BEHAVIOR OF THE 398.4nm Hg II SPECTRAL LINE IN THE HELIUM AND ARGON PLASMAS

The astrophysically important 398.4 nm Hg II spectral line was investigated in the laboratory helium and argon plasmas. The mercury atoms were sputtered from the amalgamated gold cylindrical plates located in the homogenous part of the pulsed discharge. We have found that strong intensity of the 398.4 nm Hg II line is due to excessively high density of the helium metastable atoms.