Configuration interaction in the 6s n d 1 D 2 and 6s n s 1 S 0 states of Yb probed by lifetime measurements

Radiative lifetimes in the even parity 6s n d ¹ D ₂ (n=6?13) and 6s n s ¹ S ₀ (n=8?14) level series of neutral Yb have been measured. In contrast to a monotonicn*³ behaviour which is expected in the absence of configuration interaction a drastic decrease of the lifetime data was observed in the vicinity of multiply excited states. In addition, for certain levels a strong increase of the lifetime values has been found which may be ascribed to destructive interference due to configuration mixing which can also affect the branching ratios of the radiative decay of these levels.