La- binding energies by analysis of its photodetachment spectra

© 2016 American Physical Society. This study reinterprets an earlier experimental photoelectron kinetic energy spectrum of the negative ion of lanthanum [A. M. Covington, D. Calabrese, J. S. Thompson, and T. J. Kvale, J. Phys. B 31, L855 (1998)JPAPEH0953-407510.1088/0953-4075/31/20/002] by carrying out relativistic configuration interaction (RCI) photodetachment calculations. The results confirm the earlier RCI calculation for the electron affinity of lanthanum (0.545 eV) [S. M. O\u27Malley and D. R. Beck, Phys. Rev. A 79, 012511 (2009)PLRAAN1050-294710.1103/PhysRevA.79.012511] and revise it to a slightly larger value of 0.550 eV, thus modifying the experimental interpretation of 0.47±0.02 eV. The calculation also yields the binding energies of the other thirteen bound states of La-. Good agreement has been found when these energies are compared to the results of a recent experimental study on La- [C. W. Walter, N. D. Gibson, D. J. Matyas, C. T. Crocker, K. A. Dungan, B. R. Matola, and J. Rohlén, Phys. Rev. Lett. 113, 063001 (2014)PRLTAO0031-900710.1103/PhysRevLett.113.063001]. Finally, our analysis confirms the transition energy for the potential laser cooling transition of 3F2e→3D1o in La-