Measurement of the proton wave function in molecular hydrogen by neutron Compton scattering

Abstract

The momentum distribution of the proton in liquid and solid hydrogen has been measured by neutron Compton scattering (NCS), at energy transfers between 3 and 50 eV. The data display features due to interference between the proton and neutron wave functions and are accurately described by a simple quantum mechanical model, incorporating previous spectroscopic data. The excellent agreement between calculation and data in this simple system demonstrates that the NCS technique can provide accurate information about the behavior of the proton in condensed matter. There are many applications of NCS to more complex physical systems of fundamental interest in physics, chemistry, and biology.