Atomic and molecular structure as a research area investigates the spatial arrangement, electronic configuration, and intrinsic quantum properties of atoms and molecules, and how these features determine their spectroscopic, chemical, and physical behavior. It encompasses theoretical and computational methods (e.g., ab initio quantum chemistry, density functional theory, configuration interaction) and experimental techniques (e.g., high-resolution spectroscopy, scattering, synchrotron and XFEL-based probes) to resolve electronic states, bonding patterns, potential energy surfaces, and correlation effects. This field underpins understanding of reactivity, photophysics, materials properties, and the design of novel molecules, clusters, and nanostructures with targeted electronic and structural characteristics.
If you zoom in on a chemical reaction to the quantum level, you'll notice that particles behave like waves that can ripple and collide. Scientists have long sought to understand quantum coherence, the ability of particles ...
Quantum Physics
May 16, 2024
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Since the discovery of quantum mechanics more than a hundred years ago, it has been known that electrons in molecules can be coupled to the motion of the atoms that make up the molecules. Often referred to as molecular vibrations, ...
Condensed Matter
May 8, 2024
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658
A collaborative research team from Nanjing University of Science and Technology (NJUST) and East China Normal University (ECNU) has theoretically proposed that a pump-probe high-harmonic spectroscopy (HHS) driven by VUV-IR ...
Optics & Photonics
Apr 29, 2024
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With the development of the internet, social media and cloud computing, the amount of data created worldwide on a daily basis is sky-rocketing. This calls for new technologies that could provide higher storage densities combined ...
Condensed Matter
Apr 4, 2024
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148
For years, C130 fullertubes—molecules made up of 130 carbon atoms—have existed only in theory. Now, leading an international team of scientists, a UdeM doctoral student in physics has successfully shown them in real life—and ...
Nanophysics
Mar 27, 2024
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Researchers have unveiled the extraordinary behavior of weakly-bound three-atomic molecules, defying conventional understanding of quantum mechanics. In a study recently published in Nature Communications, a team of scientists ...
Quantum Physics
Mar 14, 2024
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Physicists at the University of Regensburg have choreographed the shift of a quantized electronic energy level with atomic oscillations faster than a trillionth of a second.
Optics & Photonics
Mar 14, 2024
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2914
The simplest possible molecule H2+ was one of the very first molecules to form in the cosmos. This makes it significant for astrophysics, but also an important object of research for fundamental physics. However, it is difficult ...
Optics & Photonics
Feb 27, 2024
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There is no doubt that water is significant. Without it, life would never have begun, let alone continue today—not to mention its role in the environment itself, with oceans covering over 70% of Earth.
General Physics
Feb 26, 2024
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1241
In an experiment akin to stop-motion photography, scientists have isolated the energetic movement of an electron while "freezing" the motion of the much larger atom it orbits in a sample of liquid water.
General Physics
Feb 15, 2024
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