MEASUREMENT OF THE 2P3S1P-DEGREES LIFETIME IN O-III WITH THE BEAM-FOIL LASER METHOD

We have applied the beam-foil-laser (BFL) method to determine the lifetime of the 2p3s 1P-degree level in O III. The result (tau = 0.17+/-0.01 ns) is in good agreement with most of the theoretical predictions but significantly shorter than the two beam-foil lifetime values reported previously. The oscillator strengths of the 2p 21D-2p3s 1P-degree transition deduced from the present lifetime result in O III and from the very recently reported BFL lifetime in N II conform the trend along the carbon sequence calculated by Fawcett [At. Data Nucl. Data Tables 37, 411 (1987)].