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.

QT-Net: Rethinking Evaluation of AI Models in Atomic Chemical Space

This paper introduces QT-Net, a rotationally augmented graph neural network evaluated via a principled out-of-distribution protocol based on SOAP descriptors, which demonstrates that inferring atomic properties like electron populations and multipoles improves downstream molecular property prediction and accurately recovers ground-truth dipole moments.

Pablo Martínez Crespo, Stefano Ribes, Martin Rahm, Richard Beckmann, Robert S. Jordan, Marisa Gliege, Santiago Miret, Vijay Kris Narasimhan, Rocío Mercado2026-05-12🔬 cond-mat.mtrl-sci

Rare-Earth-Tuned Evolution from d- to f-Orbital Dominance and Giant Anomalous Hall Effect in Topological RGaGe (R = Ce, Pr, Nd) Semimetals

This study establishes the noncentrosymmetric rare-earth germanides RGaGe (R = Ce, Pr, Nd) as a tunable platform for exploring the evolution from d- to f-orbital dominated topology and demonstrates their giant intrinsic anomalous Hall effect driven by robust Weyl semimetallic states coupled with magnetic order.

Zhian Xu, Jian Yuan, Ze Yan, Xia Wang, Na Yu, Shihao Zhang, Yanfeng Guo2026-05-12🔬 cond-mat.mtrl-sci

Oxygen vacancies beyond the dilute limit in doped CaMnO3 perovskites and implications for screening materials in thermochemical applications

This paper challenges the conventional use of single oxygen vacancy formation energy for screening perovskite thermochemical materials by demonstrating that accounting for finite vacancy concentrations and configurational entropy in doped CaMnO3 provides a more accurate, experimentally consistent framework for predicting equilibrium oxygen stoichiometry and guiding high-throughput material discovery.

Harender S. Dhattarwal, Colin M. Hylton-Farrington, Ian G. McKendry, Christopher Abram, Richard C. Remsing2026-05-12🔬 cond-mat.mtrl-sci

Micro-environment of the Eu interstitial in β\beta-SiAlON:Eu2+^{2+} green phosphor

Using first-principles calculations and Monte Carlo exploration, this study elucidates the atomic-scale structure of Eu2+^{2+} in β\beta-SiAlON phosphors, confirming a planar Eu-N9_9 coordination model that explains the material's weak electron-phonon coupling, resolved vibronic peaks, and the red-shift of emission with increasing Al/O concentration.

Julien Bouquiaux, Samuel Poncé, Yongchao Jia, Masayoshi Mikami, Xavier Gonze2026-05-12🔬 cond-mat.mtrl-sci

Sign of the Gap Temperature Dependence in CsPb(Br,Cl)3 Nanocrystals Determined by Cs-Rattler Mediated Electron-Phonon Coupling

This study resolves the long-standing puzzle of the sign reversal in the temperature dependence of the bandgap in CsPb(Br,Cl)3 nanocrystals by demonstrating that the inversion, occurring at chlorine concentrations above 40%, is driven solely by a unique electron-phonon coupling mechanism involving synchronous octahedral tilting and cesium rattling.

S. Fasahat, N. Fiuza-Maneiro, B. Schäfer, K. Xu, S. Gómez-Graña, M. I. Alonso, L. Polavarapu, A. R. Goñi2026-05-11🔬 cond-mat.mtrl-sci

Operando study of the evolution of peritectic structures in metal solidification by quasi-simultaneous synchrotron X-ray diffraction and tomography

By employing quasi-simultaneous synchrotron X-ray diffraction and tomography to analyze Al-Mn alloy solidification, this study elucidates the nucleation and co-growth dynamics of peritectic structures, revealing how Mn-rich diffusion layers govern phase transformations and how cooling rates can be tuned to control defect formation and morphology transitions.

Kang Xiang, Yueyuan Wang, Shi Huang, Hongyuan Song, Alberto Leonardi, Peter Garland, Sharif Ahmed, Michał M. Kłosowski, Hongmei Yang, Mengnie Li, Jiawei Mi2026-05-11🔬 cond-mat.mtrl-sci