Quantum chemistry: Molecules caught tunneling nature
Roland Wester from the Department of Ion Physics and Applied Physics at the University of Innsbruck has long wanted to explore this frontier."It requires an experiment that allows veryand can still be described quantum-mechanically," says the experimental physicist."The idea came to me 15 years ago in a conversation with a colleague at a conference in the U.S.," Wester recalls. He wanted to trace the quantum mechanical tunnel effect in a very simple reaction.
Since the tunnel effect makes the reaction very unlikely and thus slow, its experimental observation was extraordinarily difficult. After several attempts, however, Wester's team has now succeeded in doing just that for the first time, as they report in the current issue of the journalRoland Wester's team chose hydrogen—the simplest element in the universe—for their experiment.
This is caused by the tunnel effect:"Quantum mechanics allows particles to break through the energetic barrier due to their quantum mechanical wave properties, and a reaction occurs," explains the first author of the study, Robert Wild."In our experiment, we give possible reactions in the trap about 15 minutes and then determine the amount of hydrogen ions formed. From their number, we can deduce how often a reaction has occurred.
The tunnel effect is used, for example, in the scanning tunneling microscope and in flash memories. The tunnel effect is also used to explain the alpha decay of atomic nuclei. By including the tunnel effect, some astrochemical syntheses of molecules in interstellar dark clouds can also be explained. The experiment of Wester's team thus lays the foundation for a better understanding of many chemical reactions.
France Dernières Nouvelles, France Actualités
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