Tunnelling of molecules and quantum decay

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In our everyday experience, particles trapped inside energy wells can escape only if they have more energy than the energy barrier; a marble trapped in a bowl stays inside unless it has enough energy to rise to the top of the bowl and get out. For microscopic particles it is possible for a particle to escape even if its energy is less than the barrier. This phenomenon is call "tunnelling." Tunnelling has been investigated almost solely for single particles. Investigations into the tunnelling of molecules began relatively recently. The simplest molecule consists of two atoms and thus has an elongated structure: this is what makes the study of tunnelling of molecules interesting and challenging. In order to escape confinement inside an energy barrier, both atoms need to tunnel out, and there are several ways this can happen. For example: the molecule breaks up into two atoms.