Mercury P13–1S Transition in Solid Rare Gases

Abstract

It is shown that the gross shifts in the spectrum of the Hg ${}^3{P}_1{\mathrm{\hspace{0.17em}\leftarrow \hspace{0.17em}}}^1{S}_0$ transition of Hg in solid‐rare gases can be correlated by considering the difference in the interaction potential between the lattice and the Hg atom in the ${}^3{P}_1$ and ${}^1{S}_0$ states, providing the distortion of the lattice caused by the Hg atom is taken into account. In Ar, Kr, and Xe the spectrum can consist of three separate components. It is quantitatively shown that one of the components arises from relatively isolated Hg atoms while the other two components result from Hg atoms having nearest neighbor Hg atoms.