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Physical Review

Quenching and Depolarization of Mercury Resonance Radiation by Nitrogen and Oxygen

Leonard O. Olsen, George P. Kerr

Published Jul 15, 1947• 7 citations
Publisher

Abstract

The quenching and depolarization of mercury resonance radiation by nitrogen and oxygen in the presence of a weak magnetic field are studied. These effects are proportional to gas pressure. The proportionality constants for each gas are determined. Results of tests on two samples of each gas are given, with generally good agreement between separate tests. Quenching and depolarizing cross sections are computed from the finally selected constants.The measurements here considered indicate that adiabatic depolarization, a phenomenon tentatively postulated in the theory, is not present in the case of nitrogen and oxygen.

DOI
10.1103/physrev.72.115

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A semi-classical theory describing the quenching and depolarization of resonance radiation by collisions with foreign gas molecules is presented. The total depolarizing probability is divided into two parts to allow for adiabatic and nonadiabatic depolarization. The equations for polarization are generalized in order to apply to the case in which the observed polarization results from several lines belonging to a hyperfine group. The effect of a magnetic field applied along the direction of observation is also included in the treatment. Experimental results on the polarization of the $\ensuremath{\lambda}2537\mathrm{A}$ mercury line as a function of gas pressure and as a function of magnetic field at various fixed gas pressures show good agreement with the theory. Cross sections for quenching and depolarization have been calculated for the gases investigated and are presented in Table VI.

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Quenching and Depolarization of Mercury Resonance Radiation

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Depolarization of Resonance Radiation

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Depolarization and quenching of mercury resonance radiation are phenomena of quite different type. Depolarization is produced by two effects. With gases which quench by effecting the transition $^{3}P_{1}\ensuremath{\rightarrow}^{3}P_{0}$ upon collision with Hg\ensuremath{'} atoms, there exists a pronounced reverse transition $^{3}P_{0}\ensuremath{\rightarrow}^{3}P_{1}$ produced by collision with high speed molecules. Atoms which radiate without any collision emit polarized light under the conditions of the experiment. Those which become $^{3}P_{1}$ atoms after having existed as $^{3}P_{0}$ atoms have experienced a large number of collisions and have lost their orientation relative to the incident electric vector; accordingly they emit radiation polarized in random directions. The second depolarizing influence arises in collisions at distances exceeding the ordinary kinetic theory collision such as is described above, at which the distance is too great for a collision of the first or second type, but still small enough for the field of the gas atom to exert a perturbing influence on the orientation of the Hg\ensuremath{'} atom. Depolarization by ${\mathrm{H}}_{2}$ is an excellent example of the second influence while the first effect is sufficient to interpret the experimental data with the rare gases, the atomic fields of which decrease with a high power of the radial distance.

Physical Review•Sep 1, 1927•1 citation

On Life and Concentration of Metastable Atoms and the Quenching of Mercury Resonance Radiation

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A complete and general study of the dependence of life and concentration of metastable mercury atoms, optically excited, on experimental conditions, on foreign gas-pressures, and on intensity of illumination is given. This study explains why the life can not be larger than ${10}^{\ensuremath{-}2}$ second under laboratory conditions and why foreign gases act so differently in regard to the accumulation of excited atoms. The theoretical results are in good agreement with all experimental data available. An improved and more general formula for the quenching of mercury resonance radiation is obtained. The efficiencies of collisions of the second kind of metastable mercury atoms with ${\mathrm{N}}_{2}$, A, and He molecules are calculated numerically. It is shown that the concentration of metastable atoms increases only with the square root of the intensity of the exciting light and not with the exciting light itself as generally assumed.

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Forward scattering of resonance radiation by mercury vapour in a magnetic field

Alan V. Durrant, B Landheer

The forward scattering of resonance radiation (2537 AA) from a 198-mercury lamp by 198-mercury vapour has been investigated as a function of magnetic field. The experiments have revealed two regions of interest; (i) in weak magnetic fields, certain features in the intensity against field (level crossing) curves shift to lower field strengths as the optical density is increased (coherence narrowing), (ii) in stronger magnetic fields, features shift to higher field values with increasing optical density. Over the range of densities investigated there is good agreement between theory and experiment.

Journal of Physics B Atomic and Molecular Physics•Sep 1, 1971•15 citations
The quenching and depolarization of mercury resonance radiation by nitrogen and oxygen in the presence of a weak magnetic field are studied. These effects are proportional to gas pressure. The proportionality constants for each gas are determined. Results of tests on two samples of each gas are given, with generally good agreement between separate tests. Quenching and depolarizing cross sections are computed from the finally selected constants.The measurements here considered indicate that adiabatic depolarization, a phenomenon tentatively postulated in the theory, is not present in the case of nitrogen and oxygen.
A semi-classical theory describing the quenching and depolarization of resonance radiation by collisions with foreign gas molecules is presented. The total depolarizing probability is divided into two parts to allow for adiabatic and nonadiabatic depolarization. The equations for polarization are generalized in order to apply to the case in which the observed polarization results from several lines belonging to a hyperfine group. The effect of a magnetic field applied along the direction of observation is also included in the treatment. Experimental results on the polarization of the $\ensuremath{\lambda}2537\mathrm{A}$ mercury line as a function of gas pressure and as a function of magnetic field at various fixed gas pressures show good agreement with the theory. Cross sections for quenching and depolarization have been calculated for the gases investigated and are presented in Table VI.
The quenching and depolarization of mercury resonance radiation (2537 Å), induced in collisions of Hg(63P1) atoms with various molecules has been investigated using the method of delayed coincidences. The following total quenching cross sections have been obtained for the process Hg(63P1) → Hg(63P0, 61S0): Hg–H2, 24.6 Å2; Hg–D2, 22.7 Å2; Hg–CO, 21.7 Å2; Hg–CO2, 10.2 Å2; Hg–O2, 60.5 Å2; Hg–14N2, 0.73 Å2; Hg–15N2, 0.78 Å2; and Hg–Xe, < 0.002 Å2. A cross section of 267 Å2 has been measured for the depolarization of the resonance radiation by collisions with CO2 molecules.
When a mercury atom in the resonance 63P16^{3}P_{1}63P1​ state collides with a nitrogen molecule, it may be transferred to the metastable 63P06^{3}P_{0}63P0​ state. The cross section for this reaction has been measured by a new method. Mercury vapor, in the presence of a known pressure of nitrogen gas, is excited by 2537A radiation. After the source of the excitation is cut off, the decay time of the imprisoned radiation is observed. The quenching collision cross section ${\ensuremath{\sigma}}_{Q}$ is calculated from the measured decay time and the known value of the imprisonment time in the absence of the quenching gas. Measurements have been taken over the temperature range 325-525\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}K; ${\ensuremath{\sigma}}_{Q}$ is found to increase from 5.0\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}${10}^{\ensuremath{-}17}$ cm2{\mathrm{cm}}^{2}cm2 at the lower temperature to 1.0\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}${10}^{\ensuremath{-}16}$ cm2{\mathrm{cm}}^{2}cm2 at the upper temperature.
Depolarization and quenching of mercury resonance radiation are phenomena of quite different type. Depolarization is produced by two effects. With gases which quench by effecting the transition $^{3}P_{1}\ensuremath{\rightarrow}^{3}P_{0}$ upon collision with Hg\ensuremath{'} atoms, there exists a pronounced reverse transition $^{3}P_{0}\ensuremath{\rightarrow}^{3}P_{1}$ produced by collision with high speed molecules. Atoms which radiate without any collision emit polarized light under the conditions of the experiment. Those which become 3P1^{3}P_{1}3P1​ atoms after having existed as 3P0^{3}P_{0}3P0​ atoms have experienced a large number of collisions and have lost their orientation relative to the incident electric vector; accordingly they emit radiation polarized in random directions. The second depolarizing influence arises in collisions at distances exceeding the ordinary kinetic theory collision such as is described above, at which the distance is too great for a collision of the first or second type, but still small enough for the field of the gas atom to exert a perturbing influence on the orientation of the Hg\ensuremath{'} atom. Depolarization by H2{\mathrm{H}}_{2}H2​ is an excellent example of the second influence while the first effect is sufficient to interpret the experimental data with the rare gases, the atomic fields of which decrease with a high power of the radial distance.
A complete and general study of the dependence of life and concentration of metastable mercury atoms, optically excited, on experimental conditions, on foreign gas-pressures, and on intensity of illumination is given. This study explains why the life can not be larger than ${10}^{\ensuremath{-}2}$ second under laboratory conditions and why foreign gases act so differently in regard to the accumulation of excited atoms. The theoretical results are in good agreement with all experimental data available. An improved and more general formula for the quenching of mercury resonance radiation is obtained. The efficiencies of collisions of the second kind of metastable mercury atoms with N2{\mathrm{N}}_{2}N2​, A, and He molecules are calculated numerically. It is shown that the concentration of metastable atoms increases only with the square root of the intensity of the exciting light and not with the exciting light itself as generally assumed.
The forward scattering of resonance radiation (2537 AA) from a 198-mercury lamp by 198-mercury vapour has been investigated as a function of magnetic field. The experiments have revealed two regions of interest; (i) in weak magnetic fields, certain features in the intensity against field (level crossing) curves shift to lower field strengths as the optical density is increased (coherence narrowing), (ii) in stronger magnetic fields, features shift to higher field values with increasing optical density. Over the range of densities investigated there is good agreement between theory and experiment.