Spin-Exchange-Induced Circularly Polarized Molecular Fluorescence

Authors

A. S. Green, University of Nebraska - Lincoln
Gordon A. Gallup, UNLFollow
Mark A. Rosenberry, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow

Date of this Version

3-5-2004

Comments

Published in Physical Review Letters, VOLUME 92, NUMBER 9, March 2004. Copyright 2004 The American Physical Society. Used by permission.

Abstract

We have measured the circular polarization of light emitted from both atomic H and molecular H₂ after bombarding H₂ with longitudinally polarized electrons. For both atomic and molecular fluorescence near threshold we observe a circular polarization as great as 10% of the electron polarization. This represents the first direct observation of spin transfer in electron-molecule collisions.