Category archives: DIPC

Spacecraft components potentially exposed to different ionic projectiles in space, new materials used in new energy systems or healthy tissues exposed to cancer therapies are all instances where a full comprehension of how the energy of the incoming ions is dissipated by the matter in the target is of paramount importance. Besides, the dissipative processes […]

“What would happen if we could arrange the atoms one by one the way we want them?” Richard Feynman Fabrication of matter atom by atom remains a long-standing dream and ultimate goal of nanotechnology, following the famous challenge by Feynman 58 years ago. For 30 years, the atom-by-atom fabrication remained the province of visionary thinking […]

Imagine that we have a conductor or a semiconductor through which a current is flowing. Then we apply a strong transverse magnetic field. As a result, we can measure a potential difference at right angles to both the current and the field caused by the deflection of charge carriers by the field. This effect was […]

The revolutionary theory of topological quantum chemistry , a description of the universal global properties of all possible band structures and materials, diagnoses topological phases based on elementary band representations. A set of bands is topological if it lacks an “atomic limit” that obeys the crystal symmetry (and time reversal, if desired): formally, an atomic […]

Chemists have a range of different spectroscopic techniques to study organic molecules. All of these techniques are based on spectra generated by a range of electronic transitions and vibrations, key excitations in matter, the study of which provides information about characteristics of materials and, therefore, allow their identification. In this context, one of those spectroscopic […]

The properties of bismuth have long defied classification, placing it in a category of its own. Now, as if it was not enough, it turns out its electronic structure has higher-order topology. This has been shown by an international team with the participation of Maia G. Vergniory (DIPC, Ikerbasque, UPV/EHU) and coordinated by Titus Neupert […]

Most of the theories describing dynamical processes at surfaces rely on the validity of the adiabatic Born-Oppenheimer approximation. What does this mean? We have already seen that adsorption commonly is understood as the reversible binding of molecules and atoms from the gaseous or liquid phase on surfaces, mostly of highly porous adsorbent media. In chemisorption […]

Uropathogenic Escherichia coli (UPEC) is responsible for approximately 90% of urinary tract infections (UTI) seen in individuals with an ordinary anatomy. In ascending infections, fecal bacteria colonize the urethra and spread up the urinary tract to the bladder as well as to the kidneys (causing pyelonephritis), o or the prostate in males. Because women have […]

Atom scattering at low energies has a long history as a useful probe of surface properties. The most common atomic projectiles are helium atoms formed into a monoenergetic beam directed toward the surface with energies in the thermal range, meaning kinetic energies less than 100 meV. From ordered surfaces the scattered spectra consist of sharp […]

Many methods can be used to synthesise non-molecular inorganic solids. Some solids can be prepared by a variety of routes but others, especially those that are not thermodynamically stable, may be much more difficult to prepare and may require special methods. Non-molecular inorganic solids can also be prepared in various forms, as fibres, films, foams […]