On the Mechanism of Magnetic Quenching of Fluorescence in Gaseous State

Abstract

Abstract The pressure dependence of fluorescence quenching of gaseous glyoxal has been measured in the presence of a magnetic field of 1–8 kG. Below 5 kG both the collision free lifetime and the collisional quenching constant were found to be dependent upon magnetic field strength. Above 5 kG the Collisional quenching constant turned out to be nearly equal to the value without magnetic field and the collision free lifetime took a constant value larger than that without magnetic field. The magnetic enhancement of the intramolecular radiationless transition of gaseous molecules has been studied theoretically. The phenomenon is shown to be explained by considering two mechanisms, mechanisms I and II. Mechanism I is due to the interaction of a primary state with secondary states through the Zeeman hamiltonian. Mechanism II is due to the shift and broadening of appropriate rovibronic levels by the Zeeman effect.