Deactivation and excitation of 0I(6s ⁵S) at above-thermal energies

Abstract

Absolute collisional deactivation and excitation cross sections have been measured for a beam of O (⁵P-⁵S°) incident on N₂. The beam energy was varied from 3.95 to 10.65 keV. Cross sections for charge transfer (electron capture) of 0⁺ in N₂ were also measured in the energy range from 2.4 to 24.3 keV. The variation of light intensity 5436 Å (from the 6s-3p transition of the quintet system of atomic oxygen) emitted from the beam as a function of N₂ target pressure was fitted to a beam of kinetic equation to determine deactivation and excitation cross sections. The cross section for deactivation in N₂ decreases from 6.84 x 10⁻¹⁵ cm² at 3.95 keV to 1.5 x 10⁻¹⁵ cm² at 19.65 keV. The cross section for excitation decreases from 3.3 x 10⁻¹⁹ at 3.95 keV to 2.25 x 10⁻¹⁹ cm² at 19.65 keV.