The Electric Quadrupole Moment of the Deuteron

A new electronic wave for the hydrogen molecule is calculated by use of the variation principle. From this the electric field gradient at one of the nuclei is determined and is used in conjunction with the quadrupole interaction energy as given by Kellogg, Rabi, Ramsey, and Zacharias, to find the value of the quadrupole moment of the deuteron. The value obtained is $Q_{\mathrm{D}}=(2.766\mathrm{}\pm 0.025)\times {10}^{-27\mathrm{}}$ ${\mathrm{cm}}^2$. The probable error of 0.9 percent is an improvement over the previous error of 2 percent given for Nordsieck's calculation of $Q_{\mathrm{D}}=2.73\mathrm{}\times {10}^{-27\mathrm{}}$ ${\mathrm{cm}}^2$ and for Ishiguro's value of $Q_{\mathrm{D}}=2.79\mathrm{}\times {10}^{-27\mathrm{}}$ ${\mathrm{cm}}^2$.