Interaction Potentials of Hg-Ar from Temperature Dependent Absorption Spectra

Abstract
The temperature dependence of the absorption spectrum k(v̄) of Hg-Ar-mixtures in the range 30-1000 cm-1 about the center of the Hg-line at v̄0 = 39425 cm-10 = 2536.5 Å) has been investigated in the temperature interval 473 -1273 K. The measurements were carried out at number densities 1.0 x 1017-9.1 X 1018 cm-3 for Hg and 9.4 x 1018-9.7 x 1018 cm-3 for Ar. Potentials for the Hg-Ar-system in the thermal energy range originating from the Hg-states 61S0 and 63P1 have been deduced from the data. It turned out that they differ considerably from Lennard-Jones-functions. By comparison of the observed spectra with calculations on the basis of quantummechanical theory of collisional line broadening it is concluded that transitions from free translational states of Hg-Ar-pairs as well as bound and quasi-bound vibrational states of the Hg-Ar-molecule contribute to the formation of the satellite structure on the short wavelength side of the Hg-line.