Lyman-α radiation from Cs-H+ and Na-H+ charge transfer processes with a plasma gun

Lyman-α radiation due to near-resonant preferred charge transfer in the systems Cs-H+ and Na-H+ was observed for proton fluxes of up to 3×1021 cm−2 sec−1 and alkali densities of up to 1014 cm−3. These results with a plasma gun provide a significant first step towards vuv lasing with such systems.