) has demonstrated that a Coulomb explosion induced by highly charged ...
Optics & Photonics
Nov 13, 2024
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Since the first X-ray image of a comet was reported using an X-ray telescope in 1996, the investigation of charge exchange in collisions between highly charged ions and atoms or molecules has emerged as a hot research topic.
Quantum Physics
Oct 29, 2024
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Quantum theory describes events that take place on extremely short time scales. In the past, such events were regarded as 'momentary' or 'instantaneous': An electron orbits the nucleus of an atom—in the next moment it is ...
Quantum Physics
Oct 22, 2024
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An international team of scientists is the first to report incredibly small time delays in a molecule's electron activity when the particles are exposed to X-rays.
Optics & Photonics
Aug 22, 2024
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133
When atomic nuclei and subatomic particles interact, the results are incredibly complex. These are the "many body problems" of quantum mechanics. To help make sense of these interactions, scientists create ways to simplify ...
General Physics
Jul 8, 2024
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71
During electron-impact ionization (EII), high-energy electrons collide with atoms, knocking away one or more of their outer electrons. To calculate the probability that ionization will occur during these impacts, researchers ...
General Physics
Jun 26, 2024
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105
Two-dimensional materials such as graphene promise to form the basis of incredibly small and fast technologies, but this requires a detailed understanding of their electronic properties. New research demonstrates that fast ...
Nanomaterials
May 17, 2024
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147
The diffraction of light is a ubiquitous phenomenon in nature where waves spread out as they propagate. This spreading of light beams during propagation limits the efficient transmission of energy and information. Therefore, ...
What happens when radiation hits water? This is a question that has an impact every time you get an X-ray at the doctor's office, given you are mostly made of water. A team of theoretical physicists at DESY has worked on ...
General Physics
Feb 8, 2024
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118
A group of Cornell-led researchers in the Center for Bright Beams has developed a new theoretical approach to calculate how atoms scatter from surfaces. The method, developed by recently conferred Cornell physics Ph.D. Michelle ...
Condensed Matter
Jan 30, 2024
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