Abstract
The density matrix parametrization of collisionally excited atomic ensembles is generalized to account for a projectile spin. The elements are related to the “generalized Stokes parameters” of Andersen and Bartschat [J. Phys. B 27, 3189 (1994)], determined in scattered-projectile–polarized-photon coincidence experiments after impact excitation by spin-polarized electrons. The well-established orientation propensity rule for unpolarized electron beam experiments is not valid for spin-resolved collisions.
- Received 16 August 1995
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.76.208
©1996 American Physical Society
