Absolute metastable atom-atom collision cross section measurements using a magneto-optical trap

We present a new technique to measure absolute total collision cross sections from metastable neon atoms. The technique is based on the observation of the decay rate of trapped atoms as they collide with room temperature atoms. We present the first measurement of this kind using trapped neon atoms in the P-3(2) metastable state colliding with thermal ground state argon. The measured cross section has a value of 556 +/- 26 A(2). (c) 2007 American Institute of Physics.