POLARIZATION STUDIES OF LYMAN-ALPHA RADIATION EMITTED IN ATOM-H-2-MOLECULE COLLISIONS


DOWEK D., TEPEHAN G., MADEHEIM H., HIPPLER R.

ZEITSCHRIFT FUR PHYSIK D-ATOMS MOLECULES AND CLUSTERS, cilt.22, sa.4, ss.735-740, 1992 (SCI-Expanded) identifier identifier

Özet

A polarization study of Lyman-alpha radiation emitted in collisions of H+, H, He+, and He projectiles with H-2 molecules has been performed at projectile energies ranging from 1-25 keV. In H+ - H-2 and H - H-2 collisions, the measured linear polarization is negative at low incident velocities, indicating a preferred alignment of the excited electron charge cloud perpendicular to the incident projectile direction. This is taken as significance for a rotational coupling which in these two collision systems predominantly populates the H(2p +/- 1) substates. In He+ - H-2 and He - H-2 collisions, the measured linear polarization is about zero and independent of the projectile energy. In these more asymmetric systems, a' - a' and a' - a" couplings are now of comparable magnitude.