Physical Review A
Electron-impact excitation of a metastable hydrogen atom in the presence of a resonant laser field
S. P. Purohit, K. C. Mathur
Abstract
Electron-impact excitation of the hydrogen metastable 2s state to the 3s, 4s, 3d, and 4d states is studied in the presence of a resonant laser field using the rotating-wave approximation. The frequency of the circularly polarized laser field is chosen to match the 2s-3p transition frequency in the hydrogen atom. The role of the laser field in individual magnetic substate (${\mathit{m}}_{\mathit{f}}$=0,\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}1,\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}2) excitation is analyzed. It is found that for these optically forbidden transitions (s-s, s-d), a significant increase in the excitation cross sections is obtained through joint collisions with electrons and photons.