International Bunsen Discussion Meeting 2027
“Nuclear quantum effects – from theory to experiments”
Date: 15-17th of March 2027Location: Alte Mensa, Göttingen
Registration deadline: 29th of January 2027
Atomic nuclei are quantum particles, yet chemical models commonly describe their motion classically or include quantum corrections only approximately. Tunneling, zero-point vibrational energy and proton delocalization can nonetheless determine molecular structures, spectroscopic signatures, isotope effects and reaction rates, often in systems where they were not anticipated. Within the DFG Research Training Group 2455 "Benchmark Experiments for Numerical Quantum Chemistry" (BENCh) in Göttingen, nuclear quantum effects have emerged as a common theme across projects that otherwise address very different questions. In many cases their relevance only became apparent once the experimental analysis was well advanced and theory and experiment could be compared in detail. The same holds for several of the blind challenges the RTG has set for the wider community, such as HyDRA. The topic also connects closely to the Collaborative Research Center 1633 "Pushing Electrons with Protons" in Göttingen, which studies proton-coupled electron transfer in chemistry and physics.
The meeting will address the wave-particle duality of atomic nuclei from both the experimental and the theoretical side. Topics include tunneling as a driver of chemical reactivity and strategies to control it, tunneling in the interstellar medium, nuclear quantum effects on surfaces and in solids, fundamental aspects of tunneling, and emerging experimental and computational techniques. The meeting offers an exchange venue for spectroscopists, physical and synthetic chemists, astrochemists and theory groups developing or applying methods beyond a classical treatment of nuclei. A central question is how experiment and theory can be compared on a sound basis: which observables are sensitive to nuclear quantum effects, how uncertainties should be determined and reported on both sides, and how curated data and blind challenges can reveal where current models fail.
There will be ample opportunity for contributed talks (about 20) and also poster presentations (up to 30), by local, national and international research groups in the field. We therefore encourage interested experimentalists and theoreticians to mark the date for participation.