Abstract
The authors report on a high-resolution study of Rydberg levels in the atomic spectrum of francium, performed at CERN with the on-line mass separator ISOLDE. The ns (n=12-22) and nd (n=10-20) levels were investigated using stepwise laser excitation in collinear geometry. From these are deduced the quantum defects of the ns and nd series, as well as the ionisation potential for 212Fr: I=32848.876(7) cm-1 ( approximately=4.073 eV). This accurate value confirms and considerably improves earlier results. Owing to the high resolution of collinear laser spectroscopy, the fine-structure splittings Delta E(nd) of the nd 2D3/2, 5/2, doublets have been observed and measured for the first time. They agree with the empirical formula Delta E(nd)=Aneff-3+Bneff-5.
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