Hyperfine structure measurements of neutral niobium with Fourier transform spectroscopy

Aims. We report on experimental studies of hyperfine structure splitting of neutral niobium. Methods. We used high-resolution Fourier transform spectroscopy to record a spectrum of niobium produced with a hollow cathode discharge lamp in the range of wavenumbers from 10 000 cm-1 to 30 000 cm-1. Results. The magnetic dipole hyperfine structure constants A were determined for the 109 levels of odd parity by analyzing the profiles of 224 spectral lines. The A values of 57 of these level are reported for the first time