The violet emissions produced by laser excitation of Na vapor in the 570–595 nm region

We have observed atomic Na and molecular Na₂ emissions in the violet region when Na vapor in a heatpipe (～10³—10¹⁶ atoms/cm³) is irradiated with a pulsed dye laser with output wavelength in the 570–597 nm region. The Na atomic emissions probably result from recombination of Na⁺ + e^- and energy-pooling involving highly excited atoms and molecules, while the diffuse violet emission bands are probably produced through collisions among excited Na atoms and Na₂ molecules.