Abstract

The broadening of alkali metal atomic resonance transitions following collisional perturbation by rare gases has long been the subject of active investigation. These studies have resulted in the accurate description of potentials governing the interaction between these species. In the last decade strong emission has been observed from electronically excited states of MXe ² correlating with the (n+1)²S atomic level to the lowest molecular state (which correlates with M n²S). Such a Σ−Σ transition, centered at 525 nm, was observed from KXe following the excitation of the K(5²P ← 4²S) transition with a tunable dye laser operating at 404 nm.^3,4 Similar results were obtained following excitation of the ground state KXe molecule with the intense 407 nm line of a krypton ion laser.⁵ Other KXe exciplex emission bands were detected at 412 nm just to the red of the allowed K(5²P → 4²S) transition and at 460 nm close to the forbidden 3²D → 4²S transition.^3,4

© 1983 Optical Society of America