Measurement of isotope shift in Eu II

Abstract

The isotope shift between singly-charged ^<151>Eu and ^<153>Eu in the 4f^7(^8S^o)6s^9S_4-4f^7(^8S^o)6p_1/2>(J=4) transition at 4129 A has been measured using fast ion beam-laser technique. This Eu line has attracted interest in connection with efforts of obtaining a cosmochronometer based on observed Th/Eu abundance ratios. Knowledge of the isotope shift is of importance in order to check that contaminations from line blends do not contribute to the line intensity of Eu II. The measured value of the isotope shift -0.1527(2) cm-1 (= -4578 MHz) is consistent with the old spectroscopic value of Krebs and Winkler -0.1503(25) cm-1 using a Fabry Perot interferometer, while the accuracy is improved substantially.