Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • News & Views
  • Published:

Molecular physics

Breaking up is hard to do

Nature Physics volume 14, pages 109–110 (2018)Cite this article

Subjects

Dissociating hydrogen gas seems like it should be as easy as pulling apart two identical atoms. But resonant electron-impact experiments reveal that quantum interference induces a fundamental asymmetry in the process.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

  • Purchase on SpringerLink
  • Instant access to full article PDF
Buy now

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Figure 1: Schematic representation of resonant electron attachment (green vertical arrow) producing coherent dissociating wavepackets on two electronic states (red and blue curves), with opposite parity, of the transient anion H2−.

References

  1. Krishnakumar, E., Prabhudesai, V. S. & Mason, N. J. Nat. Phys. 14, 149–153 (2018).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Lafosse, A. et al. J. Phys. B 36, 4683–4702 (2003).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  3. Martín, F. et al. Science 315, 629–633 (2007).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  4. Sansone, G. et al. Nature 465, 763–766 (2010).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  5. Stibbe, D. T. & Tennyson, J. J. Phys. B 31, 815–844 (1998).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  6. Fennimore, M. A., Karsili, T. N. V. & Matsika, S. Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys. 19, 17233–17241 (2017).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Slaughter, D. S., Belkacem, A., McCurdy, C. W., Rescigno, T. N. & Haxton, D. J. J. Phys. B 49, 222001 (2016).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Chemical Sciences Division at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, 1 Cyclotron Road, Berkeley, 94720, California, USA

    Daniel S. Slaughter & Thomas N. Rescigno

Authors
  1. Daniel S. Slaughter
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Thomas N. Rescigno
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Daniel S. Slaughter.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Slaughter, D., Rescigno, T. Breaking up is hard to do. Nat. Phys. 14, 109–110 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1038/nphys4308

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nphys4308

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing