Mechanisms of Excitation of Luminescence in Nitrogen Gas by Fast Electrons

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Abstract
The light emission from nitrogen excited by an electron beam (50 kV; 0–30 μA) has been studied at pressures between 1 and 770 mm Hg. Impurity emissions (from OH, O, NO, CN) are easily excited; their importance is exaggerated by their relatively low quenching rates. The intensities of the strong N2 emissions—N2+ first negative and N2 second positive—are (usually) proportional to current; collisional quenching of these systems has been studied, in the latter case, as a function of v′. These and other data are used to derive G values for the production of excited states of N2 and the impurities. The intensities of the weaker emissions from N2 and of the impurity bands are not proportional to current. The excitation mechanisms are discussed in the light of estimates of the equilibrium concentrations of ions, atoms, and other active species.