Experimental determination of 6 3P–6 3P collisional excitation cross sections for line emission in the positive column of dc mercury discharges

Abstract

The absolute emission intensities of lines originating from highly excited mercury levels in the positive column of a dc mercury discharge have been determined for various discharge conditions. For the same conditions, the densities in the 6 ³P states have been determined with the hook method. From these experimental data the 6 ³P− 6 ³P collisional excitation cross sections for line emission can be derived for nine transitions. Generally, these cross sections are much smaller than those determined in previous experiments.