Theoretical investigation of barium-helium collisions. II. The excitation transfer cross sections

We develop a theoretical description of collisions between an excited barium atom in the 6s6p3PJ, 6s5d1D2, or 6s5d3DJ state and a helium atom in the ground state. Using the adiabatic potential curves presented in the preceding paper, state-to-state cross sections are obtained from a fully quantum-mechanical close-coupling calculation using the generalized log-derivative approach. Our theoretical results are compared to recent experimental data. copyright 1997 The American Physical Society