corner
corner
APS » Journals » Phys. Rev. Lett. » Volume 102 » Issue 1
< Previous Article | Next Article >

Phys. Rev. Lett. 102, 013001 (2009) [4 pages]

Quantum Translator-Rotator: Inelastic Neutron Scattering of Dihydrogen Molecules Trapped inside Anisotropic Fullerene Cages

Download: PDF (691 kB) Buy this article Export: BibTeX or EndNote (RIS)

A. J. Horsewill1,*, K. S. Panesar1, S. Rols2, M. R. Johnson2, Y. Murata3, K. Komatsu3, S. Mamone4, A. Danquigny4, F. Cuda4, S. Maltsev4, M. C. Grossel4, M. Carravetta4, and M. H. Levitt4
1School of Physics & Astronomy, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, NG7 2RD, United Kingdom
2Institut Laue-Langevin, BP 156, 38042 Grenoble, France
3Institute for Chemical Research, Kyoto University, Kyoto 611-0011, Japan
4School of Chemistry, University of Southampton, Southampton, SO17 1BJ, United Kingdom

Received 7 October 2008; published 5 January 2009

See accompanying Physics Focus

We report an inelastic neutron scattering investigation of the quantum dynamics of hydrogen molecules trapped inside anisotropic fullerene cages. Transitions among the manifold of quantized rotational and translational states are directly observed. The spectra recorded as a function of energy and momentum transfer are interpreted in terms of the rotational potential and the cage dimensions. The thermodynamics of orthohydrogen and parahydrogen are investigated through temperature dependence measurements.

© 2009 The American Physical Society

URL:
http://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/PhysRevLett.102.013001
DOI:
10.1103/PhysRevLett.102.013001
PACS:
33.20.Sn, 61.05.fg, 61.48.−c, 67.80.ff

*Corresponding author.

a.horsewill@nottingham.ac.uk

 
< Previous Article | Next Article >