Collisional energy transfer in gaseous xenon with vacuum ultraviolet laser excitation of the 5d[1/2]1 atomic level

Time-resolved analysis of the luminescence decay of gaseous xenon has been carried out with one-photon excitation of the 5d[1/2]1 atomic level for the first time. The one-photon selective excitation is realized with a coherent vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) light source generated via nonlinear processes in mercury vapor. Dominant three-body recombination of Xe(5d[1/2]1) atoms with a rate constant of 3.2(0.3)×10−31 cm6 s−1 has been found. Resonance radiation from this atomic level undergoes a self-trapping, which results in its dominant fluorescence decay in the IR with t=4.9(0.7) μs. Branching into two relaxation channels is found at low xenon pressure (5–100 mbar)—both avoiding the 6s[3/2]1 first resonance atomic level and terminating by VUV emission. At higher pressure, the relaxation kinetics changes displaying after 500 mbar the well known effect of ‘‘atomic reservoir’’ and radiation from the A1u/0−u molecular state with lifetime of 101(4) ns. The scheme of energy relaxation involving the 5d[1/2]1 atomic level is discussed.