Ickestrålningsrelaxation

Ickestrålningsrelaxation refers to a process in atomic and molecular physics where an excited system loses energy through processes that do not involve the emission of photons (light). Instead of emitting a photon, the energy is transferred to other degrees of freedom within the system or to its surroundings. This can occur through several mechanisms.

One common form of non-radiative relaxation is internal conversion, where the energy from an electronic excitation is transferred to vibrational energy within the same molecule. Another is intersystem crossing, a transition between electronic states of different spin multiplicity, which can also lead to subsequent vibrational relaxation without photon emission. Energy can also be transferred to other molecules through collisions, a process known as collisional quenching.

In solids, ickestrålningsrelaxation can involve the transfer of energy to lattice vibrations, also called phonons. This is a crucial process in understanding the de-excitation pathways of excited states in materials and influences their luminescent properties. While fluorescence and phosphorescence are radiative processes, ickestrålningsrelaxation represents an alternative, often faster, route for excited species to return to their ground state. The efficiency of these non-radiative pathways can significantly impact the observable light emission from a sample. Understanding ickestrålningsrelaxation is vital in fields ranging from photochemistry to solid-state physics and optoelectronics.