Lifetimes of Rydberg states of Eu atoms

The radiative lifetimes of the Eu 4f⁷6snp (⁸P_J or ¹⁰P_J) Rydberg states with J=5/2 and 11/2 are investigated with a combination of multi-step laser excitation and pulsed electric field ionization, from which their dependence on the effective principal quantum number is observed. The lifetimes of 21 states are reported along with an evaluation of their experimental uncertainty. The influence of blackbody radiation, due to the oven temperature, on the lifetime of the higher-n states is detected. The non-hydrogen behavior of the investigated states is also observed.