Abstract
Lifetimes of each hyperfine level of the 6p state of singly charged and have been measured using laser excitation of a fast-ion beam. The collinear laser- and ion-beam arrangement was used to achieve high spectral resolution, and transitions to each hyperfine level were locally Doppler tuned into resonance between a pair of post-accelerating electrodes. Decay to the 6 state was observed through a monochromator immediately after the post-acceleration field, and cascade-free lifetimes were then determined by mechanically varying the distance between the excitation and observation points. Depletion of close-lying hyperfine levels prior to the excitation region was necessary in to sufficiently isolate transitions for these measurements. These results form the first set of lifetime measurements for each hyperfine level within a particular J state of an atomic ion. Although no variation in lifetime with F quantum number was detected outside of the determined error bars, application to studies of hyperfine-induced mixing is discussed.
- Received 7 December 1988
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevA.39.3969
©1989 American Physical Society