Laser-induced-fluorescence study of A Na/Na2 free jet. II. State-dependent effective inelastic cross sections for rotational and vibrational relaxation

Laser-induced-fluorescence measurements along the jet axis are used to study the relaxation of Na₂ molecules in a Na/Na₂ expansion. From the fluorescence intensity, the evolution of the occupancies of several vibration—rotation levels of the Na₂ ground state is obtained. The whole relevant region along the jet axis is covered: from the equilibrium region close to the nozzle down to the downstream part of the jet, where the internal-state distribution is non-Boltzmann and “frozen”. The relaxation of Na₂ molecules is analysed using first-order relaxation equations. Vibrational and rotational relaxation are treated separately by means of similar equations but with different inelastic cross sections determining the relaxation rates. The evolution of the vibrational levels can be described by means of a single effective cross section of = 100 Ų; the rotational cross sections are strongly J-state dependent and range from = 250 to 15 Ų, for J = 13-55.