Document Type

Article

Publication Date

1992

Publication Title

Physical Review A

Volume

46

Issue

1

First Page

113

Last Page

124

Abstract

An interference asymmetry in the angular distribution of the Ly quenching radiation emitted by He+ ions in the metastable 2s1/2 state is measured to high precision to obtain the lifetime of the 2p1/2 state. The derived lifetime of (0.997 170.000 75)×10-10 s is the most accurate available for a fundamental atomic system. A detailed discussion of systematic corrections is included. The result is in good agreement with theory, thereby confirming the theory of radiative transition probabilities to 0.075%, and indicating that differences between theory and experiment for the alkali metals must be due to either inadequate wave functions or experimental errors. © 1992 The American Physical Society.

Comments

This article was first published in PHYSICAL REVIEW A. Copyright (2012) American Physical Society (APS). (http://dx.doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevA.46.113)

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