A New Afterglow Spectrum in Nitrogen

A new nitrogen afterglow spectrum is described in which the Vegard-Kaplan bands, which are emitted by the $A{}_{}{}^3{}_{}{}^{}\Sigma$ metastable molecule, are the most intense components. This afterglow is associated with very weak discharges in tubes which are in a condition to give the auroral afterglow at higher currents. Attention is called to the fact that each of the three distinct nitrogen afterglow spectra is associated with a characteristic discharge spectrum.