Semiempirical branching fractions of the 3s 2 3p 2 - 3s3p 3 J=2 transition array in P II 1

A semiempirical method is used to characterize the 3s 2 3p 2 - 3s3p 3 J=2 transition array in P II. In this method Slater, spin-orbit, and radial parameters are fitted to experimental energy levels to obtain a description of the array in terms of LS-coupling basis vectors. The intermediate coupling (IC) and configuration interaction (CI) amplitudes so obtained are then used to predict the branching fractions of transitions within the array. These two configurations are particularly interesting because the 3s 2 3p 2 has been shown to be virtually free of CI but affected by IC, whereas the 3s3p 3 is virtually free of IC but affected by CI. PACS nos.: 32.70.Cs; 32.30.Jc; 34.50.Fa