HYPERFINE EFFECTS ON POLARIZATION OF LYMAN-ALPHA QUENCH RADIATION

The polarization fraction of radiation from atomic hydrogen prepared in the metastable 2S state and quenched in a small static electric field is calculated in first-order perturbation theory. The calculation includes the electron spin-orbit coupling and the electron-proton spin-coupling interactions. Including the hyperfine effects brings the predicted polarization closer to the observed, but the theoretical results still are slightly outside the experimental error limits. © 1969 The American Physical Society.