Accurate theoretical lifetimes of the excited states of metastable negative ions states are sorely needed to stimulate the detection and measurement of these species. Calculations will be performed on the alkaline earth and other atomic ions using a combined relativistic-many-body methodology. The Dirac- Breit Hamiltonian is used and many-body effects introduced using a perturbation-CI technique. The bound spinors are relativistic screened hydrogenic functions and the continuum spinors are generated using a frozen core model with exchange. Applications will focus on accurate calculations of energy levels and electric dipole transitions for Mg-, Ca-, Zn-, Mn-, P-, and S-. Low Z species will be treated using a combination of non-relativistic many body theory and the Pauli approximation. High Z candidates will be explored using the full relativistic many-body theory.
