Representations and descriptors unifying the study of molecular and bulk systems

Establishing a unified framework for describing the structures of molecular and periodic systems is a long-standing challenge in physics, chemistry, and material science. With the rise of machine learning methods in these fields, there is a growing need for such a method. This perspective aims to discuss the development and use of three promising approaches-topological, atom-density, and symmetry-based-for the prediction and rationalization of physical, chemical, and mechanical properties of atomistic systems across different scales and compositions.