Penning Excitation Cross Sections for the Individual Zn(II) States by He 2¹S and He 2³S Metastable Atoms

Abstract

The relative Penning excitation rates for the individual Zn(II) states by He 2¹S atoms and those by He 2³S atoms were measured separately using Penning electron spectroscopy. The absolute Penning excitation cross sections σ_s(M) and σ_t(M) corresponding to them were determined by using the known total Penning excitation cross section of Zn atoms by He 2³S atoms and the Penning electron energy spectra for the He–Ar system. The values of σ_s(M) and σ_t(M) are as follows: in units of 10⁻¹⁵ cm², σ_s(4s ²S_1⁄2)=3.5(1±0.3); σ_t(4s ¹S_1⁄2)=2.2(1±0.1); σ_s(4p ²P)=0.93(1±0.35); σ_t(4p ²P)=0.24(1±0.25); σ_s(4s^{2 2}D_5⁄2)=σ_s(4s^{2 2}D_3⁄2)=0.56(1±0.4); σ_t(4s^{2 2}D_5⁄2)=σ_t(4s^{2 2}D_3⁄2)=0.24(1±0.25).