Comment on "Experimental Studies of Os^-: Observation of a Bound-Bound Electric Dipole Transition in an Atomic Negative Ion"

Abstract

Bilodeau and Haugan [1], using Infrared laser photodetachment spectroscopy, measured the binding energies (BEs) of the ground state (4Fe9/2) and the excited state (4Fe7/2) of the Os^- ion to be 1.07780(12) eV and 0.553(3) eV, respectively. These values are consistent with those calculated using Relativistic Configuration Interaction (RCI) calculations [2]. Here we have calculated the BEs for the ground state and the two excited states of the Os^- ion using our recent complex angular momentum (CAM) methodology [3] and obtained the BEs of 1.910, 1.230 and 0.224 eV, respectively (see Figure). We conclude that: 1) the measured value of 1.07780(12) eV corresponds to an excited state of Os^- and not to the EA of Os and 2) the EA of Os is 1.910 eV.