Abstract

In a gaseous mixture, velocity-selective excitation of one component will cause a drift with respect to the other component if the kinetic cross section σ for collisions between the two is state dependent.¹ For narrowband excitation (homogeneous linewidth ≪Doppler width), the drift velocity of the optically active species with respect to a much more abundant buffer gas can be written as.

© 1990 Optical Society of America