| Issue |
A&A
Volume 545, September 2012
|
|
|---|---|---|
| Article Number | A11 | |
| Number of page(s) | 2 | |
| Section | Atomic, molecular, and nuclear data | |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/201219730 | |
| Published online | 28 August 2012 | |
Research Note
Tensorial depolarization of alkali atoms by isotropic collisions with neutral hydrogen
1 Institut d’Astrophysique Spatiale, CNRS-Université Paris-Sud 11, 91405 Orsay Cedex, France
e-mail: moncef.derouich@ias.u-psud.fr
2 Sousse University, LabEM (LR11ES34), ESSTHS, Lamine Abbassi street, 4011 H. Sousse, Tunisia
e-mail: moncef.derouich@essths.rnu.tn
Received: 1 June 2012
Accepted: 23 July 2012
We consider the problem of isotropic collisions between an alkali atom and neutral hydrogen. We calculate the collisional tensorial components of general p and s-states, characterized by their effective principal quantum number n∗. We find that the behaviour of the tensorial components obey simple power laws allowing quick calculations of the depolarizing collisional rates. As a possible application, our results should allow a rigorous treatment of the atomic polarization profiles of the D1−D2 lines of alkali atoms. Finally, we notice that important problems remain unresolved, such as the role of collisions in the Paschen-Back conditions.
Key words: scattering / polarization / atomic processes / Sun: atmosphere / line: formation
© ESO, 2012
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