Polarization of Quench-Induced Lyman-αRadiation

Abstract

The polarization of quench-induced ${\mathrm{L}}_{\alpha }$ radiation is calculated for a metastable hydrogen atom entering an electric field with entry conditions intermediate between adiabatic and impulsive. We find that for most common experimental geometries the adiabatic value for the polarization may be used with less than 10% error.