Polarisation fine-structure effect

The fine-structure effect also results in a polarisation of the scattered electron. Since the spin-down electron is preferentially captured, the atomic spin-up electron is preferentially released, and the electron arriving at the detector has an average spin-up component, i.e. positive polarisation, and indeed... 

The existence of the fine-structure effect has been demonstrated for sodium (Hanne, Szmytkowski and van der Wiel, 1982 McClelland et ai, 1985 Nickich et al, 1990) using the time-reversed arrangement. A polarised electron beam is superelastically scattered from sodium atoms excited to 3 P /2 or 3 3/2 states by a single-frequency laser. McClelland et al. (1985) measured the spin asymmetry of polarised electrons that de-excite unpolarised atoms from the 3> P3/2 fine-structure state over the angular range —35° < 6 < 35°. As expected from reflection symmetry, the... 

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