Effects of Collisions on Level Populations and Dielectronic Recombination Rates of Multiply-Charged Ions.
Abstract
A generalization of previously reported statistical theories is developed for determining the excited level populations and the ionization-recombination balance of multiply-charged atomic ions in an optically-thin high-temperature plasma. Account is taken of the most important collisional and radiative processes involving bound and autoionizing levels in three consecutive ionization stages. A set of rate equations is obtained for the population densities of the low-lying levels which contains effective excitation, ionization, and recombination rates describing indirect transitions through the more highly-excited bound and autoionizing levels. The familiar corona model equations for the ground state populations are recovered by making the assumption that all excited states decay by only spontaneous radiative or autoionization processes. When collisional processes become efficient in depopulating the highly-excited levels important in dielectronic recombination, the effective rate of recombination must be described by a collisional-dielectronic recombination coefficient.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Apr 01, 1978
- Accession Number
- ADA054934
Entities
People
- Jack F. Davis
- V. L. Jacobs
Organizations
- United States Naval Research Laboratory