Abstract
Absorption lines are revealed in spectra of a mercury discharge lamp (Planck’s radiator). Some of the lines were identified by Lord Rayleigh as the absorption lines of a Hg2 molecule. New absorption lines at 253.29, 253.53, 253.76, and 254.20 nm, as well as emission lines at 264.80, 254.96, 265.11, 279.89, 288.82, 301.50, 301.74, and 301.95 nm are discovered, which enabled the construction of a diagram of the lower excited electronic states of a mercury molecule. It is demonstrated that the dips in the intensity profiles of the atomic mercury lines at 253.65, 435.83, 404.65, and 546.07 nm arise from the radiation absorption in vibronic transitions of diatomic Hg2 molecules. The concentration of mercury molecules in the plasma of mercury discharge lamps is determined to be of the order of 108 cm−3. However, their contribution to the formation of the emission line profiles is essential due to the multiple radiation passage through the emitting plasma.
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Original Russian Text © V.I. Gorbunkov, V.I. Solomonov, 2008, published in Optika i Spektroskopiya, 2008, Vol. 105, No. 5, pp. 764–770.
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Gorbunkov, V.I., Solomonov, V.I. Absorption and emission lines of a mercury molecule in a mercury discharge lamp. Opt. Spectrosc. 105, 699–704 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1134/S0030400X0811009X
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1134/S0030400X0811009X