Satellites Induced by Foreign-Gas Perturbation of the Lennard-Jones Type

Abstract

The paper presents a calculation of the intensity of a spectral line emitted under perturbation by foreign atoms, its purpose being to provide a better understanding of the formation of satellites which often flank resonance lines. As a typical perturbation, a Lennard-Jones interaction with suitable parameters is assumed for both electronic states involved in the transition. A numerical evaluation of integrals is required in this case, and the work is carried out in the limit of the statistical theory. A satellite appears on the red side of the main line up to a perturber density depending on the parameters in the potential, in our case up to 1021 cm−3. The satellite is located in the vicinity of the frequency ωg = ΔEm / ℏ, where ΔEm is the differential energy shift at its minimum. Details of shape and shift depend on the perturber density. Temperature does not appear in this analysis because of its restriction to the statistical theory.