Quadrupole Moment of the Deuteron

Abstract

The electric field gradient in the HD and ${\mathrm{D}}_{2}$ molecules has been calculated from 87-term wave functions of the James and Coolidge type. With the use of experimental values of the quadrupole interaction constant, the electric quadrupole moment of the deuteron is found to be 0.2875 ${\mathrm{F}}^{2}$ which is 2% larger than the most recent values. The estimated error is 0.002 ${\mathrm{F}}^{2}$.