Hyperfine Structure of the $3 {}^{2}P$ and $4 {}^{2}P$ States of Lithium and Lifetime of the $3 {}^{2}P$ State

The technique of level crossing spectroscopy has been used to study the hyperfine structure of the

3 {}^{2}P

and

4 {}^{2}P

states of

{Li}^{7}

and the

3 {}^{2}P

state of

{Li}^{6}

. Both low-field (<2 G) and high-field (≈915 G) level crossings were observed for the

3 {}^{2}P

state of

{Li}^{7}

. With the assumption that the ordinary magnetic-dipole coupling constants are related by

a_{\frac{d 1}{2}} = 5 a_{\frac{d 3}{2}}

, values have been obtained for

a_{\frac{d 3}{2}}

and the core-polarization constant

a_{c}

. In the

4 {}^{2}P

state of

{Li}^{7}

and the

3 {}^{2}P

state of

{Li}^{6}

we have inferred from our measurements individual values for

a_{\frac{d 3}{2}}

and

a_{c}

which are consistent with the assumptions that both constants scale as the ratio of nuclear

g

factors among different isotopes and that they scale as

\frac{1}{n^{3}}

among all the

n {}^{2}P

states. The lifetime of the

3 {}^{2}P

state has also been obtained from the high-field level crossing data. The results for the hyperfine constants in MHz are the following:

3 {}^{2}P

{Li}^{7}

a_{\frac{d 3}{2}} = 2.11 (3)

a_{c} = - 3.08 (3)

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Hyperfine Structure of the3P2and4P2States of Lithium and Lifetime of the3P2State