Abstract
A full quantum treatment shows that coupled electronic and nuclear fluxes exhibit a strong sensitivity to a small mass change in a vibrating molecule. This has been exemplified with the existing isotopes of as well as few fictitious ones. We find that the fluxes undergo a significant change as one goes from one isotope of reduced mass to another. Other well-defined observables are likewise affected. It turns out that as a general rule, the heavier the isotope, the larger the flux, the smaller the dispersion, and the longer the revival period. While we were able to confirm analytically that the time at the first turning point scales as and that the revival period changes linearly with , the mechanism of other observables remains subtle as the result of quantum interference highlighted by the pronounced difference observed on the dispersion pattern.
2 More- Received 1 October 2010
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevA.82.062502
©2010 American Physical Society