Excitation transfer and intermultiplet transitions in collisions of He and Ne atoms at thermal energies

The present review is devoted to the excitation transfer in He-Ne collisions at thermal energies. Theoretical treatment of the He-Ne term structures is the background of the analyses of the available experimental data and the mechanism of the main reactions. The analyses allow to classify the results of the enormous number of experimental investigations and to point out the most reliable ones. The energy transfer in He (21,3S, 21,3P) - Ne collisions and processes in Ne*-He collisions are the main content of the review. The energy dependence of the different process's cross sections as well as temperature dependence of the rate constants are also discussed. (orig.)