Effect of rotational quantum states ( J=0, 1) on the tunneling reaction H 2+T→H+HT in xenon—hydrogen mixtures at 77 K

Abstract

The effect of rotational quantum states ( J=0, 1) on the tunneling reaction H 2+T→H+HT in solid Xe-H 2-D 2 mixtures has been studied at 77 K. When T atoms are produced by a 6Li(n, α)T reaction in xenon—hydrogen (1 mol%) mixtures, most recoil T atoms are thermalized before encountering the solute hydrogen at 1 mol% and react with H 2 and D 2 by tunneling to produce HT and DT. The ratio of HT to DT yields, [HT]/[DT], in the Xe- p-H 2 ( J=0)-D 2 mixtures is larger than the [HT]/[DT] ratio in Xe- n-H 2-D 2 mixtures, where n-H 2 consists of 75% o-H 2 ( J=1) and 25% p-H 2. The ratio of the rate constant for the tunneling reaction H 2( J=0) + T→H+HT to that for the tunneling reaction H 2( J=1) +T → H+HT, i.e. k(H 2( J=0)+T)/ k(H 2( J=1)+T), was estimated as 4±2 from HT yields.