Lifetime measurements of odd-parity high-excitation levels of Sm ii by time-resolved laser spectroscopy

Abstract

Natural radiative lifetimes of 53 odd-parity highly excited levels of singly ionized samarium in the energy range 26 599.08–36 107.66 cm −1 have been measured by the time-resolved laserinduced fluorescence technique in an ionic plume produced by laser ablation. The fundamental frequency and second harmonic of a dye laser have been adopted as the tunable exciting source (308–650 nm), and a fast detection system has been used to record fluorescence signals. The lifetime values obtained in this paper are in the range 10.5–271 ns. A good agreement between the present results and the previously published values was achieved. This work will be useful for investigating the composition of chemically peculiar stars.