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Full-Text Articles in Physics

Suppression Of Dielectronic Recombination Due To Finite Density Effects. Ii. Analytical Refinement And Application To Density-Dependent Ionization Balances And Agn Broad-Line Emission, D. Nikolić, T. W. Gorczyca, K. T. Korista, Marios Chatzikos, Gary J. Ferland, Francisco Guzmán, P. A. M. Van Hoof, R. J. R. Williams, N. R. Badnell Aug 2018

Suppression Of Dielectronic Recombination Due To Finite Density Effects. Ii. Analytical Refinement And Application To Density-Dependent Ionization Balances And Agn Broad-Line Emission, D. Nikolić, T. W. Gorczyca, K. T. Korista, Marios Chatzikos, Gary J. Ferland, Francisco Guzmán, P. A. M. Van Hoof, R. J. R. Williams, N. R. Badnell

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications

We present improved fits to our treatment of suppression of dielectronic recombination at intermediate densities. At low densities, most recombined excited states eventually decay to the ground state, and therefore the total dielectronic recombination rate to all levels is preserved. At intermediate densities, on the other hand, collisions can lead to ionization of higher-lying excited states, thereby suppressing the dielectronic recombination rate. The improved suppression factors presented here, although highly approximate, allow summed recombination rate coefficients to be used to intermediate densities. There have been several technical improvements to our previously presented fits. For H- through B-like ions the activation …


Atomic Data Revisions For Transitions Relevant To Observations Of Interstellar, Circumgalactic, And Intergalactic Matter, Frances H. Cashman, Varsha P. Kulkarni, Romas Kisielius, Gary J. Ferland, Pavel Bogdanovich May 2017

Atomic Data Revisions For Transitions Relevant To Observations Of Interstellar, Circumgalactic, And Intergalactic Matter, Frances H. Cashman, Varsha P. Kulkarni, Romas Kisielius, Gary J. Ferland, Pavel Bogdanovich

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications

Measurements of element abundances in galaxies from astrophysical spectroscopy depend sensitively on the atomic data used. With the goal of making the latest atomic data accessible to the community, we present a compilation of selected atomic data for resonant absorption lines at wavelengths longward of 911.753 Å (the H I Lyman limit), for key heavy elements (heavier than atomic number 5) of astrophysical interest. In particular, we focus on the transitions of those ions that have been observed in the Milky Way interstellar medium (ISM), the circumgalactic medium (CGM) of the Milky Way and/or other galaxies, and the intergalactic medium …


Emission Line Ratios Of Fe Iii As Astrophysical Plasma Diagnostics, Sibasish Laha, Niall B. Tyndall, Francis P. Keenan, Connor P. Ballance, Catherine A. Ramsbottom, Gary J. Ferland, Alan Hibbert May 2017

Emission Line Ratios Of Fe Iii As Astrophysical Plasma Diagnostics, Sibasish Laha, Niall B. Tyndall, Francis P. Keenan, Connor P. Ballance, Catherine A. Ramsbottom, Gary J. Ferland, Alan Hibbert

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications

Recent, state-of-the-art calculations of A-values and electron impact excitation rates for Fe III are used in conjunction with the Cloudy modeling code to derive emission-line intensity ratios for optical transitions among the fine-structure levels of the 3d6 configuration. A comparison of these with high-resolution, high signal-to-noise spectra of gaseous nebulae reveals that previous discrepancies found between theory and observation are not fully resolved by the latest atomic data. Blending is ruled out as a likely cause of the discrepancies, because temperature- and density-independent ratios (arising from lines with common upper levels) match well with those predicted by theory. For …


Testing Atomic Collision Theory With The Two-Photon Continuum Of Astrophysical Nebulae, Francisco Guzmán, N. R. Badnell, Marios Chatzikos, P. A. M. Van Hoof, R. J. R. Williams, Gary J. Ferland Feb 2017

Testing Atomic Collision Theory With The Two-Photon Continuum Of Astrophysical Nebulae, Francisco Guzmán, N. R. Badnell, Marios Chatzikos, P. A. M. Van Hoof, R. J. R. Williams, Gary J. Ferland

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications

Accurate rates for energy-degenerate l-changing collisions are needed to determine cosmological abundances and recombination. There are now several competing theories for the treatment of this process, and it is not possible to test these experimentally. We show that the H i two-photon continuum produced by astrophysical nebulae is strongly affected by l-changing collisions. We perform an analysis of the different underlying atomic processes and simulate the recombination and two-photon spectrum of a nebula containing H and He. We provide an extended set of effective recombination coefficients and updated l-changing 2s − 2p transition rates using …


H, He-Like Recombination Spectra – I. L-Changing Collisions For Hydrogen, Francisco Guzmán, N. R. Badnell, R. J. R. Williams, P. A. M. Van Hoof, Marios Chatzikos, Gary J. Ferland Apr 2016

H, He-Like Recombination Spectra – I. L-Changing Collisions For Hydrogen, Francisco Guzmán, N. R. Badnell, R. J. R. Williams, P. A. M. Van Hoof, Marios Chatzikos, Gary J. Ferland

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications

Hydrogen and helium emission lines in nebulae form by radiative recombination. This is a simple process which, in principle, can be described to very high precision. Ratios of He I and H I emission lines can be used to measure the He+/H+ abundance ratio to the same precision as the recombination rate coefficients. This paper investigates the controversy over the correct theory to describe dipole l-changing collisions (nlnl′ = l ± 1) between energy-degenerate states within an n-shell. The work of Pengelly & Seaton has, for half-a-century, been considered the definitive …


Atomic Data And Spectral Model For Fe Ɪɪ, Manuel A. Bautista, Vanessa Fivet, Connor Ballance, Pascal Quinet, Gary J. Ferland, Claudio Mendoza, Timothy R. Kallman Jul 2015

Atomic Data And Spectral Model For Fe Ɪɪ, Manuel A. Bautista, Vanessa Fivet, Connor Ballance, Pascal Quinet, Gary J. Ferland, Claudio Mendoza, Timothy R. Kallman

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications

We present extensive calculations of radiative transition rates and electron impact collision strengths for Fe ii. The data sets involve 52 levels from the 3d7, 3d64s, and 3d54s2 configurations. Computations of A-values are carried out with a combination of state-of-the-art multiconfiguration approaches, namely the relativistic Hartree–Fock, Thomas–Fermi–Dirac potential, and Dirac–Fock methods, while the R-matrix plus intermediate coupling frame transformation, Breit–Pauli R-matrix, and Dirac R-matrix packages are used to obtain collision strengths. We examine the advantages and shortcomings of each of these methods, and …


Stout: Cloudy's Atomic And Molecular Database, Matt L. Lykins, Gary J. Ferland, R. Kisielius, Marios Chatzikos, R. L. Porter, P. A. M. Van Hoof, R. J. R. Williams, F. P. Keenan, P. C. Stancil Jul 2015

Stout: Cloudy's Atomic And Molecular Database, Matt L. Lykins, Gary J. Ferland, R. Kisielius, Marios Chatzikos, R. L. Porter, P. A. M. Van Hoof, R. J. R. Williams, F. P. Keenan, P. C. Stancil

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications

We describe a new atomic and molecular database we developed for use in the spectral synthesis code Cloudy. The design of Stout is driven by the data needs of Cloudy, which simulates molecular, atomic, and ionized gas with kinetic temperatures 2.8 K < T <1010 K and densities spanning the low-to high-density limits. The radiation field between photon energies 10−8 Ry and 100 MeV is considered, along with all atoms and ions of the lightest 30 elements, and ~102 molecules. For ease of maintenance, the data are stored in a format as close as possible to the original data …


Accurate Determination Of The Free–Free Gaunt Factor – Ii. Relativistic Gaunt Factors, P. A. M. Van Hoof, Gary J. Ferland, R. J. R. Williams, K. Volk, Marios Chatzikos, M. Lykins, R. L. Porter May 2015

Accurate Determination Of The Free–Free Gaunt Factor – Ii. Relativistic Gaunt Factors, P. A. M. Van Hoof, Gary J. Ferland, R. J. R. Williams, K. Volk, Marios Chatzikos, M. Lykins, R. L. Porter

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications

When modelling an ionized plasma, all spectral synthesis codes need the thermally averaged free–free Gaunt factor defined over a very wide range of parameter space in order to produce an accurate prediction for the spectrum. Until now no data set exists that would meet these needs completely. We have therefore produced a table of relativistic Gaunt factors over a much wider range of parameter space than has ever been produced before. We present tables of the thermally averaged Gaunt factor covering the range 10log γ2 = −6 to 10 and 10log u = −16 to 13 for …


Bootstrapping Dielectronic Recombination From Second-Row Elements And The Orion Nebula, N. R. Badnell, Gary J. Ferland, T. W. Gorczyca, D. Nikolić, Gururaj Anil Wagle May 2015

Bootstrapping Dielectronic Recombination From Second-Row Elements And The Orion Nebula, N. R. Badnell, Gary J. Ferland, T. W. Gorczyca, D. Nikolić, Gururaj Anil Wagle

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications

Dielectronic recombination (DR) is the dominant recombination process for most heavy elements in photoionized clouds. Accurate DR rates for a species can be predicted when the positions of autoionizing states are known. Unfortunately such data are not available for most third- and higher-row elements. This introduces an uncertainty that is especially acute for photoionized clouds, where the low temperatures mean that DR occurs energetically through very low-lying autoionizing states. This paper discusses S2+ → S+ DR, the process that is largely responsible for establishing the [S iii]/[S ii] ratio in nebulae. We derive an empirical rate coefficient using …


Atomic Data For Zn Ɪɪ: Improving Spectral Diagnostics Of Chemical Evolution In High-Redshift Galaxies, Romas Kisielius, Varsha P. Kulkarni, Gary J. Ferland, Pavel Bogdanovich, Debopam Som, Matt L. Lykins May 2015

Atomic Data For Zn Ɪɪ: Improving Spectral Diagnostics Of Chemical Evolution In High-Redshift Galaxies, Romas Kisielius, Varsha P. Kulkarni, Gary J. Ferland, Pavel Bogdanovich, Debopam Som, Matt L. Lykins

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications

Damped Lyα (DLA) and sub-DLA absorbers in quasar spectra provide the most sensitive tools for measuring the element abundances of distant galaxies. The estimation of abundances from absorption lines depends sensitively on the accuracy of the atomic data used. We have started a project to produce new atomic spectroscopic parameters for optical and UV spectral lines using state-of-the-art computer codes employing a very broad configuration interaction (CI) basis. Here we report our results for Zn ii, an ion used widely in studies of the interstellar medium (ISM) as well as DLAs and sub-DLAs. We report new calculations of many …


Accurate Determination Of The Free–Free Gaunt Factor – I. Non-Relativistic Gaunt Factors, P. A. M. Van Hoof, R. J. R. Williams, K. Vollk, Marios Chatzikos, Gary J. Ferland, M. Lykins, R. L. Porter, Ye Wang Oct 2014

Accurate Determination Of The Free–Free Gaunt Factor – I. Non-Relativistic Gaunt Factors, P. A. M. Van Hoof, R. J. R. Williams, K. Vollk, Marios Chatzikos, Gary J. Ferland, M. Lykins, R. L. Porter, Ye Wang

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications

Modern spectral synthesis codes need the thermally averaged free–free Gaunt factor defined over a very wide range of parameter space in order to produce an accurate prediction for the spectrum emitted by an ionized plasma. Until now no set of data exists that would meet this need in a fully satisfactory way. We have therefore undertaken to produce a table of very accurate non-relativistic Gaunt factors over a much wider range of parameters than has ever been produced before. We first produced a table of non-averaged Gaunt factors, covering the parameter space 10log ϵi = −20 to +10 …


Atomic Data For S Ii—Toward Better Diagnostics Of Chemical Evolution In High-Redshift Galaxies, Romas Kisielius, Varsha P. Kulkarni, Gary J. Ferland, Pavel Bogdanovich, Matt L. Lykins Dec 2013

Atomic Data For S Ii—Toward Better Diagnostics Of Chemical Evolution In High-Redshift Galaxies, Romas Kisielius, Varsha P. Kulkarni, Gary J. Ferland, Pavel Bogdanovich, Matt L. Lykins

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications

Absorption-line spectroscopy is a powerful tool used to estimate element abundances in both the nearby and distant universe. The accuracy of the abundances thus derived is naturally limited by the accuracy of the atomic data assumed for the spectral lines. We have recently started a project to perform new extensive atomic data calculations used for optical/UV spectral lines in the plasma modeling code Cloudy using state of the art quantal calculations. Here, we demonstrate our approach by focussing on S II, an ion used to estimate metallicities for Milky Way interstellar clouds as well as distant damped Lyman-alpha (DLA) and …


Suppression Of Dielectronic Recombination Due To Finite Density Effects, D. Nikolić, T. W. Gorczyca, K. T. Korista, Gary J. Ferland, N. R. Badnell Apr 2013

Suppression Of Dielectronic Recombination Due To Finite Density Effects, D. Nikolić, T. W. Gorczyca, K. T. Korista, Gary J. Ferland, N. R. Badnell

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications

We have developed a general model for determining density-dependent effective dielectronic recombination (DR) rate coefficients in order to explore finite-density effects on the ionization balance of plasmas. Our model consists of multiplying by a suppression factor those highly-accurate total zero-density DR rate coefficients which have been produced from state-of-the-art theoretical calculations and which have been benchmarked by experiment. The suppression factor is based upon earlier detailed collision-radiative calculations which were made for a wide range of ions at various densities and temperatures, but used a simplified treatment of DR. A general suppression formula is then developed as a function of …


Erratum: 'Improved He I Emissivities In The Case B Approximation', R. L. Porter, Gary J. Ferland, P. J. Storey, M. J. Detisch Apr 2013

Erratum: 'Improved He I Emissivities In The Case B Approximation', R. L. Porter, Gary J. Ferland, P. J. Storey, M. J. Detisch

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.


Radiative Cooling In Collisionally Ionized And Photoionized Plasmas, Matt Lykins, Gary J. Ferland, Ryan L. Porter, Peter A. M. Van Hoof, R. J. R. Williams, Orly Gnat Mar 2013

Radiative Cooling In Collisionally Ionized And Photoionized Plasmas, Matt Lykins, Gary J. Ferland, Ryan L. Porter, Peter A. M. Van Hoof, R. J. R. Williams, Orly Gnat

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications

We discuss recent improvements in the calculation of the radiative cooling in both collisionally ionized and photoionized plasmas. We are extending the spectral simulation code CLOUDY so that as much as possible of the underlying atomic data are taken from external data bases, some created by others and some developed by the CLOUDY team. This paper focuses on recent changes in the treatment of many stages of ionization of iron, and discusses its extensions to other elements. The H- and He-like ions are treated in the isoelectronic approach described previously. Fe II is a special case treated with a large …


Improved He I Emissivities In The Case B Approximation, R. L. Porter, Gary J. Ferland, P. J. Storey, M. J. Detisch Sep 2012

Improved He I Emissivities In The Case B Approximation, R. L. Porter, Gary J. Ferland, P. J. Storey, M. J. Detisch

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications

We update our prior work on the case B collisional-recombination spectrum of He i to incorporate ab initio photoionization cross-sections. This large set of accurate, self-consistent cross-sections represents a significant improvement in He i emissivity calculations because it largely obviates the piecemeal nature that has marked all modern works. A second, more recent set of ab initio cross-sections is also available, but we show that those are less consistent with bound-bound transition probabilities than our adopted set. We compare our new effective recombination coefficients with our prior work and our new emissivities with those by other researchers, and we conclude …


Electron-Impact Excitation Of O Ii Fine-Structure Levels, R. Kisielius, P. J. Storey, Gary J. Ferland, F. P. Keenan Jan 2009

Electron-Impact Excitation Of O Ii Fine-Structure Levels, R. Kisielius, P. J. Storey, Gary J. Ferland, F. P. Keenan

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications

Effective collision strengths for forbidden transitions among the five energetically lowest fine-structure levels of O II are calculated in the Breit–Pauli approximation using the R-matrix method. Results are presented for the electron temperature range 100–100 000 K. The accuracy of the calculations is evaluated via the use of different types of radial orbital sets and a different configuration expansion basis for the target wavefunctions. A detailed assessment of previous available data is given, and erroneous results are highlighted. Our results reconfirm the validity of the original Seaton and Osterbrock scaling for the optical O II ratio, a matter of some …


Uncertainties In Theoretical Hei Emissivities: Hii Regions, Primordial Abundance And Cosmological Recombination, R. L. Porter, Gary J. Ferland, Keith B. Macadam, P. J. Storey Jan 2009

Uncertainties In Theoretical Hei Emissivities: Hii Regions, Primordial Abundance And Cosmological Recombination, R. L. Porter, Gary J. Ferland, Keith B. Macadam, P. J. Storey

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications

A number of recent works in astronomy and cosmology have relied upon theoretical He I emissivities, but we know of no effort to quantify the uncertainties in the atomic data. We analyse and assign uncertainties to all relevant atomic data, perform Monte Carlo analyses, and report standard deviations in the line emissivities. We consider two sets of errors, which we call ‘optimistic’ and ‘pessimistic’. We also consider three different conditions, corresponding to prototypical Galactic and extragalactic H IIregions and the epoch of cosmological recombination. In the extragalactic H II case, the errors we obtain are comparable to or larger than …


Energy Levels And Transition Probabilities For Boron-Like Fe Xxii, V. Jonauskas, P. Bogdanovich, F. P. Keenan, R. Kisielius, M. E. Foord, R. F. Heeter, S. J. Rose, Gary J. Ferland, P. H. Norrington Sep 2006

Energy Levels And Transition Probabilities For Boron-Like Fe Xxii, V. Jonauskas, P. Bogdanovich, F. P. Keenan, R. Kisielius, M. E. Foord, R. F. Heeter, S. J. Rose, Gary J. Ferland, P. H. Norrington

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications

The Multiconfiguration Dirac-Fock method is used to calculate the energies of the 407 lowest levels in FeXXII. These results are cross-checked using a suite of codes which employ the configuration interaction method on the basis set of transformed radial orbitals with variable parameters, and takes into account relativistic corrections in the Breit-Pauli approximation. Transition probabilities, oscillator and line strengths are presented for electric dipole (E1), electric quadrupole (E2) and magnetic dipole (M1) transitions among these levels. The total radiative transition probabilities, as well as the five largest values from each level be it of E1, M1, E2, M2, or E3 …


Energy Levels And Transition Probabilities For Nitrogen-Like Fe Xx, V. Jonauskas, P. Bogdanovich, F. P. Keenan, M. E. Foord, R. F. Heeter, S. J. Rose, Gary J. Ferland, R. Kisielius, Peter A. M. Van Hoof, P. H. Norrington Apr 2005

Energy Levels And Transition Probabilities For Nitrogen-Like Fe Xx, V. Jonauskas, P. Bogdanovich, F. P. Keenan, M. E. Foord, R. F. Heeter, S. J. Rose, Gary J. Ferland, R. Kisielius, Peter A. M. Van Hoof, P. H. Norrington

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications

Energies of the 700 lowest levels in Fexx have been obtained using the multiconfiguration Dirac-Fock method. Configuration interaction method on the basis set of transformed radial orbitals with variable parameters taking into account relativistic corrections in the Breit-Pauli approximation was used to crosscheck our presented results. Transition probabilities, oscillator and line strengths are presented for electric dipole (E1), electric quadrupole (E2) and magnetic dipole (M1) transitions among these levels. The total radiative transition probabilities from each level are also provided. Results are compared with data compiled by NIST and with other theoretical work.


Dirac-Fock Energy Levels And Transition Probabilities For Oxygen-Like Fe Xix, V. Jonauskas, F. P. Keenan, M. E. Foord, R. F. Heeter, S. J. Rose, Gary J. Ferland, R. Kisielius, Peter A. M. Van Hoof, P. H. Norrington Sep 2004

Dirac-Fock Energy Levels And Transition Probabilities For Oxygen-Like Fe Xix, V. Jonauskas, F. P. Keenan, M. E. Foord, R. F. Heeter, S. J. Rose, Gary J. Ferland, R. Kisielius, Peter A. M. Van Hoof, P. H. Norrington

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications

Multiconfigurational Dirac-Fock calculations are reported for 656 energy levels and the 214 840 electric dipole (E1), electric quadrupole (E2) and magnetic dipole (M1) transition probabilities in oxygen-like FeXIX. The spectroscopic notations as well as the total transition probabilities from each energy level are provided. Good agreement is found with data compiled by NIST.


Relativistic Allowed And Forbidden Transition Probabilities For Fluorine-Like Fe Xviii, V. Jonauskas, F. P. Keenan, M. E. Foord, R. F. Heeter, S. J. Rose, P. A. M. Van Hoof, Gary J. Ferland, K. M. Aggarwal, R. Kisielius, P. H. Norrington Mar 2004

Relativistic Allowed And Forbidden Transition Probabilities For Fluorine-Like Fe Xviii, V. Jonauskas, F. P. Keenan, M. E. Foord, R. F. Heeter, S. J. Rose, P. A. M. Van Hoof, Gary J. Ferland, K. M. Aggarwal, R. Kisielius, P. H. Norrington

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications

Energy levels and the corresponding transition probabilities for allowed and forbidden transitions among the levels of the ground configuration and first 23 excited configurations of fluorine-like Fe XVIII have been calculated using the multiconfigurational Dirac-Fock GRASP code. A total of 379 lowest bound levels of Fe XVIII is presented, and the energy levels are identified in spectroscopic notations. Transition probabilities, oscillator strengths and line strengths for electric dipole (E1), electric quadrupole (E2) and magnetic dipole (M1) transitions among these 379 levels are also presented. The calculated energy levels and transition probabilities are compared with experimental data.


Inner-Shell Photoexcitation Of Fe Xv And Fe Xvi, R. Kisielius, A. Hibbert, Gary J. Ferland, M. E. Foord, S. J. Rose, P. A. M. Vanhoof, F. P. Keenan Jan 2003

Inner-Shell Photoexcitation Of Fe Xv And Fe Xvi, R. Kisielius, A. Hibbert, Gary J. Ferland, M. E. Foord, S. J. Rose, P. A. M. Vanhoof, F. P. Keenan

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications

The configuration-interaction method as implemented in the computer code CIV3 is used to determine energy levels, electric dipole radiative transition wavelengths, oscillator strengths and transition probabilities for inner-shell excitation of transitions in Fe XV and Fe XVI. Specifically, transitions are considered of the type 1s22s22p63s2–1s22s22p53l3l′3l′′ (l, l′ and l′′= s, p or d) in Fe XV and 1s22s22p63s–1s22s22p53l3l′ (l …