Abstract
The radiative lifetimes τrad of the highly excited Rydberg Tm states have been measured with the method of multistep laser excitation and electric field ionization. The lifetime values have been obtained with an accuracy of better than 15%. The influence of blackbody radiation on the states with n ≥ 27 has been observed. The experimental results are in good agreement with our previously calculated values obtained by relativistic perturbation theory with a zero-order model approximation. It has been shown that the τrad-versus-n* dependence (n* is the effective principal quantum number) is best described by the relation τrad = 0.0022.(n*)2.46 (μsec). This property may be attributed to the strongly expressed nonhydrogenlike behavior of the investigated states, which is caused by the essentially non-Coulombic core potential acting on the Rydberg electron.
© 1989 Optical Society of America
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