Selected scientific activities, talks, teaching, software releases and research outputs. Older items are retained as a compact activity archive.
Research report on the radical-pair mechanism and radiation protection
The German Federal Office for Radiation Protection (BfS) published the research report Ist der Radikalpaar-Mechanismus für den Strahlenschutz relevant? by Ilia A. Solov’yov and Luca Gerhards as BfS-RESFOR-269/26. The project examines whether weak magnetic fields can affect radical reactions in biological model systems including cryptochrome, lipid peroxides and NADPH oxidase. BfS report →
MolSpin tutorials released
A tutorial collection for the open-source spin-dynamics software MolSpin was released on Zenodo with Luca Gerhards as creator and contact person. The material covers magnetic resonance, magnetic-field effects and practical quantum spin-dynamics scenarios with example input data. Tutorials on Zenodo →
Weak radiofrequency field effects in biological systems — a challenge for quantum biology
Talk at Frontiers and Challenges in Quantum Biology at the Niels Bohr Institute, Copenhagen. The presentation examined the applicability and limitations of the radical-pair mechanism as a physical explanation for weak radiofrequency-field effects in biological systems. Event contribution →
Teaching at the international Spin-Chemistry Summer School
Luca Gerhards was one of the teachers of the 2026 Spin-Chemistry Summer School in Windischleuba. The programme covered quantum mechanics, density-matrix methods, relaxation theory, magnetic-field effects, RYDMR, spin-correlated radical pairs, CIDEP/CIDNP, hyperpolarization and biological magnetoreception. Summer-school information →
Is the radical pair mechanism relevant for radiation protection?
Invited presentation at the German Federal Office for Radiation Protection (BfS), Munich, on the physical basis and possible biological relevance of weak-field effects mediated by radical-pair chemistry. Talk record →
Theoretical Physics II: Quantum Mechanics
Teaching of Theoretische Physik II: Quantenmechanik at Carl von Ossietzky University Oldenburg together with Ilia A. Solov’yov. Teaching record →
Multiscale modeling approaches in biomolecular physics
A review in Advances in Physics: X discusses how molecular simulation and quantum-level methods can be connected across scales in biomolecular physics. Publication →
Reaction-yield detected magnetic resonance spectroscopy of radical pairs in cryptochrome-4a
A computational study in Free Radical Biology & Medicine examines reaction-yield detected magnetic-resonance spectroscopy as a probe of radical-pair spin dynamics in cryptochrome-4a. Publication →
Conformational switching controls biradical spin dynamics in flavin–tryptophan dyads
Work published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society connects conformational switching with the spin dynamics of biomimetic flavin–tryptophan biradicals. Publication →
Potential effects of weak radiofrequency radiation in biological systems based on the radical pair mechanism
Conference presentation at the first international symposium of SFB 1372 Magnetoreception and Navigation in Vertebrates in Oldenburg. Programme →
Weak radiofrequency field effects and the radical-pair mechanism
A Chemical Reviews article examines weak radiofrequency field effects on biological systems mediated through radical-pair chemistry. Publication →
Current status of the spectroscopy implementation in VIKING
Invited presentation at HYP*MOL 2024 / Chemnitz 2024 on spectroscopy functionality developed within the VIKING framework. Talk record →
Spin chemistry in biological systems — pushing the limits of system size using MolSpin
Contribution to the 18th International Symposium on Spin and Magnetic Field Effects in Chemistry and Related Phenomena (Spin Chemistry Meeting 2024), presenting approaches for extending spin-dynamics simulations to complex biological radical-pair systems. Conference abstracts →
Spin chemistry in multiscale problems — pushing the limits of system size
Invited presentation at DYSON 2024 / MULTICHEM 2024 in Tbilisi on theoretical and computational strategies for treating spin chemistry in increasingly large and complex molecular systems. Talk record →
Avian magnetoreception: a radical sense of direction
Invited presentation at the SPIE conference Quantum Effects and Measurement Techniques in Biology and Biophotonics in San Francisco. Talk record →
Spin dynamics and spin relaxation in biological systems — introducing MolSpin as a versatile toolkit
Conference presentation at DySoN 2023 on modelling spin dynamics and environmental spin relaxation in biological systems with MolSpin. Conference programme →
MolSpin — introducing a versatile software package for spin chemistry
Presentation at the 17th International Symposium on Spin and Magnetic Field Effects in Chemistry and Related Phenomena at Northwestern University, introducing MolSpin as a flexible simulation platform for spin chemistry. Conference programme →