Two- and three-body quenching of XeF* by Ar and Xe

In this paper we report two- and three-body quenching of the XeF* (B2Σ+1/2) state by Ar and Xe. The rate constants were obtained by analyzing the dependence of (B2Σ+1/2 →X2Σ+1/2) radiation on the partial pressures of Ar, Xe, and F2. The XeF* was produced by a high-energy e-beam. We have determined the two- and three-body quenching rates by Ar to be 8±4×10−13 cm3/sec and 1.5±0.5×10−32 cm6/sec. Xe quenches XeF* with a three-body rate constant of 3±1.5 ×10−31 cm6/sec; the third body was mainly argon.