Abstract:
The dichroism of a neon gas discharge plasma in a weak magnetic field is investigated by scanning the $3s_2-2p_4$ transition by monochromatic laser radiation. Magneto-optical resonances of the intrinsic macroscopic alignment and hidden alignment of the $2p_4$ level are separated. Against the background of these resonances, resonances attributed to coherence transfer from the $1s_{2, 4, 5}$ levels and the birefringence of the wings of the nearest absorption lines from the $1s_{4, 5}$ levels are observed. A new type of alignment is revealed — integral hidden alignment, whose lifetime, in contrast to the case with macroscopic alignment, increases without bound with increasing radiation trapping.