Cross sections for inelastic transfer between the 82D3/2 and 82D5/2 fine-structure states in rubidium, induced in resonant collisions with ground-state Rb atoms, have been determined using an experimental method involving two-photon excitation of atomic fluorescence. Rubidium vapor in a fluorescence cell was irradiated with pulses of 641 nm radiation from a N2 laser-pumped dye-laser tuned to excite one of the 82D states. The resulting fluorescence included the direct component originating from the optically excited state and a sensitized component arising from the other fine-structure state populated by collisions. Relative intensities of the fluorescent components, determined by photon-counting techniques, yielded the cross sections for excitation transfer: Q(2D3/2 → 2D5/2) = 8.1 × 10−13 cm2; Q(2D3/2 ← 2D5/2) = 5.5 × 1013 cm2; as well as [Formula: see text], the effective quenching cross section. The excitation transfer cross sections which are considered accurate to within ±20% are in the ratio predicted by the principle of detailed balancing.
52P1/2 ↔ 52P3/2 mixing and 52S1/2 ← 52P1/2, 2P3/2 quenching in rubidium, induced in collisions with ground state H2, HD, D2, N2, CH4, CD4, C2H4, and C2H6 molecules, have been investigated using methods of sensitized fluorescence. The rubidium vapor mixed with each of the gases was excited in turn by each component of the rubidium resonance doublet, and the resulting fluorescence, emitted at right angles to the direction of the exciting light, was resolved into the two fine-structure components whose intensity ratios were measured in relation to the gas pressure using photon counting techniques. The measurements yielded the following cross sections for the mixing and quenching collisions.For H2: Q12(2P1/2 → 2P3/2) = 11 Å2, Q21(2P1/2 ← 2P3/2) = 15 Å2, Q10(2S1/2 ← 2P1/2) = 6 Å2, Q20(2S1/2 ← 2P3/2) = 3 Å2.[Formula: see text]The mixing cross sections agree with theoretical values within an order of magnitude.
The cross sections for excitation transfer between the 62P fine-structure substates in rubidium, induced in collisions with noble gas atoms, have been determined in a series of sensitized fluorescence experiments. Mixtures of rubidium vapor and noble gases at pressures varying in the range 0–5 Torr were irradiated with each component of the second 2P rubidium doublet in turn and the following cross sections for 2P mixing were obtained from measurements of sensitised-to-resonance fluorescent intensity ratios. Rb–He: Q12(2P1/2 → 2P3/2) = 29.3 Å2; Q21(2P1/2 ← 2P3/2) = 19.0 Å2. Rb–Ne: Q12 = 10.3 Å2; Q21 = 6.4 Å2. Rb–Ar: Q12 = 24.0 Å2; Q21 = 14.9 Å2. Rb–Kr: Q12 = 23.2 Å2; Q21 = 14.6 Å2. Rb–Xe: Q12 = 43.9 Å2; Q21 = 27.7 Å2 In their dependence on the magnitude of the fine-structure splitting, the values are consistent with previously determined cross sections for mixing in the first and third 2P doublets of alkali atoms.
Cross sections for $7^{2}D_{\frac{3}{2}}\ensuremath{\leftrightarrow}7^{2}D_{\frac{5}{2}}$ transfer in Rb, induced in collisions with He, Ne, Ar, and with ground-state Rb atoms, have been determined using methods of atomic fluorescence. Rb vapor, pure or mixed with a noble gas, was irradiated in a glass fluorescence cell with pulses of 660-nm radiation from a
N2-laser-pumped dye laser, populating one of the
2D states by two-photon absorption. The resulting fluorescence included a direct component emitted in the decay of the optically excited state and a sensitized component arising from the collisionally populated state. Relative intensities of the components yielded the cross sections for
72D mixing: $Q(^{2}D_{\frac{3}{2}}\ensuremath{\rightarrow}^{2}D_{\frac{5}{2}})=8.8,6.5,10.4, \mathrm{and} 30$; $Q(^{2}D_{\frac{3}{2}}\ensuremath{\leftarrow}^{2}D_{\frac{5}{2}})=5.8,4.0,6.9, \mathrm{and} 18$, in units of ${10}^{\ensuremath{-}14}$
cm2 for He, Ne, Ar, and Rb, respectively. Cross sections for the effective quenching of the
2D states were also determined.
The temperature dependence of cross sections for 52P1/2 ↔ 52P3/2 excitation transfer in rubidium, induced in collisions with CH4, CH2D2, and CD4 molecules, has been investigated using methods of sensitized fluorescence over a temperature range 300–650 K. The cross sections, which are of the order of 30 Å2 and which exceed similar cross sections for collisions with noble gas atoms by at least two orders of magnitude, exhibit an isotope effect which is ascribed to the phenomenon of electronic-to-rotational energy transfer.