Polarization of calcium atomic fluorescence due to a coherence effect in the photodissociation of Ca2 molecules

Abstract
A strong degree of polarization (64 %) has been observed in the fluorescence from calcium atoms excited by the photodissociation of Ca2 molecules in their ground state. This large value, at variance with the predictions by Van Brunt and Zare, is explained by taking into account a coherence effect between the sublevels of the excited state