Abstract
We study the collisionally induced excitation and photon emission of a neutral radiator atom surrounded by a gas of neutral foreign perturbers within the binary-collision approximation. We derive an equation of motion for the reduced density matrix of the radiator and obtain the spectrum of the spontaneously emitted photons including components due to collisionally induced radiation and to Rayleigh scattering, which is valid in both impact and quasistatic regimes. In our formulation single and subsequent collisional contributions are taken into account, and various coherent and incoherent corrections are examined.
- Received 12 November 1985
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevA.33.3084
©1986 American Physical Society