Absolute calibration of arbitrary total cross sections for electron impact excitation of Xe metastable states in the near-threshold region

A comparison of the arbitrary cross sections for electron impact excitation of Xe metastable states obtained by Buckmann et al. (1983) with the afterglow results for quenching rate constants makes the calibration in absolute units of the excitation cross section possible. It is also shown that the resonance capture of the thermal electron by the metastable atom in a temporary negative ion state, followed by a decay to the ground state is an essential mechanism for de-excitation of the rare gas metastables. This quenching channel prevails over the conventional channel with a 1/V energy dependence for the Xe metastable atoms. The relation to a similar model for a decay of excimer molecules, is discussed.