Measurements of radiative lifetimes, branching fractions, and absolute transition probabilities in atomic samarium using laser-induced fluorescence

Abstract

We report the simultaneous measurements of radiative lifetimes, branching fractions, and absolute transition probabilities in atomic samarium using laser-induced fluorescence. The radiative lifetimes of seven odd-parity energy levels and six step-wise-excited even parity energy levels of atomic samarium have been measured. The lifetime values of odd-parity energy levels agree well with those reported in the literature, and the values of even-parity energy levels are new. Excited-level-to-ground-level branching fractions and absolute transition probabilities for twenty-one transitions in atomic samarium are measured using single-color laser-induced fluorescence, and the results are compared against the values reported in the literature. We also report branching fractions and absolute transition probabilities for fifty-one excited-level-to-excited-level transitions in atomic samarium using two-color laser-induced fluorescence. The existing ambiguity in assigning the total angular momentum values for the six stepwise-excited even-parity energy levels is removed by assigning each of these excited levels a unique J value by identifying known odd-parity lower levels to which a stepwise-excited even-parity level decays via fluorescence decay channels.