Proton Excitation of the Argon Atom

Abstract

Studies of the excitation of argon with 4-MeV protons have been carried out by making use of a vacuum ultraviolet scanning monochromator and a 6-MeV Van de Graaff accelerator. Protons were directed through the gas and then into a Faraday cup in an arrangement in which the relative intensity of emitted light could be studied over a wide range of gas pressure (1 to 1500 Torr). Four continua near 2100, 1900, 1300, and 1100 Å, respectively, as well as escape radiation originating from the 1048 Å resonance line, were studied as a function of pressure.