Polarization free measurements of Rayleigh scattering of Lyman α

Abstract

The authors study the scattering of Lyman alpha by hydrogen, nitrogen, argon, krypton and xenon. By using a calculated value for the Rayleigh scattering cross section for hydrogen, values for other gases are deduced. In the case of xenon it is found that the scattering is dominated by the formation of xenon molecules and a value of 17.1 Mbarn for this species is found.