Spectrum of Singly Charged Uranium (U II) : Theoretical Interpretation of Energy Levels, Partition Function and Classified Ultraviolet Lines

• Main Authors: Ali Meftah, Mourad Sabri, Jean-François Wyart, Wan-Ü Lydia Tchang-Brillet
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2017-06-01
• Series: Atoms
• Subjects: uranium; actinide ions; emission spectrum; energy levels; energy parameters; partition function
• Online Access: http://www.mdpi.com/2218-2004/5/3/24

In an attempt to improve U II analysis, the lowest configurations of both parities have been interpreted by means of the Racah-Slater parametric method, using Cowan codes. In the odd parity, including the ground state, 253 levels of the interacting configurations 5 f 3 7 s 2 + 5 f 3 6 d 7 s + 5 f 3 6 d 2 + 5 f 4 7 p + 5 f 5 are interpreted by 24 free parameters and 64 constrained ones, with a root mean square (rms) deviation of 60 cm − 1 . In the even parity, the four known configurations 5 f 4 7 s , 5 f 4 6 d , 5 f 2 6 d 2 7 s , 5 f 2 6 d 7 s 2 and the unknown 5 f 2 6 d 3 form a basis for interpreting 125 levels with a rms deviation of 84 cm − 1 . Due to perturbations, the theoretical description of the higher configurations 5 f 3 7 s 7 p + 5 f 3 6 d 7 p remains unsatisfactory. The known and predicted levels of U II are used for a determination of the partition function. The parametric study led us to a re-investigation of high resolution ultraviolet spectrum of uranium recorded at the Meudon Observatory in the late eighties, of which the analysis was unachieved. In the course of the present study, a number of 451 lines of U II has been classified in the region 2344 –2955 Å. One new level has been established as 5 f 3 6 d 7 p ( 4 I ) 6 K ( J = 5.5 ) at 39113.98 ± 0.1 cm − 1 .