EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATION OF THE INITIAL-STATE ALIGNMENT DEPENDENCE IN THE ENERGY POOLING PROCESS - CA(4S4P P-3(1))-3(1))-]CA(4S4P P-1(1))+CA(4S(2))(CA(4S4P P)

A pulsed laser investigation is performed to study the detailed effect s of electronic angular-momentum alignment on the cross section for th e energy-transfer process Ca(4s4p P-3(1)) + Ca(4s4p P-3(1)) -->Ca(4s4p P-1(1)) + Ca(4s(2)). A uniform magnetic field imposed by a set of Hel mholtz coils is used to systematically precess the initial state orbit als with a well-defined period, allowing different alignments to be sa mpled at different time delays after the pulsed laser excites and alig ns the Ca(4s4p P-3(1)) states. The polarization effects in this collis ion process are striking. For example, the cross section for two atoms both in the m(j)=0 magnetic substrate is 13 times larger than the cro ss section for two atoms that are both in the m(j)=1 (or -1) substrate , where the quantization axis is taken to be along the relative veloci ty vector of the collision. The initial in-sublevel dependence of this three-vector correlation process can be completely described with eig ht fundamental parameters, five of which are accurately obtained. In a ddition, the coarse energy dependence of these parameters is deduced.