Atomic and Molecular Physics

Atomic and molecular physics examines how electrons, photons, and exotic particles such as positrons interact with atoms, molecules, and even biological targets at the quantum level. At low energies, electrons can attach to DNA and trigger strand breaks, a process with direct implications for radiation damage in living cells, while precision spectroscopy of hydrogen-like atoms and antihydrogen tests the limits of quantum electrodynamics and the symmetry between matter and antimatter. Techniques such as soft X-ray lasers and studies of radiative recombination continue to sharpen our understanding of how charged particles shed energy and recombine in environments ranging from laboratory traps to astrophysical plasmas. Open questions include the detailed mechanisms by which low-energy electrons fragment complex molecules and whether increasingly precise measurements of antihydrogen will reveal deviations from the predictions of the Standard Model.

Works

168,324

Total citations

1,935,837

Keywords

Low-Energy ElectronsDNA Strand BreaksAtomic StructureQuantum ElectrodynamicsAntihydrogen ProductionRadiative Recombination