Collisional excitation of atomic D states

The description of alignment and orientation for collisional excitation of atomic states by electron and heavy-particle impact, including electron transfer processes, is reviewed. For D states, a new parametrization of the excited atomic ensemble is proposed, and the density matrices describing the excited target state and the light emitted in a subsequent optical decay are expressed in terms of the new parameter set. Recipes for performing complete experiments through scattered-particle - multiple-photon coincidence set-ups are discussed. Because of the difficulties associated with such experiments, attention is also given to the generally incomplete case of scattered-particle - one-photon coincidence arrangements. For D-state excitation, it is demonstrated how the new set of parameters allows for a systematic description of the collision process, and provides opportunities for consistency checks.