Phase transitions and their related phenomena lie at the core of modern statistical mechanics and condensed matter physics. At equilibrium, an intriguing aspect of second-order phase transitions is that systems with distinct order parameters can be described by the same set of static critical exponents, a hallmark of universality. Thomas Kibble’s research on phase transitions […]
DIPC Computational and Theoretical Chemistry • Quantum physics
As early as the 1970s, it was suggested that one-particle reduced density matrix functional theory could be an attractive alternative formalism to wave function-based methods. Unfortunately, calculations based on exact functionals generated by the constrained-search formulation are computationally too expensive, which has prompted the development of approximate functionals for practical applications. The functionals currently in […]
Stellar population synthesis (SPS) is the prevailing framework for predicting the spectral energy distribution of a galaxy (SED) from its fundamental physical properties. SPS is a mature subfield with a long history dating back to the seventies of the last century. Applications of SPS range from inferring the physical properties of individual galaxies, to forward […]
Spurred by outstanding optical properties, chemical stability, and facile bioconjugation, plasmonic metals have become the first-choice materials for optical signal transducers in biosensing. While the design rules for surface-based plasmonic sensors are well-established and commercialized, there is limited knowledge of the design of sensors based on nanoparticle aggregation. The working principle of biosensors built around […]
The isolation and manipulation of atomically-thin crystals have recently enabled the investigation of a wealth of exotic electronic phenomena. A remarkable example is the case of superconductivity in transition metal dichalcogenide monolayers, where the strong spin-orbit coupling, together with the lack of inversion symmetry, triggers the emergence of unconventional superconducting properties. In parallel to the […]
Light emission (fluorescence or phosphorescence) in organic molecules, in the vast majority of cases, proceeds from the lowest energy excited state irrespective of the excitation energy used. This is known as the Kasha’s rule, which states that most of the molecules are emissive from the lowest energy, same (ground state) spin multiplicity, S1 excited state […]
nuclear star cluster This image from the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope shows the heart of M74 (or NGC 628), otherwise known as the Phantom Galaxy. Webb’s sharp vision has revealed delicate filaments of gas and dust in the grandiose spiral arms which wind outwards from the centre of this image. A lack of gas […]
Some materials have special universal properties protected against perturbations. Such properties are theoretically described by topology, a branch of mathematics concerned with the properties of geometrical objects that are unchanged by continuous deformations. So-called topological insulators are electronic materials that have a bulk band gap like an ordinary insulator but have conducting states on their […]
Condensed matter • DIPC Advanced materials • Materials • Quantum physics
The development of superconducting devices was greatly stimulated after the acceptance of the basic theory of superconductivity proposed in 1957 by John Bardeen, Leon Cooper, and Robert Schrieffer – BCS theory. The basic idea is that the electron waves in the superconducting state no longer act independently, as in Bloch’s model. Instead, they are paired […]
Catalysis • Chemistry • DIPC Electronic Properties • DIPC Interfaces • Materials
Organic compounds of sulphur that contain the group -S- linked to two hydrocarbons are known as thioethers. This alternative name to sulphides comes from the fact that they are analogues of ethers in which the oxygen is replaced by a sulphur; thioethers are generally more reactive than ethers, though. The formation of thioether structures increases […]