Measurement of lifetimes by laser-induced fluorescence and determination of transition probabilities of astrophysical interest in NdIII

Selective lifetime measurements by time-resolved laser-induced fluorescence spectroscopy for 5 levels belonging to the 4f(3)5d configuration of doubly ionized neodymium provide a first and useful experimental test of the relativistic Hartree-Fock calculations in this ion of astrophysical interest. As a consequence, the accuracy of the transition probabilities deduced in the present work is well assessed. These new data are expected to help astrophysicists in the future to refine the analysis of the composition of chemically peculiar stars which frequently show large overabundances of lanthanides when compared to the solar system standards