Time-resolved laser-induced fluorescence lifetime measurements and relativistic Hartree-Fock calculations of transition probabilities in Sm II

Radiative lifetime measurements were performed with time-resolved laser-induced fluorescence techniques for 47 levels of the astrophysically important ion Sm1+ over the energy range 21 000 - 36 000 cm-1. The new results have been compared with previous measurements but also with theoretical calculations taking configuration interactions and core-polarization effects into account, and a satisfying agreement has been found for many levels of this complex ion. New calculated transition probabilities are deduced from the experimental lifetimes and from the theoretical branching fractions for 162 transitions of astrophysical interest. These results will help astrophysicists in the quantitative investigation of the chemical composition of CP stars