6533b7dcfe1ef96bd12734bd

RESEARCH PRODUCT

Radiative lifetimes of Am I atomic levels.

Th. ArndtP. DyerHartmut BackeJ. B. WilhelmyM. M. FowlerA. SteinhofP. G. Eller

subject

Optical pumpingPhysicsWavelengthDye laserPhotonExcited stateRadiative transferElectric dipole transitionAtomic physicsGround state

description

The lifetimes of several atomic levels of Am I that are connected by electric dipole transitions to the ground state have been measured. The Am atoms were excited by light pulses from a cw single-mode dye laser with the aid of an optoacoustic modulator. The decay curve of the delayed emitted photons was measured by counting single photons in the beam-off periods. The lifetimes of 14 levels in the wavelength region between 6405 and 4265 A were measured using Am-metal vapor. The metallic Am was obtained by reducing AmO/sub 2/ with La at 1500 /sup 0/C in a high-vacuum system and collecting Am on a catcher foil. The Am vapor was then produced by controlled reevaporation from the foil at a temperature of about 800 /sup 0/C. These lifetime measurements, in combination with the line intensities from a hollow-cathode discharge, allow the identification of the Am transitions homologous to the strong Eu I transitions from the y/sup 8/P/sub 5/2,7/2,9/2/ terms to the ground state.

10.1103/physreva.38.5084https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9900228