Proton-hydrogen reaction in an effectively two-body model

A model of total interaction between a proton incident to a hydrogen atom and the proton that is the nucleus of this atom is proposed. This interaction is assumed to be the sum of the short-range nuclear Reid potential and the long-range Thomas-Fermi potential induced by the Coulomb interaction of the electron with the nucleus of the hydrogen atom. The explicit low-energy asymptotic behavior of the cross section for the proton-hydrogen reaction leading to deuteron production is found. It is shown that this cross section increases in inverse proportion to the collision energy for the proton and hydrogen atom in its zero limit.