Abstract
Metastability and long-range interactions of Mg, Ca, and Sr in the lowest-energy metastable state are investigated. The calculated lifetimes are 38 min for , 118 min for , and 17 min for , supporting feasibility of cooling and trapping experiments. The quadrupole-quadrupole long-range interactions of two metastable atoms are evaluated for various molecular symmetries. Hund's case (c) potential possesses a large 100–1000 K potential barrier. Therefore magnetic trap losses can possibly be reduced using cold metastable atoms in a stretched state. Calculations were performed in the framework of ab initio relativistic configuration interaction method coupled with the random-phase approximation.
- Received 14 March 2001
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.87.023002
©2001 American Physical Society