Hyperfine Structure of the $2 P$ , $3 P$ , and $4 P$ States of Lithium

The hyperfine interactions in the

2 {}^{2}P

3 {}^{2}P

, and

4 {}^{2}P

states of

{Li}^{7}

are studied, using the spin-optimized self-consistent-field (SO-SCF) and unrestricted Hartree-Fock methods. It is found that the use of a single

〈 r^{- 3} 〉

parameter to describe all three hyperfine interactions is inadequate for all states considered, as has previously been found for the

2 {}^{2}P

state. The experimental results for

3 {}^{2}P

and

4 {}^{2}P

states are reanalyzed and the following values are obtained:

3 {}^{2}P : a_{orb} = 2.58 \pm 0.05

MHz,

a_{dip} = - 0.57 \pm 0.02

MHz,

a_{c} = - 2.98 \pm 0.06

MHz;

4 {}^{2}P : a_{orb} = 1.10 \pm 0.03

MHz,

a_{dip} = - 0.24 \pm 0.01

MHz,

a_{c} = - 1.27 \pm 0.03

MHz. The lifetimes of the

2 {}^{2}P

and

3 {}^{2}P

states are calculated using the SO-SCF method, showing good agreement with experimental values for the

2 {}^{2}P

state, but giving a lifetime for the

3 {}^{2}P

state which is about 20% too long.

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Hyperfine Structure of the2P2,3P2, and4P2States of Lithium