Abstract
The reaction zone of a helium flowing afterglow has been characterized as consisting of nearly thermalized 23S metastables in a bath of ground-state helium atoms. LIF studies show that collision-induced angular momentum scrambling occurs efficiently among the n = 3 states of helium, even to the extent of including a small amount of intersystem crossing. LOG transients have been characterized for the afterglow reaction zone, and it is proposed that these signals are associated with a pressure pulse generated by laser pumping the helium 23S metatables.
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