Hyperfine structure of the resonance lines of53Cr and lifetimes of some excited states of the Cr I spectrum

The hyperfine structure of the⁵³Cr resonance linesa ⁷ S ₃ ?z ⁷ P _2,3,4 has been investigated by means of laser saturation spectroscopy. By comparison of the experimental signal curves with theoretically computed spectra the hitherto unknown sign of the magnetic hyperfine coupling constant in thea ⁷ S ₃ ground state of⁵³Cr could be determined unambigiously to be negative. Further the signs of the hfs coupling constants in thez ⁷ P states — so far only evaluated by theoretical reasoning — could be confirmed. Additionally the lifetimes of the statesz ⁷ P,z ⁵ P,f ⁷ D,z ⁵ F,e ⁷ D ₅ andy ⁵ P ₃ in the Cr I spectrum have been determined from the fluorescence decay after pulsed laser excitation.