FINE-STRUCTURE TRANSITIONS IN METASTABLE NE-ASTERISK(P-3(0,2)) COLLIDING WITH GROUND-STATE RARE-GASES AT THERMAL ENERGIES

The emission of XUV photons from collision-induced fine-structure transitions Ne*(P-3(0,2)) +R-->Ne*(P-1,3(1))+R-->Ne(S-1)+R+hv(74 nm) has been measured for R=He, Ne, Ar, and Kr(S-1) in a beam-cell experiment. The metastable Ne* velocity ranges from 550 to 1600 m/s. No emission was found for Ne*(P-3(0))+R. An appropriate detector system enables the determination of absolute P-3(2) --> P-3(1) transition cross sections. The results of Ne*(P-3(2))+He and Ne are compared with theoretical calculations.