The FERRUM project : experimentally determined metastable lifetimes and transition probabilities for forbidden [Ti II] lines observed in eta Carinae

• In the spectrum of an emission-line region ejected from the massive star Eta Carinae, called the strontium filament (SrF), forbidden lines from many elements, in particular [Sr II] and [Ti II], are observed. These lines are strong in this specific region and valuable for plasma diagnostics. Forbidden lines are not easily produced in laboratory light sources and the atomic parameters for these lines can thus not be measured in a straightforward way. We use a combination of laboratory and astrophysical measurements to determine transition probabilities for the [Ti II] lines. Lifetimes for metastable levels in Ti II are measured using a laser probing technique on a stored ion beam at CRYRING, MSL, Stockholm. Branching fractions from some of these levels are derived from Hubble Space Telescope/STIS spectra of the SrF. The astrophysical branching fractions are combined with the experimental lifetimes to determine absolute transition probabilities. We report lifetimes for the Ti II levels b(4)P(3/2), b(2)P(1/2), c(2)D(3/2) and c(2)D(5/2), in the range 0.29-17 s, and transition probabilities for eight parity-forbidden lines from the levels c(2)D(3/2) and c(2)D(5/2), along with uncertainty estimates.

Subject headings

NATURVETENSKAP  -- Fysik -- Subatomär fysik (hsv//swe)

NATURAL SCIENCES  -- Physical Sciences -- Subatomic Physics (hsv//eng)

NATURVETENSKAP  -- Fysik -- Astronomi, astrofysik och kosmologi (hsv//swe)

NATURAL SCIENCES  -- Physical Sciences -- Astronomy, Astrophysics and Cosmology (hsv//eng)

NATURVETENSKAP  -- Fysik -- Atom- och molekylfysik och optik (hsv//swe)

NATURAL SCIENCES  -- Physical Sciences -- Atom and Molecular Physics and Optics (hsv//eng)

Keyword

atomic data

stars : individual : Eta Carinae

Nuclear physics

Kärnfysik

atomic data

stars : individual : Eta Carinae

Publication and Content Type

ref (subject category)

art (subject category)