DATE2025.11.22 #Press Releases

Capturing the Invisible Motion of Hydrogen

-Measuring the Quantum Tunneling of Hydrogen Atoms-

Summary

A team has succeeded in observing the diffusion of hydrogen atoms driven by quantum tunneling.

Among all elements, hydrogen, the lightest atom, displays quantum mechanical characteristics most distinctly. Despite this, it is also one of the most challenging atoms to observe directly, and its quantum behavior during diffusion has largely remained unexamined. In this research, scientists combined nuclear reaction analysis and electrical conductivity measurements to assess hydrogen diffusion in palladium (Pd), a metal known for absorbing hydrogen, via quantum tunneling.

This approach enabled the acquisition of detailed temperature-dependent data, demonstrating that the excitation of conduction electrons and phonons promotes quantum tunneling of hydrogen atoms. These findings are expected to contribute to a deeper understanding of atomic quantum behavior, leading to the development of technologies for quantum control of hydrogen diffusion.

Figure：Quantum tunneling of hydrogenQuantum tunneling of hydrogen

Links

Institute of Industrial Science, The University of Tokyo,  Tokyo Institute of Science,  University of Tsukuba

Journals

Journal name	Science Advances
Title of paper	Observation of proton tunneling correlated with phonons and electrons in Pd