Time Behavior of Secondary Emission from I₂ Molecules Excited by Nearly-Resonant Light Pulses

Abstract

Time characteristics of the secondary emission from iodine molecules excited with light pulses from a cavity-dumped, single-frequency Ar⁺ ion laser at 514.5 nm have been compared with existing theories. It has been found that the experimental data are well explained quantitatively by the theories, provided the 21 hyperfine lines as well as collisional effects and Doppler broadening are taken into account. The cross sections for the phase-changing and population-changing collisions have also been determined. The contributions of coherent and incoherent secondary emission processes are discussed.