Transition Probabilities in the Spectra of Neutral Neon, Argon and Krypton

Abstract

Measurements of anomalous dispersions by the Roschdestwensky `hook method' have been used to obtain relative f values for the group of lines arising from transitions between the two lowest excited configurations, np5(n+1)s and np5(n+1)p, in neon, argon and krypton. The interference fringes were produced by a Mach-Zehnder interferometer, one beam of which traversed the gas excited in a positive column discharge tube. The f values of lines arising from different lower levels were related by determining their population ratios by means of relative intensity measurements. Transition probabilities relative to that of one line of the group were thus found for about 16 lines each in neon and argon and eight in krypton. Absolute transition probabilities estimated from the f-sum rule agree satisfactorily with previous measurements where these exist.