Lifetimes of the 4s4p 3 P 1 and 4s3d 1 D 2 states of Ca I

The lifetimes of the 4s4p ³ P ₁ and 4s3d ¹ D ₂ metastable states of Ca have been studied using the time-of-flight technique. Two kinds of observations were performed. First, the exponential decay of the fluorescence, using a (continuous) dc discharge for excitation and then the velocity distribution of the radiating atoms, using a pulsed discharge, were measured. From the combined results of these measurements the lifetimes were derived. The lifetimes of the 4s4p ³ P ₁ and 4s3d ¹ D ₂ states of Ca are determined to be 0.57±0.03 ms and 1.5±0.4 ms, respectively.     

A method for measuring cross sections for electron-impact excitation out of metastable levels of atoms

A method for measuring cross sections for electron-impact excitation out of the metastable levels of the He atom is described. A hollow cathode discharge is used to produce an atomic beam consisting of ground-level He atoms and the He(2¹S) and He(2³S) metastable atoms. An electron beam of energy below 20 eV crosses the atomic beam exciting the metastable atoms to higher levels, and the intensity of the radiation emitted by atoms in these higher levels is utilized to determine the cross sections. Because of the very low concentration of metastable atoms in the atomic beam, the emission signal is extremely weak. A number of special techniques have been developed to detect these very low-level signals. Absolute calibration of the cross section is accomplished by referencing the emission signal that resulted from electron excitation out of the metastable level to the emission signal that resulted from the 2³S3³P or 2¹S3¹P laser optical absorption.     

Radiative recombination rates with different statistical distributions

The isotope shift and hyperfine structure in a rhenium hollow cathode discharge was studied for transitions of the type 5d ⁵6s7s 5d ⁵6s6p and 5d ⁵6s6d 5d ⁵6s6p through Doppler-free saturation absorption laserspectroscopy and high resolution interferometry. Taking configuration mixing in the lower levels of 5d ⁵6s6p under consideration, we obtain average configuration isotope shift values for 5d ⁵6s7s of –1760(100) MHz and for 5d ⁵6s6d of –1970(200) MHz. These experimental values compare extremely well with the theoretically predicted configuration isotope shifts in rhenium, based on pseudo-relativistic Hartree-Fock calculations, of –1710 MHz and –1940 MHz, resp. In addition hyperfine structure constants for rhenium levels of 5d ⁵6s6d are reported here for the first time.Research scientist from the University of Istanbul, Turkey     

Photoionization of oriented molecules in a gas phase

Use of a coincidence technique for registration of fragment ions and photoelectroms from dissociative ionization of molecules opens the possibility of studying the photoionization of oriented molecules in a gas phase. The first results obtained by this technique for O₂ molecules are presented. The angular distribution of photoelectrons as a function of an angle between molecular axis and a photoelectron momentum is measured for theB ² _g ^– final ionic state using the HeI resonance radiation. From measured data it follows that the ratio of channel cross sections is /=0.67±0.08.     

Lifetime measurements of the 3D3/2 and 3D5/2 metastable states in CaII

The lifetime of the metastable 3D_3/2 and 3D_5/2 states of Ca⁺ ions is determined in a r.f. ion trap by laser excitation of this levels and subsequent time delayed probing of the state population by a second laser. In a buffer gas atmosphere of about 10^–5–10^–6 mbar of He we observe quenching to the ground state and strong finestructure mixing of the two D-states. This mixing allowes only the determination of the combined lifetime. Our result of (3D)=1.24(39) s is in good agreement with theoretical calculations.     

Effects of the cluster surface on the electronic shell structure: faceting,roughness and softness

Several simple models have been used to study the effects of the surface on the electronic shell structure in metal clusters. The main results are as follows: The icosahedral clusters have the same electronic shell structure as the sphere up to about 1000 atoms. The surface roughness causes the distribution of the level spacings to be a Wigner distribution. By varying the softness of the potential we can obtain potentials where the simplest classical orbits are the five-point star or even the three-point star.This paper was originally submitted in connection with the 2nd. Int. Conference on Atomic and Nuclear Clusters held in Santorini from 28. June–2. July 1993 and is published here as a regular article after an independent refereeing procedure according to the standards of Z. Phys. D     

Electron bombardment induced fragmentation of size selected neutral (D2O) n clusters

The fragmentation behaviour of size selected neutral (D₂O) _n clusters withn4 after ionization with 70 eV electrons is subject of this work. Size selection by scattering the cluster beam from a He target beam in combination with a quadrupole mass filter and time resolved measurements at specific laboratory angles enables us to determine the neutral precursor masses of the detected ions. The measured fragment pattern is dominated by deuterated ions of the form (D₂O) _n–x D⁺ withx1. The dimer fragmentation which leads with a probability of 62.5% to the D₃O⁺ ion and with 37.5% to D₂O⁺ can be explained by fast intracluster ion-molecule reactions of charged monomer fragments reacting with the partner molecule. For larger clusters the fragmentation process can be rationalised by the creation of an initially highly excited D₃O⁺ (D₂O) _x complex which is stabilized by evaporating additional monomer units with the main fragment channel (D₂O)D⁺ forn=3 and (D₂O)₂D⁺ forn=4. With increasing cluster size an increasing tendency of evaporation of more than one water monomer unit has been observed.     

Hyperfine structure constants and isotope shift of the levels of the configuration 4f 6 5d 6s 2 in Eu I

The hyperfine structure (hfs) and the isotope shift (IS) of transitions between metastable levels of the configuration 4f ⁷ 5d 6s and levels of the configuration 4f ⁶ 5d 6s ² of¹⁵¹Eu and¹⁵³Eu were studied by means of the high resolution laser-atomic-beam technique. New data for the hfs in¹⁵¹Eu and¹⁵³Eu were obtained as well as new and more accurate for the IS between¹⁵¹Eu and¹⁵³Eu. The measured hfs constantsA andB of the 4f ⁶ 5d 6s ² configuration allow to perform a parametric analysis using the Sandars and Beck theory. The value of the Sternheimer correction is also disscused.     

Ab initio molecular treatment of electron capture processes in the B3++He collision

The potential energy curves and the coupling matrix elements of the¹¹ and¹ states involved in the collision of the B³⁺(1s ²) multicharged ion on a He target have been calculated by means of an ab initio method with configuration interaction. The total and partial capture cross-sections have been determined, using a semi-classical method. The results are in good agreement with experiment, exhibiting a strong influence of rotational coupling even at low energies.     

Measurement of the transition wavelengths of the lithium resonance lines

Using laser-atomic-beam spectroscopy and a highly precise lambdameter, we have determined the transition wavelengths of the lithium resonance lines to be:⁶Li D₁: 6707.0704(5)Å,⁶Li D₂: 6707.9195(5)Å;⁷Li D₁: 6707.9241(5)Å,⁷Li D₂: 6707.7723(5)Å at spectroscopic conditions (15 °C, 760 mm Hg).     

Systematic trends in the line strengths of E1 transitions in the carbon isoelectronic sequence

Line strengthsS for the dipole allowed transitions within then=2 complex of the carbon isoelectronic sequence have been fitted in the formZ ² S=A+B/(Z–C), whereZ is the nuclear charge of a particular ion. The constantsA,B andC are determined by using a non-linear least square method. The data forS is taken from the configuration interaction calculations which included internal, semi-internal and all external type correlations for ions in the rangeZ=8–26. It is shown that the values ofA obtained from the fit for all the transitions are in excellent accord with the ab-initio values obtained in the hydrogenic limitZ provided near degeneracy effects are included.     

Theoretical premises for experimental verification of the deviations from the wannier threshold behaviour

The Wannier [1] theory describes the escape of two electrons from a charged core in the threshold domain. Its modification [3] is applied to some features of the double escape processes which were not analyzed previously in due extent. The behaviour of the total cross sections for a small, but finite, energy excessE above the threshold is described incorporating the deviations from the well known Wannier power law. The processes with the escape of electron and positron from the core are also considered. The energy dependence of the spin asymmetryA in (e, 2e) collisions is analyzed in connection with the recent experimental data (which seem to manifest some dependenceA(E) in the near-threshold domain contrary to the conventional Wannier theory). The theory suggests the requirements for the accuracy of the experiments intended to verify the Wannier threshold laws and detect the deviations from them.     

Effects of motional narrowing on the plasmon resonance in small metal clusters

A model accounting for the time dependence of shape fluctuations in metal microclusters and their effect on the damping width of the plasmon resonance is discussed. An estimate of the relaxation time of the quadrupole shape is given, and calculations demonstrating the effects of time-dependent thermal fluctuations on the plasmon in K ₉ ⁺ are presented.Lee A. DuBridge research fellow in Physics     

Elastic scattering of low and intermediate-energy electrons by Kr and Xe atoms

The many-body correlation forces, which act between the impinging electron and the bound electrons of the two heaviest rare gas atoms, are treated here using a newly developed correlation-polarisation potential that originates from the calculation of correlation energies in electronic bound-states of atoms and molecules. The new formulation of such forces, already tested by us for the lighter atomic targets, is particularly effective for the present systems and can be implemented very easily even for heavy atomic targets. The calculations reported in this paper show clearly that very good accord is obtained with more sophisticated theoretical treatments and with several experimental data on integral cross sections, momentum transfer cross sections and angular distributions.Von Humboldt — Prize Awardee 1992     

Electronic and geometrical structure of noble metal clusters

We investigate the electronic and structural properties of small (N 20) and medium sized (N 500) clusters of Cu, using the first principles Tight-Binding Linear Muffin-Tin Orbitals (TB-LMTO) method in connection with the real-space recursion scheme. We find the electronic structure resembling the one of simple alkali metal clusters: Pronounced shell closing effects can be identified in the ionization potentials as well as in the HOMO-LUMO gaps for the magic sizesN=8, 20, 34 and 40. The low-energy equilibrium geometries show considerable Jahn-Teller distortions, just as in the case of alkali metals.This article was processed using Springer-Verlag T_EX Z.Physik D macro package 1.0 and the AMS fonts, developed by the American Mathematical Society.     

Formation of negative ions by electron impact on SiF4 and CF4

First measurements of cross sections for the formation of negative ions by electron attachment to SiF₄ and CF₄ are reported for an electron impact energy range of 0 to 50 eV. The energies at which the various ions appear and the positions at which the ionization efficiency curves peak have been obtained and compared with previous measurements. Thermochemical data have been used to predict and identify the various channels of dissociation. Cross sections for the production of ion pairs through the process of polar dissociation have also been measured.Visiting fellow, on leave of absence from Universidade Federal de Sao Carlos, Departamento de Quimica, 13560, Sao Carlos, SP, Brazil     

Gauge parameters for extrapolation of oscillator strengths ofE1 transitions along the boron isoelectronic sequence

The oscillator strengthsf forE1 transitions along an isoelectronic sequence can be written asf=aK ²+bK+c whereK is a gauge parameter representing the gauge condition of the electromagnetic field. The coefficientsa,b, andc are functions of length (f _l) and velocity (f _v) values of the oscillator strengths at the Hartree-Fock level. We have shown by making a perturbation expansion of oscillator strengthsf,f _l andf _v that the gauge parameterK is independent of the nuclear charge. This property has been exploited to extrapolatef values along the isoelectronic sequence of Boron for some representativeE1 transitions within then=2 complex. We obtain good agreement between the extrapolated results with the configuration interaction results.     

Fission barriers for Na N 2+ cluster dissociation

The competition experimentally observed between asymmetric fission and neutral monomer evaporation as dissociation channels of excited doubly charged sodium clusters has been investigated by means of an axially symmetric, fully selfconsistent Kohn-Sham method. Ellipsoidal equilibrium configurations for parent and daughter clusters have been considered using a deformed jellium model.This paper was originally submitted in connection with the 2nd. Int. Conference on Atomic and Nuclear Clusters held in Santorini from 28. June–2. July 1993 and is published here as a regular article after an independent refereeing procedure according to the standards of Z. Phys. D     

Radiative lifetimes of neutral and singly ionized atoms of refractory elements

Picosecond laser-induced fluorescence spectroscopy and a pulsed hollow cathode discharge are applied to measure 66 radiative lifetimes of Ta II, Ti II, Ce II, Zr II, Zr I, and Fe I levels. In the present investigation systematic influences like polarization and magnetic field effects, radiation trapping, quenching and the duration of the exciting laser pulse are considered in the data analysis. The selective laser excitation of the levels under investigation is performed by a frequency-stabilized distributed feedback dye laser system and the fluorescence is recorded by photon counting technique to ensure best sensitivity and time-resolution. The typical pulse duration is 100 ps and the spectral bandwidth 0.006 nm. The absolute accuracy of the data is 3 to 6%.