Line-of-sight measurements of the 254 nm resonance line of mercury and comparison with non-local radiation transport in low pressure Hg–Ar discharges

Radially resolved line-of-sight intensities of the 254 nm resonance line of Hg were measured for cold spot temperatures between 16 degrees C and 50 degrees C. The observed normalized intensities agree with line-of-sight intensities predicted by our improved 1D Boltzmann/non-local radiation transport model for fluorescent lamps. An additional comparison with model predictions employing the conventional Holstein theory showed that the latter is inadequate for describing the radiation transport of resonance lines in fluorescent lamps.