Charge Transfer as a Possible Laser Pumping Mechanism

Charge transfer between positive ions and neutral particles will, in general, give rise to products in a variety of states. Recent measurements have shown, however, that in certain circumstances particular excited states of either the neutral or charged product are highly favored. In this paper, a short discussion of charge transfer as it relates to the formation of excited products is given. As a specific example of population inversion, the reaction H+ + Cs → H(n ≥ 2) + Cs+ is discussed, and some of the possible implications of charge transfer pumping are considered.