Spin-dipole induced lifetime of the least-bound quintet sigma state of He(2S)+He(2S)

The properties of the least-bound vibrational level (v=14) of the quintet sigma state formed during the ultracold collision of two spin-polarized metastable helium atoms are crucial to studies of photoassociation spectroscopy of metastable helium. We report a calculation of the autoionization lifetime of this state induced by spin-dipole coupling of the quintet sigma state to the singlet sigma state from which Penning and associative ionization processes are highly probable. We find a lifetime of about 150 microseconds, significantly larger than the recent experimental estimates of (4-5) microseconds.