Optical excitation of carbon dioxide by bombardment with ions of tri-atomic hydrogen at an energy of one million electron-volts

Abstract

Targets of CO₂ in a differentially-pumped chamber at a pressure of 40 mTorr were bombarded by particles of H₃⁺ at energy of 1 MeV. The optical spectrum created in the collisions was analyzed with a 1-meter, air Czerny-Turner spectrometer. The spectrum excited in the collisions is dominated by molecular bands in the wavelength range from 300 nm to 900 nm. However, one also sees weak atomic lines from C I, C II, O I and O II. The excitation process gives rise to relatively weak atomic spectra in the visible region compared to similar studies of O₂. This paper reports on the carbon dioxide spectra and compares the relative intensities and the line widths of various features with similar studies of oxygen.