Determination of the oscillator strengths of the 6D→61P1 atomic energy mercury transitions

Abstract

The magnitude of the oscillator strengths ( f values) of the 6D→61P1 transitions of atomic mercury is of interest, e.g., for the determination of the 61P1 mercury density in gas discharges by optical methods. However, contradictory results for these f values have been reported in the literature. Using the accurately known radiative lifetime of the 73S1 level as a starting point, we performed combined emission and hook measurements. As a result we found f=0.28±0.04 and f=0.25±0.05 for the 577.0 nm (63D2→61P1) and 579.1 nm (61D2→61P1) line, respectively.