Relaxation of the mercury 6 3P and 6 3P1 states

The relaxation of 6 3P0 mercury atoms excited by a laser pulse was measured for densities ranging from 2×1017 to 8×1018 cm−3. The decay of the 253.7 nm resonance line was also measured for densities ranging from 5×1016 to 1018 cm −3. The decay coefficients were analyzed to yield rate coefficients for three body molecular formation, the 3P1→3P0 collision rate and a collisional quenching rate for the 3P0 state. Small loss rates due to diffusion and radiation were also observed and found to be consistent with theoretical estimates of these quantities.