Pressure broadening of the Hanle effect in a neon discharge

Abstract

Investigates the levels of the 2p53p configuration of neon by studying the polarization of the light emitted by a dc neon discharge. The pressure broadening of the Hanle signals was studied and cross sections were obtained for the destruction of alignment for collisions with both helium and neon ground state atoms. The measurements have been made at 315 K and 85 K. The cross sections for the 2p2 and 2p6 levels (Paschen notation) change considerably with temperature, while the cross sections for other levels are almost independent of temperature.