Radiative lifetime determination for the 3s4p-1P1 state of magnesium using pulsed level-crossing spectroscopy

The natural radiative lifetime of the 3s4p ¹ P ₁ level of neutral magnesium was measured by pulsed level-crossing spectroscopy at the short excitation wavelength of 202.6 nm. We obtained =13.4(5) ns for this state, strongly deviating from a previous beam-foil result, but in good agreement with a multi-configuration Hartree-Fock calculation. A discussion of the applicability of the pulsed Hanle effect method is given.