COLLISION-INDUCED FINE-STRUCTURE TRANSITION OF O(P-3(2))-]O(P-3(1,0))BY HE AND H-2 - EXCITATION-FUNCTION AND BRANCHING RATIO

The intramultiplet mixing processes of the electronic ground state of oxygen atoms with He and H-2 have been studied experimentally at the s tate-to-state integral cross section level of detail. Excellent agreem ent with the recent quantum-mechanical close-coupling calculations bas ed on the ab initio potential curves was found, both in terms of excit ation functions and branching ratios. The result also gives strong ind ication for the validity of OMEGA-conserving approximation in the theo retical treatment of these two systems.