Radiative lifetimes of odd-parity levels in Nb I

Abstract

Radiative lifetimes are reported for 37 odd-parity energy levels of neutral niobium (Nb I), out of which 33 have been measured for the first time. The levels belong to electronic configurations 4d35s5p and 4d45p between 18,790 and 35,730cm−1. The time-resolved laser-induced fluorescence spectroscopy technique was employed. The Nb atoms were generated in a free-jet by laser vaporization of niobium metal. Lifetime values reported in this work fall in the range 12–340ns and are accurate to ±10%.