Ionization and recombination kinetics of the atmospheric sodium
The characteristic times of photoionization of the ground 3 <i>S</i> level and excited 3 <i>P</i> one of the sodium atom are calculated. The model of the balance equations of the ionization and recombination kinetics was constructed for optically thin case, based on the experimental scheme of reactions of the complex ion formation with participation of sodium, which considers also photoprocesses for the basic and excited levels. The numerical solution of the balance equations gives the time behavior of the sodium atomic density, ionic density, and complex ionic density when taking into account the laser illumination of the resonant transition at a wavelength of 0.589 μm.