Abstract
The study of Hg* (6 3P1)-rare gas collisions in a 200 kG range of magnetic field is reported. The results show that the collisional transfer rates between the m = 0 and the m = ± 1 Zeeman sublevels of an even isotope of mercury exhibit a strikingly different dependence on the field strength according to the noble gas species. A very qualitative attempt at interpretation is given using the results of a previous theoretical model which predicts a strong anisotropy of the relaxation process when the vapour is submitted to such magnetic fields