Structural properties as a research area focuses on the characterization, quantification, and modeling of how the arrangement and connectivity of components within a system determine its behavior and performance. This includes investigating geometric, topological, and symmetry-related attributes in materials, molecules, biological assemblies, or engineered structures, and relating these features to mechanical, electronic, optical, or functional responses. Research typically integrates experimental probing (e.g., diffraction, microscopy, spectroscopy) with theoretical and computational methods (e.g., continuum mechanics, graph theory, atomistic simulations) to establish structure–property relationships that enable prediction, optimization, and rational design of systems with targeted structural performance.
The principle "Work smarter, not harder!" apparently also applies to controlling quantum materials with light. Many of their fascinating properties depend on how the atoms are arranged in the crystal. Ultrashort laser pulses ...
Optics & Photonics
9 hours ago
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Fermions are among the most important particles in physics and include both everyday electrons and more exotic variants. Chiral fermions, like gloves, come in left- and right-handed versions and were proposed over a century ...
Condensed Matter
11 hours ago
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Since the production of graphene in 2004, two-dimensional materials have been sparking scientific and technological interest. As they are only a few atomic layers thick, or even just a single atomic layer, they can exhibit ...
Nanophysics
Oct 27, 2026
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21
Researchers at the Nano Life Science Institute (WPI-NanoLSI) at Kanazawa University have discovered that tiny structural defects can trigger the breakdown of microtubules, the microscopic structures that help cells maintain ...
Bio & Medicine
Oct 27, 2026
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10
When identical charges repel each other but are confined to the surface of a sphere, they seek the arrangement with the lowest possible energy. The idea is simple, but the problem gets harder to solve with every charge added. ...
Nanophysics
Oct 27, 2026
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116
For the first time, researchers in Japan have directly mapped several components of the stress field surrounding an atomic-scale flaw in the crystal structure of diamond. Led by Tokuyuki Teraji at Japan's National Institute ...
A team at HZB has, for the first time, reported polar vortices in (BaTiO₃/SrTiO₃)₁₀ superlattices on silicon. These results expand the range of materials and substrates on which polar topological textures can occur and open ...
Condensed Matter
Oct 25, 2026
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62
Metallic materials used in extremely cold environments must maintain high strength, ductility and fracture toughness to support applications in aerospace, clean energy, superconducting systems and deep-space exploration. ...
Nanomaterials
Oct 24, 2026
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51
In a discovery that could offer a new way to control quantum properties in two-dimensional materials, researchers at Cornell have found that electrically sliding the layers of ultrathin graphene can switch the material between ...
Nanophysics
Oct 17, 2026
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126
Silicon carbide (SiC) is a ceramic known for its excellent heat resistance and chemical stability, which makes it attractive for a wide range of applications like electronics, catalysts and energy-related materials. However, ...
Nanomaterials
Oct 13, 2026
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