Measurement of the self-energy contribution to the 2s-3p resonance transition in neonlike ytterbium.

Abstract

The self-energy contribution to the transition (2{ital s}{sub 1/2}2{ital p}{sup 6}3{ital p}{sub 3/2}){sub {ital J}=1}{r arrow}2{ital s}{sup 2}2{ital p}{sup 6} in neonlike Yb{sup 60+} has been measured in an electron-beam ion trap to be 18.4{plus minus}0.8 eV. This value is 10% larger than the value obtained from multiconfiguration Dirac-Fock calculations in the commonly used effective-charge approach. The measurement supports earlier suggestions that the effective-charge approach may overcorrect the screening effect on the self-energy corrections for transitions in neonlike ions.