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

Ab Initio Free Energy Surfaces for Coupled Ion-Electron Transfer

This paper presents a first-principles framework that extends Marcus theory to construct two-dimensional free energy surfaces for coupled ion-electron transfer (CIET) by conditioning diabatic nuclear configurations on interfacial anisotropy, revealing that CO2 reduction kinetics on gold electrodes are governed by saddle-point barriers that differ significantly from traditional one-dimensional treatments.

Ethan Abraham, Martin Z. Bazant, Troy Van Voorhis2026-06-02
🔬 materials science

Review of the tight-binding method applicable to the properties of moiré superlattices

This review provides a comprehensive theoretical and practical guide to atomistic tight-binding methods and numerical techniques for modeling the electronic, transport, and optical properties of various moiré superlattices, while also clarifying their connection to effective low-energy continuum models.

Xueheng Kuang, Federico Escudero, Pierre A. Pantaleón, Francisco Guinea, Zhen Zhan2026-06-02
🔬 materials science

Sensitivity increase of 3D printed, self-sensing, carbon fibers structures with conductive filament matrix due to flexural loading

This paper demonstrates that the sensitivity of 3D printed, continuous carbon fiber self-sensing structures can be significantly and irreversibly enhanced through pre-stressing with compressive bending loads, while co-extruding a conductive filament matrix improves their electrical reliability and noise performance.

Matei Drilea, Alexander Dijkshoorn, Gusthavo Ribeiro Salomão, Stefano Stramigioli, Gijs Krijnen2026-06-02
🔬 materials science

From Evaluation to Design: Using Potential Energy Surface Smoothness Metrics to Guide Machine Learning Interatomic Potential Architectures

This paper introduces the Bond Smoothness Characterization Test (BSCT), a computationally efficient metric that detects potential energy surface non-smoothness to both validate Machine Learning Interatomic Potentials and guide iterative architectural improvements, resulting in models that achieve low regression errors while ensuring stable molecular dynamics simulations.

Ryan Liu, Eric Qu, Tobias Kreiman, Samuel M. Blau, Aditi S. Krishnapriyan2026-06-02
🔬 applied physics

19 GHz Single-Ended-to-Balanced Modified Ladder-Lattice Filters Realized Using Periodically Polarized AlScN BAW Resonators

This paper presents the design and characterization of two 19 GHz single-ended-to-balanced modified ladder-lattice filters realized using periodically polarized AlScN BAW resonators, which eliminate the need for baluns while demonstrating competitive insertion loss, bandwidth, and out-of-band rejection for wireless communication applications.

Merrilyn M. A. Fiagbenu, Shun Yao, Siddhant Sahoo, Mojtaba Hodjat-Shamami, Daeho Kim, Craig Moe, Pinal Patel, Ramakrishn (…)2026-06-02
🔬 materials science

Beyond Text and Tables: Vision-Language Model Integration in ComProScanner for Extracting Materials Data from Scientific Figures with High Accuracy

This paper presents an enhanced version of the ComProScanner framework that integrates vision-language models to automatically extract composition-property data from scientific figures, achieving high accuracy and cost-effectiveness while establishing the first fully automated, multimodal pipeline for mining materials data from text, tables, and images.

Aritra Roy, Enrico Grisan, Chiara Gattinoni, John Buckeridge2026-06-02
🔬 materials science

Advances in electrical contacts to single crystals of emerging materials for transport measurements

This review highlights recent technological advancements in fabricating high-quality, lithographically defined multi-terminal electrical contacts on emerging single crystals, providing a practical guide to overcome challenges posed by their irregular geometries and structural characteristics for reliable transport measurements.

Huandong Chen, Abhay. N. Pasupathy, Jayakanth Ravichandran2026-06-02