Canadian Journal of Physics
Observation of collisional energy transfer from laser excited Cd atoms to Na(4p 2PJ) atoms
Maurizio E. Musso, F. Fuso, G. De Filippo, M. Allegrini, Dieter Gruber, Laurentius Windholz
Abstract
Transfer of excitation from cadmium to sodium atoms was investigated in an heat pipe oven illuminated by a pulsed laser tuned on the intercombination transition of cadmium. A rich emission spectrum with cadmium as well as sodium lines was observed. Intramultiplet mixing distributes the initial excited level population 5p(3)P(1) to the nearby fine structure levels 5p(3)P(0,2) of the same multiplet. We have experimental evidence that the energy transfer pathway is from Cd (5p(3)P(J)) to Na(4p(2)P(J)) which is collisionally rapidly converted to Na(3d(2)D(J)), from which the strongest emission was observed.