HYPERFINE-STRUCTURE TRANSFER, FINE-STRUCTURE TRANSFER, AND QUENCHING OF CD-113 ATOMS IN THE 5S5P 3P1 STATE BY COLLISIONS WITH MOLECULAR GASES

Collisions of excited Cd-113(5 3P1) atoms with various molecular gases (N2, H2, D2, CO, CO2, CH4, C2H6, C2H4, O2) have been investigated using atomic fluorescence spectroscopy. By selective excitation of a hyperfine structure level with a pulsed dye laser and studying the time dependence of the fluorescence signals as a function of the buffer gas density the cross sections for quenching, fine structure transfer, and hyperfine structure transfer could be obtained. For N2 molecules the collisions can be described by a decoupling model as has been shown previously for the noble gases as collision partners.