• DOI:10.1103/PHYSREVLETT.90.163002
• Corpus ID: 16234935

First observation of atomic levels for the element fermium (Z=100).

@article{Sewtz2003FirstOO,
  title={First observation of atomic levels for the element fermium (Z=100).},
  author={Michael Sewtz and Hartmut Backe and Achim Dretzke and G. Kube and Werner Lauth and Peter Schwamb and Klaus Eberhardt and Carsten Gr{\"u}ning and P. Th{\"o}rle and Norbert Trautmann and Peter J. Kunz and J. Lassen and Gerd Passler and Chen-zhong Dong and Stephan Fritzsche and Richard G. Haire},
  journal={Physical review letters},
  year={2003},
  volume={90 16},
  pages={
          163002
        }
}

• M. Sewtz, H. Backe, +13 authors R. Haire
• Published 25 April 2003
• Physics
• Physical review letters

The atomic level structure of the element fermium was investigated for the first time using a sample of 2.7x10(10) atoms of the isotope 255Fm with a half-life of 20.1 h. The atoms were evaporated from a filament and stored in the argon buffer gas of an optical cell. Atomic levels were sought by the method of resonance ionization spectroscopy using an excimer-dye-laser combination. Two atomic levels were found at wave numbers (25 099.8+/-0.2) and (25 111.8+/-0.2) cm(-1). Partial transition rates to the 5f(12)7s(2) (3)H(e)(6) ground state have been determined from their saturation characteristics. Multiconfiguration Dirac-Fock calculations suggest that the leading orders of these levels could be the 5f(12)7s7p (5)I(o)(6) and 5f(12)7s7p (5)G(o)(5) terms.