Measurement of low-energy total absolute atomic collision cross sections with the metastable 3P2 state of neon using a magneto-optical trap

Abstract

We present total absolute collision cross sections for neon in the 3 P 2 metastable state with ground state, thermal atoms and molecules using a recently developed experimental technique. The technique utilizes a magneto-optical trap ��MOT�� and involves the measurement of MOT population dynamics to determine the cross section. Collision cross section measurements are presented for metastable neon in the 3 P 2 state with He, Ne, Ar, H2, O2, and N2. The average thermal energy of the collision ranges from 11 to 27 meV. The measurements made using this technique have small errors, of the order of 10% of the measured cross section; the technique is capable of producing benchmark collision cross sections.