Excitation of helium, nitrogen and nitric oxide by fast protons and hydrogen atoms

Excitation of helium, nitrogen and nitric oxide by 60-400 kev protons and fast hydrogen atoms has been studied by the spectroscopic analysis of radiation emitted in the spectral range 3900-6000 Å during the spontaneous decay of excited products of single collisions. Absolute cross sections for the emission of some of the more intense lines have been determined and, in the case of helium, excitation functions for the 4 1 S, 5 1 S, 4 1 D and 5 1 D levels have been obtained by the use of known transition probabilities.