title: Time-resolved laser spectroscopy of multiply ionized atoms: natural radiative lifetimes in Ce IV.
abstract: Radiative lifetimes have been measured for two excited levels of Ce IV using the time-resolved laser-induced fluorescence technique. Ce3+ ions were produced in a laser-induced plasma. In the measurements, a suitable magnetic field was applied to reduce the recombination between electrons and the ions and thus the background light from the recombination, and special care was exercised to avoid flight-out-of-view effects on the lifetime measurements for the high-velocity ions. The experimental lifetime results, tau = 30(2) ns for the level 49 737 cm(-1) and tau = 30(3) ns for the level 52 226 cm(-1), were compared with relativistic Hartree-Fock calculations (tau = 30.5 and 30.0 ns) indicating a particularly excellent agreement.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, Lund Institute of Technology, P.O. Box 118, S-211 00 Lund, Sweden.
authors.forename: Z G
authors.initials: ZG
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Svanberg
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Quinet
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Palmeri
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Biémont