Surface Diffusion of Solid Hydrogen

Abstract

A number of experiments have shown that hydrogen molecules can migrate on films of solid hydrogen. This was thought to be a diffusive process but recent experimental findings have led others to a different conclusion, so a question remains about the process by which the hydrogen molecules migrate over their own solid surface. We report new measurements using a hole-burning technique which confirm these recent experiments but we interpret them differently. We have developed a model for the recovery of the hydrogen which accounts for these results and shows that the H₂ does move diffusively. The diffusion is thermally activated and we have determined the diffusion constant, D ₀=4.03×10⁻⁴±2.5×10⁻⁵ m²s⁻¹, and the activation energy, E=43±7 K, for hydrogen.