LIFETIME AND COLLISIONAL DEPOPULATION CROSS-SECTION FOR THE 14(2)D3 2STATE OF RB/

The lifetime tau and the cross section sigma for depopulation induced by col-lisions with ground-state Rb atoms were measured for the 14 2D3 /2 state of Rb. The experiment was performed in the gas-cell condition s in a range of Rb vapour temperatures in the vicinity of 340 K. The l ifetime value tau = 1970(130) ns, agrees with the theoretical predicti on with allowance for the influence of blackbody radiation as well as of the effects due to core polarizability and spin-orbit interaction. The measured cross section sigma = 6.5(3.1) x 10(-12) cm2 is close to the geometrical cross section. This agrees with similar observations m ade by other authors for the case of the lower n 2D states of Rb.