Relaxationszeiten für die Umorientierung von Quecksilberatomen im metastabilen 6³ P ₂-Zustand durch Stöße

Abstract

From the linewidth of the radiofrequency resonance between the Zeeman levels of the 6³ P ₂ state the lifetimeT _m of the metastable Hg atoms in a certain magnetic sublevel was derived as a function of the Hg vapour pressure. The lifetime of the metastable stateT(6³ P ₂) was determined under the same experimental conditions by optical absorption measurements. In the pressure range from 2·10⁻³ to 2.4·10⁻² mm HgT(6³ P ₂) was longer thanT _m by one to two orders of magnitude. This result means thatT _m is only dependent on disorienting collisions and is practically not affected by the collisional destruction of the metastable state. ThusT _m is the relaxation time for the disorientation of the metastable atoms by collisions. The pressure dependence of the relaxation time indicates that the disorientation is achieved by two-body collisions with ground state Hg atoms. The disorientation cross section was found to be (2.1±0.2)·10⁻¹⁴ cm².