Neutral calcium, strontium and barium - Determination of f values of the principal series by the hook method

The hook method is used to measure the absolute gf values of the following lines: the first 13 members of the principal series, the ground-level transition at 2275.46 A, and the intercombination line at 6572.78 A in Ca I; the first 22 members of the principal series, the ground-level transitions at 2428.1 and 2680.08 A, and the intercombination line at 6892.6 A in Sr I; and the members from principal quantum numbers 12 to 21, inclusive, as well as the ground-level transitions at 2432.5, 2444.6, and 2454.06 A in Ba I. The results are compared with those of previous measurements, and the quantum-defect method is applied to plot the oscillator strengths of the discrete transitions in the principal series of Mg I, Ca I, and Sr I in order to obtain estimates of the photoionization cross sections at the first ionization limit. The resulting cross sections are found to be about twice as large as previous values based on vapor-pressure data.