Physics Education and Science Outreach

The Working Group manages our outreach and physics education efforts. We promote physics and excellence in science education in primary and secondary schools, not only by engaging scientists in visits to schools but also bringing students to the Physics Department and our research facilities. We are responsible for the school of excellence in Physics "Quark!" for high-school students from all over the country and for the coordination of the National Physics Olympiad. In addition, CFisUC collaborates on the outreach activities of the Department of Physics, Museum of Science and Centro Ciência Viva Rómulo de Carvalho.

Current projects

Previous projects

Recent Publications

Books

Chapters of Books

1 - Relativistic Description of the Neutron Star Equation of State
Constança Providência, Tuhin Malik, Milena Bastos Albino, Márcio Ferreira
in Nuclear Theory in the Age of Multimessenger Astronomy (1st ed.), 111-143, CRC Press, ISBN: 9781003306580 (2024)

Papers

International Journals

2 - Optimizing the green synthesis of silver nanoparticles with pomegranate extract for antibacterial purposes: an innovative approach
Rocio Diaz-Puertas, Francisco Alvarez-Martinez, Enrique Rodríguez-Cañas, Fernando Borrás-Rocher, Alberto Falco, Artur Valente, José Paixão, Ricardo Mallavia
Bioinorg. Chem. Appl. accepted for publication (2025)

3 - A 3D Computational Study on the Formation and Progression of Tumor Cells in Diffuse Gastric Cancer
V. Lopes, J. Figueiredo, P. Carneiro, M. Gouveia, RDM Travasso, J. Carvalho
Bull. Math. Biol. 87(2), 28 (2025)

4 - Collective modes in relativistic cold asymmetric nuclear matter within the covariant Vlasov approach
A. Rabhi, O. Boukari, S. S. Avancini, C. Providência
Phys. Rev. C 111 (1), 015804 (2025)

5 - Composition-, temperature-, and field- driven magnetic phase transitions in Bi0.9Ca0.1Fe1-xMnxO3 multiferroics
V. A. Khomchenko, M. Das, J. A. Paixão
J. Magn. Magn. Mater. 614, 172703 (2025)

6 - Optical and electric properties of the organic-inorganic hybrid bis (2-amino-5-picolinium) Tetrachlorocobaltate(II) [(C6H9N2)2CoCl4]
A. Ghoudi, I. Chaabane, Raja Naouari, A. Aydi, A. Oueslati, E. Dhahri, B.F.O. Costa, T. Nikitin, J.A. Paixão, R. Fausto
Inorg. Chem. Commun. 168, 112925 (2024)

7 - Occurrence of Gravitational Collapse in the Accreting Neutron Stars of Binary-driven Hypernovae
LM Becerra, F. Cipolletta, CL. Fryer, DP Menezes, C. Providência, JA Rueda, R. Ruffini
Astrophys. J. 976(1), 80 (2024)

8 - Synthesis, characterization, and sensitivity tests of La0.8Ba0.1Bi0.1FeO3 nanoparticles towards a few parts-per-billion of acetone gas
E.M. Benali, L. Saher, A. Benali, M. Bejar, E. Dhahri, J.T. Wu, L. Peng, P.M. Gordo, J. Pina, BFO Costa
Heliyon 10 (5), e26778 (2024)

9 - Tension On and Off in Atwood´s Machine: The Advantage of Video Analysis
N. Campos, S. Domingos, PSP. Silva, M. Silva
Phys. Teach. 62 (1), 32-36 (2024)

10 - Tuning the AIE Properties of Di-tert-Butyl-diphenyldibenzofulvene Derivatives
Carla Cunha, Mariana Peixoto, José A. Paixão, Marta Pineiro, J. Sérgio Seixas de Melo
J. Phys. Chem. C 128(3), 1156-1164 (2024)

11 - Detecting the third family of compact stars with normalizing flows
V.M. Carvalho, M Ferreira, C Providencia, M Bejger
Phys. Rev. D 109(10), 103032 (2024)

12 - From neutron star observations to nuclear matter properties: A machine learning approach
V.M. Carvalho, M. Ferreira, C. Providencia
Phys. Rev. D 109 (12), 123038 (2024)

13 - Detecting hyperons in neutron stars: A machine learning approach
V.M. Carvalho, M. Ferreira, C. Providência
Phys. Rev. D 110 (12), 123016 (2024)

14 - Dual-function starch aerogels: Nutraceutical carriers for iron and folic acid delivery
G Clare, P Simoes, BFO Costa, L Duraes
J. Drug Deliv. Sci. Technol. 100, 106069 (2024)

15 - Yttrium immobilization through biomineralization with phosphate by the resistant strain Mesorhizobium qingshengii J19
C Coimbra, R Branco, PSP da Silva, JA Paixao, JMF Martins, L Spadini, P Morais
J. Appl. Microbiol. 135(7), lxae156 (2024)

16 - Constraining neutron star matter from the slope of the mass-radius curves
M. Ferreira, C. Providência
Phys. Rev. D 110(6), 063018 (2024)

17 - The Impact of Asymmetric Dark Matter on the Thermal Evolution of Nucleonic and Hyperonic Compact Stars
E. Giangrandi, A. Avila, V. Sagun, O. Ivanytskyi, C. Providencia
Particles 7 (1), 179-200 (2024)

18 - On the mechanochemical synthesis of C-scorpionates with an oxime moiety and their application in the copper-catalyzed azide-alkyne cycloaddition (CuAAC) reaction
C Gomes, M Costa, SMM Lopes, BA Nogueira, R Fausto, JA Paixao, TMVDE Melo, LMDRS Martins, M Pineiro
New J. Chem. 48, 874-886 (2024)

19 - The architecture of redox microdomains: Cascading gradients and peroxiredoxins´ redox-oligomeric coupling integrate redox signaling and antioxidant protection
M Griffith, A Araûjo, R Travasso, A Salvador
Redox Biol. 69, 103000 (2024)

20 - Constraining a relativistic mean field model using neutron star mass-radius measurements II: Hyperonic models
Huang C., L. Tolos, C. Providência, A. Watts
Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc. 536(4), 3262-3275 (2024)

21 - Constraining a relativistic mean field model using neutron star mass-radius measurements I: nucleonic models
C Huang, G Raaijmakers, AL Watts, L Tolos, C Providencia
Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc. 529(4), 4650-4665 (2024)

22 - Implications of comprehensive nuclear and astrophysics data on the equations of state of neutron star matter
SMA Imam, T. Malik, C. Providencia, B. Agrawal
Phys. Rev. D 109 (10), 103025 (2024)

23 - Reentrant Spin Glass and Magnetic Skyrmions in the Co7Zn7Mn6−xFex β-Mn-Type Alloys
José F. Malta, Marta S. C. Henriques, José A. Paixão, António P. Gonçalves
Magnetochemistry 10(61), 1-19 (2024)

24 - Chitosan-silica composite aerogel for the adsorption of cupric ions
João P. Vareda, Pedro M. C. Matias, José A. Paixão, Dina Murtinho, Artur J. M. Valente, Luisa Durães
Gels 10(3), 192(1)-16 (2024)

25 - Theoretical and experimental constraints for the equation of state of dense and hot matter
Kumar L, Providencia C, et al.
Living Rev. Relativ. 27(1), 3 (2024)

26 - Formulation and Characterization of Chitosan-Based Mixed-Matrix Scaffold for Tissue Engineering
R. Lopes, P.M. Gordo, BFO Costa, P. Alves
Macromol 4 (2) (2024)

27 - Astrophysics and nuclear physics informed interactions in dense matter: Inclusion of PSR J0437-4715
T. Malik, V. Dexheimer, C. Providência
Phys. Rev. D 110(4), 043042 (2024)

28 - Local Environment and Migration Paths of the Proton Defect in Yttria-Stabilized Zirconia Studied by Ab Initio Calculations and Muon-Spin Spectroscopy
AG Marinopoulos, RC Vilao, HV Alberto, JM Gil, RBL Vieira, JS Lord
Hydrogen 5(3), 374-386 (2024)

29 - A baryons in neutron stars
K.D. Marquez, D.P. Menezes, H. Pais, C. Providência
Phys. Rev. C 106 (5), 055801 (2024)

30 - Nambu-Jona-Lasinio description of hadronic matter from a Bayesian approach
KD Marquez, T. Malik, H. Pais, DP Menezes, C. Providência
Phys. Rev. D 110(6), 063040 (2024)

31 - Bound states of relativistic spinless particles in a mix of circularly symmetric vector and scalar harmonic oscillators
V.B. Mendrot, A.S. de Castro, P. Alberto
Physica Scripta 99 (5), 055209 (2024)

32 - Hybrid star properties with the NJL and mean field approximation of QCD models: A Bayesian approach
Milena Albino, Tuhin Malik, Márcio Ferreira, Constança Providência
Phys.Rev.D 110, 083037 (2024)

33 - TrajPy: empowering feature engineering for trajectory analysis across domains
M Moreira-Soares, E Mossmann, RDM Travasso, JR Bordin
Bioinform. Adv. 4(1), vbae026 (2024)

34 - Unveiling the red and brownish-green polymorphs of a novel ROY derivative: 2-(4-((3-cyanothiophen-2-yl)amino)-3-nitrophenyl)acetic acid
Bernardo Nogueira, Susana Lopes, Ana Clara Beltran Rodrigues, M. Ermelinda Eusébio, Vânia André, M. Teresa Duarte, José Paixão, Teresa Pinho e Melo, Rui Fausto
Cryst. Growth Des. 24(3), 947-962 (2024)

35 - Biochar ageing effects on soil respiration, biochar wettability and gaseous CO2 adsorption
G. Ojeda, J.M. Gil, S Mattana, J. Bachmann, K. Quenea, AJFN Sobral
Mitig. Adapt. Strateg. Glob. Change. 29 (2), 11 (2024)

36 - Constraining the high-density behavior of nuclear symmetry energy with direct Urca processes
Olfa Boukari, Tuhin Malik, Aziz Rabhi, Constança Providência
Phy. Rev. C (PRC) 110(6), 065801 (2024)

37 - High-refractive-index materials screening from machine learning and ab initio methods
Pedro J.M.A. Carriço, Márcio Ferreira, Tiago F.T. Cerqueira, Fernando Nogueira, Pedro Borlido
Phys. Rev. Mater. 8, 015201 (2024)

38 - E-cadherin variants associated with oral facial clefts trigger aberrant cell motility in a REG1A-dependent manner
J. Pereira, S. Melo, R.M. Ferreira, P. Carneiro, V.T. Yang, A.F. Maia, J. Carvalho, C. Figueiredo, J.C. Machado, E. Morais-de-Sá, R. Seruca, J. Figueiredo
Cell Commun. Signal. 22 (1), 152 (2024)

39 - Building models of quarks and gluons with an arbitrary number of colors using Cartan-Polyakov loops
Renan Câmara Pereira and Pedro Costa,
Nucl. Phys. B 998, 116415-24 (2024)

40 - A new approach to the 3-momentum regularization of the in-medium one and two fermion line integrals with applications to cross sections in the Nambu--Jona-Lasinio model
Renan Câmara Pereira, Pedro Costa, Constança Providência, João Moreira
Phys. Rev. C 109, 025206-57 (2024)

41 - Assessing the joint effect of temperature and magnetic field on the neutron star equation of state
L. Scurto, V.M. Carvalho, H. Pais, C. Providência
Phys. Rev. C 110(4), 045805 (2024)

42 - Avoiding pits on the energy landscape - alternative strategies for stabilizing nateglinide co-amorphous systems
J. Silva, M. Jasiurkowska-Delaporte, PSP Silva, M.R. Silva, M. Eusébio, M. Rosado
Cryst. Eng. Comm. 26, 3653-3664 (2024)

43 - Exploring robust correlations between fermionic dark matter model parameters and neutron star properties: A two-fluid perspective
P. Thakur, T. Malik, A. Das, T.K. Jha, C. Providência
Phys. Rev. D 109 (4), 043030 (2024)

44 - Topology in soft and biological matter
L Tubina, R. Travasso et al.
Phys. Rep. 1075, 1-137 (2024)

45 - Unified neutron star equations of state calibrated to nuclear properties
Tuhin Malik, Helena Pais, Constança Providência
Astron. Astrophys. (A&A) 689, A242 (2024)

46 - Correlation between the crystal structure and magnetic properties of Bi1-yCayFe1-xMnxO3 multiferroics near the polar-anti(non)polar phase boundary
V. A. Khomchenko, M. Das, J. A. Paixão
Appl. Sci. 14(21), 9991 (2024)

47 - Investigation of the solar cell materials Cu(In,Ga)Se2 and Cu2ZnSnS4 with muon spin spectroscopy and density-functional calculations
RC Vilao, AG Marinopoulos, DG Santos, HV Alberto, JM Gil, PW Mengyan, M Kauk-Kuusik, JS Lord, A Weidinger
J. Appl. Phys. 136(5), 055704 (2024)

48 - Modified Biochar Materials From Eucalyptus globulus Wood as Efficient CO2 Adsorbents and Recyclable Catalysts
S Zomorodbakhsh, ACS Gonzalez, IG Cruz, G Piccirillo, TMR Maria, IS Marques, AF Peixoto, JM Gil, F Ferreira, RMB Carrilho
Adv. Sustain. Syst., 2400431 (2024)

49 - Rapid neutron star cooling triggered by dark matter
A. Ávila, E. Giangrandi, V. Sagun, O. Ivanytskyi, C. Providência
Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc. 528(4), 6319-6328 (2024)

Portuguese Journals

50 - Os pêndulos comunicadores!
Constança Providência, Rita Wolters
Gazeta de Física - Vamos Experimentar! 46 -3, 21-22 (2024)

51 - Quarenta anos de Olimpíadas de Física
F. Nogueira
Gazeta de Física 47(2), 34 (2024)

52 - Manuel Valadares e Jean Perrin
J.A. Paixão
Gazeta de Física 47(1), 5-6 (2024)

53 - 50 anos da Sociedade Portuguesa de Física
J.A. Paixão
Gazeta de Física 47(2), 4 (2024)

54 - Estruturas criativas
C. Providência, P. Providência, R. Wolters
Gazeta de Física - Vamos Experimentar! 47 -2 (2024)

Proceedings

International Conferences

55 - Ranolazine: crystal structure determination and investigation of its metastable polymorphs
L. Chelazzi, S. Ciattini, E. Fantechi, J.F.C. Silva, PSP. Silva, M.R. Silva, M.E.S. Eusebio, M.T.S. Rosado
Acta Crystallogr. A 80 (S), e663 (2024)

56 - A fold catastrophe potential illustrated with a pure mechanical apparatus
Fiolhais, M.
J. Phys.: Conf. Ser. 2701, 012069 (2024)

Communications

Invited

57 - The Complexity of Neutron Star Matter: from the Liquid-Gas Phase Transition to Chiral Symmetry Breaking and Restoration Lecture 1 | Lecture 2 | Tutorial
Providência, C.
at the The 60th Karpacz Winter School on Theoretical Physics and WE-Heraeus Physics School, Institute of Theoretical Physics, University of Wroclaw / Hotel “Artus”, Karpacz, Poland, 16 - 25 May, 2024. (2024)

58 - Spanning the neutron star properties within microscopic descriptions: what do we learn?
Providência, C.
Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Brazil, 6 December, 2024 (2024)

59 - Spanning the neutron star properties within microscopic descriptions: what do we learn?
Providência, C.
at The International Conference on Neutron Star Equation of State and Gravitational Waves (NEOSGrav2024), Goa, India, 1 - 4 October, 2024. (2024)

60 - The Formation of Loops in Blood Vessel Networks - Resilience, Flow and Therapy
Travasso, RDM et al.
BIRS Workshop, Formation of Looping Networks - from Nature to Models, Banff, Canada, 7th - 12th Jul (2024)

61 - Christmas Seminar: Machine Learning in the Physics Department
RDM Travasso, V. Carvalho
Universidade de Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal, Dec 13 (2024)

Oral

62 - Advanced Characterization to Access End-of-Life Li-ion Batteries Black Mass
C. O. Fernandes, X. Pinheiro, A. J. N. Oliveira, K. Oliveira, J. P. Teixeira, M. J. Regufe, V. Sousa, R. C. Vilão, A. Pinto, P. M. P. Salomé
CMD31-General Conference of the Condensed Matter Division of the European Physical Society. Braga, Portugal. 02-06 September (2024)

63 - A Aprendizagem baseada em Projetos como estratégia didática no ensino e aprendizagem do Coletor Solar na disciplina de Física e Química A.
Esperança, T.
XX Encontro Nacional de Educação em Ciências - VI International Seminar on Science Education - Universidade da Beira Interior (Covilhã, Portugal), 18-20 Janeiro (2024)

64 - As pioneiras: Mulheres no Laboratório de Física da Universidade de Coimbra (1911-1972)
Gilberto Pereira, Décio Martins e Carlos Fiolhais
5ª Conferência de Física dos Países de Língua Portuguesa - A Física para um desenvolvimento inclusivo e sustentável. Universidade de Coimbra. 9 Setembro 2024 (2024)

65 - Mathematical Modeling of Wild Type and Mutant Keratin-14 Network Dynamics and Keratin Aggregate Formation
M. Gouveia, T. Sorcan, S. Zemljic-Jokhadar, RDM Travasso, M. Liovic
ECMTB 2024, Toledo, Spain, 22nd – 26th Jul (2024)

66 - Modelling the Influence of Loss of E-Cadherin and Stroma Attachment in Cancer Cell Invasion: Mathematical Approach
P. Guerrero, S. Melo, M. Moreira-Soares, JR Bordin, F. Carneiro, P. Carneiro, MB Dias, J. Carvalho, J. Figueiredo, R. Seruca, RDM. Travasso
ECMTB 2024, Toledo, Spain, 22nd – 26th Jul (2024)

67 - Recursos computacionais para o ensino de Física da Matéria Condensada
José António Paixão, Fernando Nogueira
5ª Conferência de Física de Países de Língua Portuguesa. Coimbra, Portugal. 8-10 September (2024)

68 - Atividades experimentais com supercondensadores
José António Paixão, Fernando Nogueira
5ª Conferência de Física de Países de Língua Portuguesa. Coimbra, Portugal. 8-10 September. (2024)

69 - Neutron and resonant X-ray scattering study of the modulated magnetic structures of ErFe4Al8 and NdFe4Al8
José António Paixão, Manuela Ramos Silva, António Pereira Gonçalves, Carsten Detlefs
CMD31-General Conference of the Condensed Matter Division of the European Physical Society, 02-06 September (2024)

70 - Microenvironment Anisotropy drives Cell Migration and Large-Scale Nuclear Deformations – a coupled in silico and in vitro study
A. Paulino, C. Leclech, M. Gouveia, J. Carvalho, RDM Travasso, A. Barakat
ECMTB 2024, Toledo, Spain, 22nd – 26th Jul (2024)

71 - Muonium Reaction in MgO: a case study for the doorway model
Rui C. Vilão, Ali Roonkiani, Apostolos G. Marinopoulos, Helena V. Alberto, João M. Gil, Ricardo B L Vieira, Robert Scheuermann, Alois Weidinger
Física 2024 - 24 Conferência Nacional de Física. Coimbra Portugal. 11-14 September (2024)

72 - Notch Flow-Driven Polarisation and Signalling in Vessels - a Mathematical Model
RDM Travasso, M.M. Sá, M. Gouveia, M. Palmeira, E. Ferreira, C. Sahlgren
ECMTB 2024, Toledo, Spain, 22nd – 26th Jul (2024)

73 - The ECM and Tissue Architecture are Major Determinants of Early Invasion Mediated by E-Cadherin Dysfunction
RDM Travasso, et al.
IUTAM 2024 – Theoretical and numerical developments in cellular mechanobiology, Seville, Spain, 3rd – 5th Jun (2024)

74 - Towards Prostate Cancer Predicative in Silico Models – the Early Stages and Vascular Growth
RDM Travasso, et al.
9th ECCOMAS Congress, Lisbon, Portugal, 3rd – 7th Jun (2024)

Poster

75 - Mössbauer spectrometry, positron spectroscopy and magnetic studies on La1-2xBaxBixFeO3 perovskites
E.M. Benali, A. Benali, M. Bejar, E. Dhahri, P. Gordo, BFO Costa
24ª Conferência Nacional de Física, Física 2024, Coimbra, Portugal, 11-14 september (2024)

76 - Numeric local pseudopotentials through evolutionary optimisation
Fernando Nogueira, Tiago Cerqueira
CMD31-General Conference of the Condensed Matter Division of the European Physical Society, Braga - Portugal, 2-6 September (2024)

77 - Effect of Mn substitution on the crystal structure and magnetic properties of Sr doped bismuth ferrite.
M.Das, J.A. Paixão, V.A. Khomchenko
CMD31-General Conference of the Condensed Matter Division of the European Physical Society. Braga, Portugal. 2-6 September (2024)

78 - Unusual Magnetic Transformations Induced by Mn Doping in Sr- substituted BiFeO3
M.Das, J.A. Paixão, V.A. Khomchenko
Física 2024 - 24ª Conferência Nacional de Física. Coimbra, Portugal. 11-14 September (2024)

79 - High-throughput search of B-C-X superconductors
Pedro Borlido, Tiago F.T. Cerqueira, Fernando Nogueira
CMD31-General Conference of the Condensed Matter Division of the European Physical Society, Braga - Portugal, 2-6 September (2024)

80 - Investigating temperature dependent changes in octupolar molecules: conformation, aromaticity and hyperpolarizability
Pedro S. Pereira Silva, Mauro A. Pereira Gonçalves, Nuno M. F. Campos, José A. Paixão, Manuela Ramos Silva
Física 2024 - 24 Conferência Nacional de Física. Coimbra, Portugal. 11-14 September (2024)

81 - Avaliação Crítica das Atividades Práticas e de Laboratório no Ensino de Física: Um Estudo Longitudinal do 3º Ciclo do Ensino Básico ao Ensino Secundário, considerando o Impacto da Pandemia de COVID-19 e das Escolhas Opcionais
O. Simões, J.C.S. Manaia, T. Esperança
XX Encontro Nacional de Educação em Ciências - VI International Seminar on Science Education. Covilhã, Portugal. 18-20 January (2024)

82 - The ECM and Tissue Architecture are Major Determinants of Early Invasion Mediated by E-Cadherin Dysfunction
RDM Travasso, et al.
Curvobio 2024, Warsaw, Poland, 28th – 30th Aug (2024)

Other

83 - Light clusters in hot nuclear matter: calibrating the interaction with heavy-ion
T. Custódio, A. Rebillard-Soulié, R. Bougault, D. Gruyer, F. Gulminelli, T. Malik, H. Pais, C. Providência
Submitted on 2 Jul (2024)

84 - Gulbenkian New Talents in Physics Program
Travasso, RDM.
Mentor of New Talents in Physics awardee, Ana Bensabat Paulino. (2024)