Electronic energy transfer between metastable argon atoms and ground-state oxygen atoms

The transfer of electronic energy between metastable argon and ground-state oxygen atoms has been studied in a discharge-flow apparatus. The excitation energy of the argon metastables is transferred to the 3p ³P state of atomic oxygen with a cross section of 3 A². The energy transfer is discussed in terms of an ionic-intermediate, curve-crossing mechanism for which the calculated cross section is 13 A².