Abstract
We report wavelength measurements and energy levels for the three-times ionized cerium atom ${\text{Ce}}^{3+}$. The spectrum is that of a simple one-electron atom overlaid with a more complex three-electron spectrum originating from the excitation of an electron in the inner closed shell to the valence shell. The data provide energy levels for the inner-shell-excited configurations $5{p}^{5}4f5d$ and $5{p}^{5}4f6s$ and solve a long-standing puzzle regarding the fine structure of the $5{p}^{6}6d$ configuration, which is known to be anomalously large and inverted. The data show that this anomalous fine structure is the result of interaction between $5{p}^{6}6d$ and the inner-shell-excited configuration $5{p}^{5}4f5d$. The results are supported by Hartree-Fock calculations and least-squares fits of the energy parameters to the observed levels. From our observed $5{p}^{6}6g$ configuration, we determine the ionization energy as $297670\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}70\text{ }{\text{cm}}^{\ensuremath{-}1}$ $(36.906\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.009\text{ }\text{eV})$.
Published Version
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