INDUCED PAIR POLARIZABILITY ANISOTROPY IN MERCURY FROM DEPOLARIZED INTERACTION-INDUCED LIGHT-SCATTERING SPECTRA

Depolarized interaction-induced light scattering spectra of mercury be tween T=873 and 1173 K have been used for deriving a pair polarizabili ty anisotropy. Absolute zeroth and second moments have been measured a nd compared with theoretical calculations using various models for the pair polarizability anisotropy. The results show that gaseous mercury behaves quite differently from noble gases, since during collision th e mercury pair develops a large intermediate-range positive anisotropy , revealing the breakdown of the classical dipole-induced-dipole appro ximation and the onset of specific electronic interactions.