Department of Physics and Astronomy: Publications and Other Research
Paul Burrow Publications
Document Type
Article
Date of this Version
December 1987
Abstract
Helium atoms excited to an aligned (1s3d) 3D state are produced by electron impact parallel to a magnetic field. The initial alignment of the atomic state evolves into an orientation with finite angular momentum along the magnetic field direction and thus gives rise to a circularly polarized component in the (1s3d) 3D→(1s2p) 3P radiation propagating parallel to the magnetic field. Circular-polarization fractions of a few percent are observed, in general agreement with theory. The measured polarization fraction is found to be pressure dependent, indicating that secondary excitation and cascade processes must be included for a complete description.
Comments
Published by American Physical Society. Phys. Rev. A 36, 5280 (1987). http://pra.aps.org. Copyright © 1987 American Physical Society. Permission to use.