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Physical Review A

Helium 3S3 decay rates in a high-pressure afterglow

James E. Lawler, J. W. Parker, L. W. Anderson, W. A. Fitzsimmons

Published Jan 1, 1979• 8 citations
Publisher

Abstract

We report a total collisional quenching rate of (6.4\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.3)\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}${10}^{\ensuremath{-}12}$ ${\mathrm{cm}}^{3}$ ${\mathrm{sec}}^{\ensuremath{-}1}$ at 292\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}K (or a thermally averaged cross section of 0.36\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}${10}^{\ensuremath{-}16}$ ${\mathrm{cm}}^{2}$) for He $3^{3}S$ atoms colliding with ground-state He atoms. This rate is determined by using a pulsed dye laser to populate the $3^{3}S$ level in a He aftergow and then observing the decay of the $3^{3}S\ensuremath{\rightarrow}2^{3}P$ fluorescence. We see no evidence for three-body collisional quenching of $3^{3}S$ atoms at pressures up to 300 Torr.

DOI
10.1103/physreva.19.156

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Experimental Evidence for the Absence of Quenching of Sodium Resonance Radiation by Inert Gases

G. H. Copley, B P Kibble, L. Krause

An upper limit of ${10}^{\ensuremath{-}2}$ ${\mathrm{\AA{}}}^{2}$ is obtained for the quenching cross section of sodium resonance fluorescence when the excited sodium atoms are in collision with inert-gas atoms in their ground state. Excitation of sodium vapor at a pressure of 5\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}${10}^{\ensuremath{-}7}$ Torr is followed by observation of the decay of the fluorescence using the method of delayed coincidences. The decay time of the fluorescence is unaffected by the presence of the inert gases He, Ne, A, Kr, and Xe at pressures up to 800 Torr, and at temperatures of 130 and 210\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}C.

Physical Review•Nov 5, 1967•36 citations
We report a total collisional quenching rate of (6.4\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.3)\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}10\ensuremath−12{10}^{\ensuremath{-}12}10\ensuremath−12 cm3{\mathrm{cm}}^{3}cm3 sec\ensuremath−1{\mathrm{sec}}^{\ensuremath{-}1}sec\ensuremath−1 at 292\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}K (or a thermally averaged cross section of 0.36\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}10\ensuremath−16{10}^{\ensuremath{-}16}10\ensuremath−16 cm2{\mathrm{cm}}^{2}cm2) for He 33S3^{3}S33S atoms colliding with ground-state He atoms. This rate is determined by using a pulsed dye laser to populate the 33S3^{3}S33S level in a He aftergow and then observing the decay of the 33S\ensuremath→23P3^{3}S\ensuremath{\rightarrow}2^{3}P33S\ensuremath→23P fluorescence. We see no evidence for three-body collisional quenching of 33S3^{3}S33S atoms at pressures up to 300 Torr.
The destruction rates of the xenon $6{s}^{\ensuremath{'}}{[\frac{1}{2}]}_{0}$ metastable and $6{s}^{\ensuremath{'}}{[\frac{1}{2}]}_{1}$ resonance atoms by collisions with ground-state xenon atoms have been measured by studying the temporal dependence of the number densities of the $6{s}^{\ensuremath{'}}$ and 6p6p6p atoms. The studies have been made both during the earlier afterglow of a xenon pulsed discharge and after the selective production of the $6{s}^{\ensuremath{'}}{[\frac{1}{2}]}_{0,1}$ atoms by a laser excitation in the late afterglow. An original optical pumping technique, using a tunable pulsed dye laser, was employed to populate the $6{s}^{\ensuremath{'}}{[\frac{1}{2}]}_{0,1}$ levels by excitation of the 6s[32]26s{[\frac{3}{2}]}_{2}6s[23​]2​ long-lived metastable atoms to $6{p}^{\ensuremath{'}}$ levels. The pressure dependence of the decay frequencies of these $6{s}^{\ensuremath{'}}{[\frac{1}{2}]}_{0,1}$ atoms was analyzed in the xenon pressure range of 0.04 to 1 torr and a kinetic model describing the evolution of the densities of these atoms after their production was established. The rate coefficients for the relaxation of the $6{s}^{\ensuremath{'}}{[\frac{1}{2}]}_{0}$ metastable and $6{s}^{\ensuremath{'}}{[\frac{1}{2}]}_{1}$ resonance atoms by two-body collisions involving a ground-state xenon atom are (8.45\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.85) \ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{} ${10}^{\ensuremath{-}12}$ cm3{\mathrm{cm}}^{3}cm3 ${\mathrm{sec}}^{\ensuremath{-}1}$ and (6.65 \ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{} 1.00) \ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{} ${10}^{\ensuremath{-}11}$ cm3{\mathrm{cm}}^{3}cm3 ${\mathrm{sec}}^{\ensuremath{-}1}$, respectively. Results show that, in fact, at least 75% of this relaxation is a transfer of population to the 6p[12]16p{[\frac{1}{2}]}_{1}6p[21​]1​ level following ${\mathrm{Xe}}^{*}(6{s}^{\ensuremath{'}}{[\frac{1}{2}]}_{0,1})+\mathrm{Xe}\ensuremath{\rightleftarrows}{\mathrm{Xe}}^{*}(6p{[\frac{1}{2}]}_{1})+\mathrm{Xe}\ensuremath{-}\ensuremath{\Delta}E$. These collisional transfer processes have been explained by means of Mulliken's xenon molecular potential curves.
Measurements of the mixing rates and cross sections for collisional excitation transfer between the 5P 1/2 and 5P 3/2 states of rubidium (Rb) in the presence of 4 He buffer gas are presented. Selected pulses from a high repetition rate, mode-locked femtosecond laser are used to excite either Rb state with the fluorescence due to collisional excitation transfer observed by time-correlated single-photon counting. The time dependence of this fluorescence is fitted to the solution of rate equations which include the mixing rate, atomic lifetimes and any quenching processes. The variation in the mixing rate over a large range of buffer gas densities allows the determination of both the binary collisional transfer cross section and a three-body collisional transfer rate. We do not observe any collisional quenching effects at 4 He pressures up to 6 atm and discuss in detail other systematic effects considered in the experiment.
The extremely forbidden transition $2^{3}S_{1}\ensuremath{\rightarrow}^{1}S_{0}$ at 625.56 \AA{} has been observed in a He afterglow using time-resolved high-resolution spectrophotometric techniques. The spontaneous radiative transition rate was determined by measuring the photon emission rate from a known number of metastables at pressures of 0.05, 0.30, and 0.75 Torr. The value measured is 2.4\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{} ${10}^{\ensuremath{-}4}$ ${\mathrm{sec}}^{\ensuremath{-}1}$ with an experimental uncertainty of a factor of 3.
The cross section for the transfer of excitation from the 23P02^{3}P_{0}23P0​ level of helium to the 23P12^{3}P_{1}23P1​ and 23P22^{3}P_{2}23P2​ levels as a result of collisions with the ground-state helium atom (11S01^{1}S_{0}11S0​) has been measured with a conventional resonance-fluorescence technique. A He4{\mathrm{He}}^{4}He4 source excited the $2^{3}S_{1}\ensuremath{-}2^{3}P_{0}$ transition in a He3{\mathrm{He}}^{3}He3 absorption cell. The scattered light was examined with a high-resolution grating spectrometer and the ratio of the $2^{3}P_{0}\ensuremath{\rightarrow}2^{3}S_{1}$ to the $2^{3}P_{1,2}\ensuremath{\rightarrow}2^{3}S_{1}$ intensities was measured as a function of cell pressure from 0.05 to 10 Torr. The cross section for collision-induced transitions out of the 23P02^{3}P_{0}23P0​ level is found to be (68\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}3) \ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{} ${10}^{\ensuremath{-}16}$ cm2{\mathrm{cm}}^{2}cm2 at room temperature.
An upper limit of ${10}^{\ensuremath{-}2}$ A˚2{\mathrm{\AA{}}}^{2}A˚2 is obtained for the quenching cross section of sodium resonance fluorescence when the excited sodium atoms are in collision with inert-gas atoms in their ground state. Excitation of sodium vapor at a pressure of 5\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}${10}^{\ensuremath{-}7}$ Torr is followed by observation of the decay of the fluorescence using the method of delayed coincidences. The decay time of the fluorescence is unaffected by the presence of the inert gases He, Ne, A, Kr, and Xe at pressures up to 800 Torr, and at temperatures of 130 and 210\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}C.