Physical Review A
Energy pooling in Na 3p−Na 3p collisions
Vikram S. Kushawaha, Jacob J. Leventhal
Abstract
The formation of Na ($\mathrm{nl}$) and $\mathrm{Na}_{2}^{}{}_{}{}^{+}$ in sodium vapor (\ensuremath{\sim}${10}^{13}$ ${\mathrm{cm}}^{\ensuremath{-}3}$) irradiated by a single-frequency (20-MHz bandwidth) cw dye laser tuned to one of the $D$ lines has been studied. The dependence of product signal on laser power density suggests that Na $3p$-Na $3p$ energy pooling collisions are responsible for these species. Rate constants for specific reaction channels and temperature dependences of rate constants are also reported.