The collisional quenching of electronically excited arsenic atoms As(4 2 D J ) and As(4 2 P J ), studied by time‐resolved attenuation of atomic resonance radiation

A kinetic investigation of electronically excited arsenic atoms in the low‐lying states, As(4 p 3 2 D J ) and As(4 p 3 2 P J ), ca. 1.33 and 2.28 eV, respectively, above the 4 4 S 3/2 ground state, has been carried out by atomic absorption spectroscopy. Atoms in these optically metastable states were generated by the pulsed irradiation of suitable arsenic compounds (AsMe 3 for 2 D and AsCl 3 for 2 P ) in different spectral regions and monitored photoelectrically by time‐resolved attenuation of atomic resonance radiation. Rate constants for the deactivation of these two states are reported for a range of collision partners. The data are compared with those of the analogous states of lighter atoms in group V, namely, P (3 2 D J , 3 2 P J ) and N (2 2 D J , 2 2 P J ), and discussed in terms of spin and orbital symmetry considerations.