OPTICAL PUMPING OF 3P2-ARGON AND 3P2-XENON ATOMS

The conventional method of optical pumping has been extended to argon and xenon atoms in the 3P2 metastable state. The cross section for collisional depolarization of argon with ground state helium atoms is 9 ± 3 × 10-16 cm2 and with ground state neon atoms is 37 ± 8 × 10-16 cm2. In xenon six resonance lines are observed due to nuclear spin of the odd isotopes. © 1989.