Measurement of the mercury (6s6p) 3P1-state lifetime in the frequency domain from integrated absorbance data

Quantitative UV laser absorption spectroscopy is implemented to measure the strength of the (6s2) 1S0 -> (6s6p)3P1 intercombination transition of Hg atoms near the wavelength of 253.7 nm and to retrieve the lifetime of the excited state. Tunable, single-mode, coherent radiation in the deep UV is produced through a double -stage second-harmonic generation process, starting from the output radiation of an external-cavity diode laser at 1014.8 nm. This latter is referenced to an optical frequency comb synthesizer. The measurement strategy exploits the relationship between the strength of an optical transition and the spontaneous emission Einstein coefficient. The complete uncertainty budget leads to an overall relative uncertainty of 0.6%, with a statistical contribution of 0.28 ns, which is the lowest ever obtained for the (6s6p) 3P1 lifetime. The new value, amounting to 125.12 +/- 0.79 ns, compares well with most of the past determinations within two times the quoted uncertainties. Despite this, it does not agree with the weighted average of the 12 prior values, thus suggesting that a critical reassessment of the uncertainty of some of the past measurements is probably necessary.