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.
The chemical composition of a material alone sometimes reveals little about its properties. The decisive factor is often the arrangement of the molecules in the atomic lattice structure or on the surface of the material. ...
Nanophysics
Jan 16, 2025
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When quantum electrodynamics, the quantum field theory of electrons and photons, was being developed after World War II, one of the major challenges for theorists was calculating a value for the Lamb shift, the energy of ...
Artificial molecular machines, nanoscale machines consisting of a few molecules, offer the potential to transform fields involving catalysts, molecular electronics, medicines, and quantum materials. These machines operate ...
Bio & Medicine
Dec 12, 2024
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Water, a molecule essential for life, has unusual properties—known as anomalies—that define its behavior. However, there are still many enigmas about the molecular mechanisms that would explain the anomalies that make ...
Soft Matter
Nov 14, 2024
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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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Accurately modeling particle movement through fluids is crucial in fields ranging from chemical engineering to aerospace. The drag coefficient, which influences how particles settle and move in fluid environments, is a core ...
General Physics
Nov 5, 2024
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The shapes of simple polyatomic molecules such as carbon dioxide and methane are characterized by a specific symmetry depending on the manner of linking of the atoms. Nano- to micrometer-sized particles that mimic the shapes ...
Nanophysics
Oct 30, 2024
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The conservation law is a fundamental tool that significantly aids our quest to understand the world, playing a crucial role across various scientific disciplines. Particularly in strong-field physics, these laws enhance ...
General Physics
Oct 30, 2024
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For the first time, EPFL researchers have exclusively observed molecules participating in hydrogen bonds in liquid water, measuring electronic and nuclear quantum effects that were previously accessible only via theoretical ...
Optics & Photonics
Oct 25, 2024
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Programmable quantum computers have the potential to efficiently simulate increasingly complex molecular structures, electronic structures, chemical reactions, and quantum mechanical states in chemistry that classical computers ...
Quantum Physics
Oct 14, 2024
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