Separation of two atomic species by white-light-induced drift

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Abstract
A source of white light (i.e., with a flat spectrum) can separate the components of a gas mixture. This effect, which may have applications in stellar atmospheres, is due to light-induced drift which appears when absorption lines form in the intensity spectrum of the propagating light. We theoretically discuss the effect in its simplest form: white light shining into a gas containing two optically absorbing species and a buffer gas. Transport equations are presented, assuming two-level atoms and ignoring stimulated emission. Several limiting cases are discussed analytically. A numerical solution is also presented and used to estimate the ranges of validity of the analytical solutions.