J dependence of collisional broadening for fine-structure components of Sm I

The broadening, by inert gases, of the magnetic-dipole absorption lines at 14.76, 11.73, and 11.17 μm, governed by transitions in the lower 7P/sub J/ multiplet of atomic samarium, has been studied. A tunable injection semiconductor laser based on Pb--Sn--Te served as the light source. It was shown that with an increase in the total angular momentum J of the upper state, broadening of the corresponding forbidden line grows. It has also been established that the broadening of the given line increases with an increase in the polarizability of the broadening inert atoms. The studied lines, caused by transitions in the inner f shell of Sm I, are broadened by inert gases 10 to 300 times weaker than lines which were caused by transitions in the outer valence shells