Electric-dipole matrix elements for $\mathrm{ns}-n^{\prime }p,$ $\mathrm{nd}-n^{\prime }p,$ and $6d-4f$ transitions in Rb are calculated using a relativistic all-order method. A third-order calculation is also carried out for these matrix elements to evaluate the importance of the high-order many-body perturbation theory contributions. The all-order matrix elements are used to evaluate lifetimes of $\mathrm{ns}$ and $\mathrm{np}$ levels with $n=6,7,8\mathrm{}$ and $\mathrm{nd}$ levels with $n=4,5,6\mathrm{}$ for comparison with experiment and to provide benchmark values for these lifetimes. The dynamic polarizabilities are calculated for $\mathrm{ns}$ states of rubidium. The resulting lifetime and polarizability values are compared with available theory and experiment.

• Received 9 July 2003

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevA.69.022509