Symmetry breakdown in ground state dissociation of HD

Citation
I. Ben-itzhak et al., Symmetry breakdown in ground state dissociation of HD, PHYS REV L, 85(1), 2000, pp. 58-61
Citations number
13
Categorie Soggetti
Physics
Journal title
PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS
ISSN journal
00319007 → ACNP
Volume
85
Issue
1
Year of publication
2000
Pages
58 - 61
Database
ISI
SICI code
0031-9007(20000703)85:1<58:SBIGSD>2.0.ZU;2-N
Abstract
Experimental studies of the dissociation of the electronic ground state of HD+ following ionization of HD by fast proton impact indicate that the H+ D(1s) dissociation channel is more likely than the H(1s) + D+ dissociation channel by about 7%. This isotopic symmetry breakdown is due to the finite nuclear mass correction to the Born-Oppenheimer approximation which makes the 1s sigma state 3.7 meV lower than the 2p sigma state at the dissociatio n limit. The measured fractions of the two dissociation channels are in agr eement with coupled-channels calculations of 1s sigma to 2p sigma transitio ns.