The radiative lifetime of the 5S(0)2 metastable level of O(2+)

Abstract

The radiative lifetime of the 5S(0)2 metastable level of O(2+) was measured as 1.22 + or - 0.08 ms at the 90 percent confidence level by observing the time dependence of the spontaneous emission from metastable ions created and stored in a cylindrical radio-frequency ion trap. The intersystem line emission 2s(2)2p(2) 3P - 2s2p(3) 5S(0) was observed at 1660.8 and 1666.2 A. Discrepancies between measured and calculated values indicate that certain calculated transition probabilities for intersystem lines may be less reliable than previously believed.