Quantum diffusion in solid H₂: a short review

A review is presented on the experimental observations and the theoretical progress made in investigating the quantum diffusion in solid H 2 . The mechanisms of resonant ortho–para conversion and of quantum tunneling are discussed. It is pointed out that the ortho-H 2 clustering reaction process, by which quantum diffusion is detected, needs to be better understood to account for the dependence of the observed reaction-time constant τ on temperature and on ortho-H 2 concentration. The general trends in the experimental results are reviewed, and the discrepancies between various determinations of τ are discussed. Further experiments are suggested as well as computer simulations for the clustering procedure. A review is also given on the status of quantum diffusion of HD in solid H 2 . Recent observations on recombination rates of H and on depolarization rates of muons in H 2 that show evidence of quantum effects are briefly mentioned.

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