Collisional quenching of the 1P1 level of the Ne atom in pure Ne and in mixtures with Ar, Kr, and Xe

Collisional deactivation of the ¹P₁ resonant state of the Ne atom in pure Ne and in mixtures with Ar, Kr, and Xe has been studied by absorption probing. The following properties were measured: the rate constant for the formation of the Ne^*₂ excimer in Ne^* (¹P₁) collisions with two neon atoms, k = (5.5 ± 0.6) · 10^–34 cm⁶/s; the total rate constant for Penning and associative ionization of argon, k_pAr = (2.7 ± 0.5) · 10^–9 cm³/s; the same for krypton, k_pKr = (2.6 ± 0.5) · 10^–9 cm³/s; and the same for xenon, k_pXe =(3.4 ± 0.6) · 10^–9 cm³/s. An upper estimate is found for the rate constant for intramolecular relaxation of the ¹P₁ state to other 3s states in collisions with neon: k_pNe ≤ (2.2 ± 0.2) · 10^–15 cm³/s.