Accurate Experimental Lifetimes of Excited Levels in Sodiumlike Sulfur, S VI

Abstract

The lifetimes of the terms 3p 2P, 3d 2D, 4s 2S, 4p 2P, 4d 2D, 4f 2F, 5g 2G, 6g 2G, 6h 2H, 7h 2H, 7i 2I and 8k 2K in sodiumlike sulfur, S VI, have been determined using the beam-foil excitation technique. Most of the decay curves were analyzed by means of the ANDC method which corrects for cascading in a very detailed way. Accurate results were thereby obtained which show that an excellent agreement exists between experimental and theoretical values. Some previously noted disagreements between the results of beam-foil experiments and theoretical investigations are explained as being due to less accurate analyses of the experimental data.