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.
For decades, it's been known that subtle chemical patterns exist in metal alloys, but researchers thought they were too minor to matter—or that they got erased during manufacturing. However, recent studies have shown that ...
Condensed Matter
Oct 8, 2025
0
72
Researchers with the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, have created an innovative method to visualize and analyze atomic structures within specially designed, ...
Nanophysics
Sep 23, 2025
0
98
Researchers at the University of California, Irvine, together with international collaborators, have developed a new electron microscopy method that has enabled the first-ever imaging of vibrations, or phonons, in specific ...
Condensed Matter
Sep 19, 2025
0
117
Pushing the limits of size constraints in chemistry, an 8-nanometer 18-porphyrin nanoring (c-P18) becomes the largest known cyclic molecule to exhibit detectable global aromaticity. This phenomenon, where π-electrons are ...
A research team led by Oak Ridge National Laboratory has developed a new method to uncover the atomic origins of unusual material behavior. This approach uses Bayesian deep learning, a form of artificial intelligence that ...
Condensed Matter
Sep 18, 2025
0
70
The molecular hydrogen ion H₂⁺ is the simplest molecule. This simplicity makes it a perfect study object for physicists, as its properties—for example, its energy levels—can be calculated precisely. In turn, this enables ...
General Physics
Sep 9, 2025
0
231
Researchers at Stockholm University have succeeded in creating a molecular blueprint of how one of the world's most dangerous toxins, botulinum toxin, is structured, stabilized, delivered and released. The research, published ...
Molecular & Computational biology
Aug 27, 2025
0
31
The same technology behind MRI images of injury or disease also powers nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, which is used to analyze biological molecules for research on diseases and therapeutics. While NMR spectroscopy ...
Optics & Photonics
Aug 27, 2025
0
72
DNA aptamers are powerful molecular tools in biosensing, bioimaging and therapeutics. However, a limited understanding of their tertiary structures and binding mechanisms hinders their further optimizations and applications.
Biotechnology
Aug 26, 2025
0
27
Researchers at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) and the Helmholtz Institute Mainz (HIM) have developed a novel method for investigating the internal structure of atoms and discovered previously unknown atomic transitions ...
General Physics
Aug 25, 2025
0
112
