Topic: nuclei

This talk develops a first-principles description of interacting electrons, nuclei and electromagnetic fields by extending density-functional theory to quantum electrodynamics. It introduces electron–photon exchange-correlation functionals and photon many-body dispersion, a generalization of molecular dispersion methods that treats electronic and photonic degrees of freedom together. Applications examine anisotropic coupling, effects beyond single photons and cavity-modified van der Waals forces. The approach aims to retain these strong-coupling effects while remaining efficient enough to simu

Fraser Cain and Pamela L. Gay explore what cosmology can establish about the universe’s earliest history and where knowledge remains limited. The discussion covers inflation, the separation of forces, the emergence of particles and nuclei, and density fluctuations that seed later structure. Recombination and the cosmic microwave background lead into the dark ages, the first stars and reionization, with observations including JWST helping test models of the early universe. Pamela Gay is a senior scientist at the Planetary Science Institute. This Astronomy Cast episode was published on 14 Septem