Contribution of hexadecapole alignment to the polarization of quadrupole emission under laser excitation conditions

The linear polarization of quadrupole emission by the J = 2 - J(0) = 0 transition under conditions of laser excitation in a gas medium is studied. Cases of excitation through dipole and quadrupole absorption of monochromatic laser radiation are considered. Taking into account the anisotropy of collisional relaxation, the contributions of polarization moments of the second and fourth ranks, i.e., those with usual and hexadecapole alignments, to the signal of linear polarization of quadrupole emission are calculated. The dependence of this signal on the laser frequency, the density of the gas medium, and the angles determining the orientation of the system of axes of observation of light polarization relative to a laser ray is studied. The numerical calculations of contributions of usual and hexadecapole alignment to the signal of linear polarization are made for the magnetic quadrupole transition J = 2 - J(0) = 0 between the states 2p(5)(P-2(1/2)0)3p 3p'[3/2](2) and 2p(5)(P-2(1/2)0)3s 3s'[1/2](0) of neon atoms in the xenon atmosphere. (C) 2000 MAIK "Nauka/Interperiodica".