Elastic scattering of slow electronically excited mercury atoms from neon and alkali-metal atoms: the interatomic potentials

A modulated crossed-beam technique has been used to study the thermal-energy elastic scattering of electronically excited mercury in the 6 3 P 2 state from Ne, Na, K and Rb. Relative differential elastic cross sections have been measured and interpreted to yield interatomic potentials. In the alkali-metal/Hg* systems, two models based on spherical potentials were in excellent agreement with observation. In contrast, the Ne/Hg* system could not be fitted by any plausible single potential and three potentials having epsilon =8+or-4, 14+or-4 and 22+or-2*10 -14 erg tentatively identified as Omega =0, 1 and 2 states, respectively, were required.