Abstract
Intensity ratios involving the spin-changing intercombination lines between the 3s3p3 5S2o metastable level of S III and its 3s23p23P2,1 ground term at about 172 nm could be useful astrophysical diagnostic tools if accurate atomic data were available. We report the first laboratory measurement of the radiative lifetime of the 5S2o metastable level of S III. The measurement was carried out by observing the decay radiation of a metastable S2+ population stored in a radio-frequency ion trap. Our result for the lifetime of the 5S2o level of S III is 48 ± 5 μs. This value is in good agreement with recent calculations for the low-Z members of the Si I isoelectronic sequence. Using calculated branching ratios, we estimate that A (171.312 nm) = 5400 ± 900 s-1 and A (172.894 nm) = 15400 ± 2500 s-1.
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