Radiative rates of transitions from the 2s2p$^{3}$ $^{5}$S{\deg}$_{2}$ level of neutral carbon

TL;DR

This paper critically evaluates experimental and theoretical radiative rates for specific transitions in neutral carbon, supporting current theoretical data and highlighting the need for new experiments due to discrepancies in existing measurements.

Contribution

It provides a critical comparison of experimental and theoretical radiative rates for neutral carbon transitions, confirming the reliability of current theoretical data and identifying issues with previous measurements.

Findings

Strong support for current theoretical data on C I

Published measurements for neutral carbon are unreliable

Discrepancies in data require new experimental investigations

Abstract

The measured radiative rates of the 2s22p2 3P1,2 - 2s2p3 5S{\deg}2 intercombination transitions in neutral carbon reported in the literature are critically evaluated by comparing them with theoretical and semi-empirical results. The experimental and theoretical values are compared for the carbon isoelectronic sequence from neutral carbon to nine-times ionized phosphorous. We find strong support for the currently recommended theoretical data on C I and conclude that the published measurements for this transition in neutral carbon cannot be trusted. The reasons for the discrepancies are not clear, and new experiments are needed.