cond-mat.mtrl-sci papers

Condensed matter physics and materials science form a dynamic partnership, exploring how the collective behavior of atoms gives rise to the unique properties of solids and liquids. This field bridges the gap between fundamental quantum mechanics and the practical engineering of everything from flexible electronics to superconductors, turning abstract theories into tangible innovations that shape our daily lives.

At Gist.Science, we process every new preprint in this category directly from arXiv to make these complex discoveries accessible to everyone. Our team generates both plain-language overviews and detailed technical summaries for each paper, ensuring that researchers, students, and curious minds alike can grasp the latest breakthroughs without getting lost in dense jargon.

Below are the latest papers in condensed matter and materials science, organized by their most recent publication dates.

🔬 materials science

When do machine-learned exchange-correlation improvements inherit into density-functional tight binding?

This paper demonstrates that improvements from machine-learned exchange-correlation functionals do not automatically transfer to density-functional tight binding due to fundamental incompatibilities between orbital-dependent operators and multiplicative potentials, often resulting in "anti-transfer" where band gaps worsen, while identifying specific structural components like on-site blocks and polarization shells that must be optimized to achieve successful parameterization.

Can Polat, Mustafa Kurban, Erchin Serpedin, Hasan Kurban2026-08-18

🔬 materials science

Paraexciton Excitation in Cu $_2$ O under Laguerre--Gaussian Illumination

This paper demonstrates that while orbital angular momentum (OAM) selection rules identify specific channels for exciting optically forbidden paraexcitons in Cu $_2$ O, efficient excitation ultimately requires structured light with a spatially localized intensity ring (approximately 6–7 Bohr radii) that matches the exciton's characteristic length scale, thereby establishing a dual framework of symmetry and spatial localization for engineering structured-light interactions.

Nguyen Que Huong, David W. Facemyer2026-08-18

🔬 condensed matter

Anharmonicity and Nonadiabaticity in Hydride Superconductors

This paper investigates superconductivity in various hydrides using advanced theoretical frameworks that incorporate anharmonicity and nonadiabaticity, introducing specific diagnostic metrics to determine when corrections beyond standard Migdal-Eliashberg theory are necessary to accurately predict critical temperatures.

Shashi B. Mishra, Francesco Belli, Eva Zurek, Elena R. Margine2026-08-18

🔬 optics

Driven Time Crystal in Low-Symmetry ENZ Conductors

This paper demonstrates that low-symmetry epsilon-near-zero (ENZ) conductors can exhibit driven time-crystalline behavior under optical pumping, where strong anomalous-velocity nonlinearities enable subwavelength nanoparticles to overcome dissipation, achieve parametric amplification, and even render probe extinction negative.

Mario G. Silveirinha2026-08-18

🔬 materials science

Linking Electronic Bonding and Short-range Order to Strength in $\alpha$ -Titanium Alloys: A First-Principles Study

This first-principles study utilizes density functional theory to establish a predictive model for the tensile strength of $\alpha$ -Ti alloys by linking electronic bonding metrics, specifically ICOHP, and short-range ordering to mechanical properties, thereby advancing the computational design of high-performance structural materials.

Md Faiz Akhtar, Nilesh P. Gurao, Somnath Bhowmick2026-08-18

🔬 materials science

Barium Hexaferrite Thin Films as a Scalable Magnetic-Insulator Platform for Proximity-Engineered Spintronics

This paper establishes sputter-grown barium hexaferrite (BaM) thin films as a scalable, strain-free magnetic-insulator platform with intrinsic perpendicular anisotropy that enables efficient interfacial exchange coupling for proximity-engineered spintronic and topological devices, offering a practical alternative to rare-earth iron garnets.

Shyam Sundar Poriah, Sanjana D. S., Agrim Sharma, Sreelakshmi M. Nair, Pankaj Bhardwaj, Laxmipriya Nanda, Aryaman Das, J (…)2026-08-18

🔬 materials science

What makes a useful molecular model of biochar? A community roadmap

This community roadmap, derived from a CECAM workshop, outlines a strategic path for developing useful biochar molecular models by critically evaluating current approaches, identifying key gaps in mineral and aging dynamics, and prioritizing community efforts in validation, standardization, and cross-disciplinary collaboration to ensure models are grounded in experimental reality.

Valentina Sierra-Jimenez, Jonathan P. Mathews, Luca Bellucci, Edo Boek, Carla de Tomas, Manuel Garcia-Perez, Stef Ghysel (…)2026-08-18

🔢 mathematics

Scalable dynamical inference of phase-field fracture from sparse and partial measurements

This paper introduces a CNN2D-ConvGRU framework that efficiently reconstructs full-field phase-field fracture states from sparse, partial measurements with significant computational speedups over traditional finite-element methods, while demonstrating robust scalability to finer spatial resolutions without retraining.

Hanfeng Zhai, Zisheng Zhang2026-08-18

🔬 materials science

Intrinsic Wannier Functions for Hamiltonian downfolding

This paper introduces the non-iterative Intrinsic Wannier Function (IWF) method, which uses a single parameter to efficiently and robustly downfold ab initio band structures into low-energy subspaces with high accuracy compared to standard approaches.

Shuoxue Li, Garnet Kin-Lic Chan2026-08-18

🔬 mesoscale physics

Observation of nonlocal ferron-drag thermoelectricity

This paper reports the experimental observation of nonlocal ferron-drag thermoelectricity in a homogeneous metal adjacent to a ferroelectric insulator, where conduction electrons remotely excite collective ferroelectric modes to induce heat absorption and release, revealing unexpected thickness-dependent interactions that could revolutionize thermoelectric device design.

Takuma Itoh, Takamasa Hirai, Ping Tang, Hossein Sepehri-Amin, Ryo Iguchi, Yusuke Kozuka, Takao Shimizu, Soshi Akita, Shu (…)2026-08-18

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cond-mat.mtrl-sci

When do machine-learned exchange-correlation improvements inherit into density-functional tight binding?

Paraexciton Excitation in Cu2_22​O under Laguerre--Gaussian Illumination

Anharmonicity and Nonadiabaticity in Hydride Superconductors

Driven Time Crystal in Low-Symmetry ENZ Conductors

Linking Electronic Bonding and Short-range Order to Strength in α\alphaα-Titanium Alloys: A First-Principles Study

Barium Hexaferrite Thin Films as a Scalable Magnetic-Insulator Platform for Proximity-Engineered Spintronics

What makes a useful molecular model of biochar? A community roadmap

Scalable dynamical inference of phase-field fracture from sparse and partial measurements

Intrinsic Wannier Functions for Hamiltonian downfolding

Observation of nonlocal ferron-drag thermoelectricity

Paraexciton Excitation in Cu $_2$ O under Laguerre--Gaussian Illumination

Linking Electronic Bonding and Short-range Order to Strength in $\alpha$ -Titanium Alloys: A First-Principles Study