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Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications

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Atomic Processes

Articles 1 - 9 of 9

Full-Text Articles in Physics

Revisiting He-Like X-Ray Emission-Line Plasma Diagnostics, R. L. Porter, Gary J. Ferland Jul 2007

Revisiting He-Like X-Ray Emission-Line Plasma Diagnostics, R. L. Porter, Gary J. Ferland

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications

A complete model of helium-like line and continuum emission has been incorporated into the plasma simulation code Cloudy. All elements between He and Zn are treated, any number of levels can be considered, and radiative and collisional processes are included. This includes photoionization from all levels, line transfer, including continuum pumping and destruction by background opacities, scattering, and collisional processes. The model is calculated self-consistently along with the ionization and thermal structure of the surrounding nebula. The result is a complete line and continuum spectrum of the plasma. Here we focus on the ions of the He I sequence and …


J-Resolved He I Emission Predictions In The Low-Density Limit, R. P. Bauman, R. L. Porter, Gary J. Ferland, K. B. Macadam Jul 2005

J-Resolved He I Emission Predictions In The Low-Density Limit, R. P. Bauman, R. L. Porter, Gary J. Ferland, K. B. Macadam

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications

Determinations of the primordial helium abundance are used in precision cosmological tests. These require highly accurate He I recombination rate coefficients. Here we reconsider the formation of He I recombination lines in the low-density limit. This is the simplest case, and it forms the basis for the more complex situation in which collisions are important. The formation of a recombination line is a two-step process, beginning with the capture of a continuum electron into a bound state and followed by radiative cascade to ground. The rate coefficient for capture from the continuum is obtained from photoionization cross sections and detailed …


Theoretical He I Emissivities In The Case B Approximation, R. L. Porter, R. P. Bauman, Gary J. Ferland, K. B. Macadam Mar 2005

Theoretical He I Emissivities In The Case B Approximation, R. L. Porter, R. P. Bauman, Gary J. Ferland, K. B. Macadam

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications

We calculate the He I case B recombination cascade spectrum using improved radiative and collisional data. We present new emissivities over a range of electron temperatures and densities. The differences between our results and the current standard are large enough to have a significant effect not only on the interpretation of observed spectra of a wide variety of objects, but also on determinations of the primordial helium abundance.


12C/13C Ratio In Planetary Nebulae From The Iue Archives, R. H. Rubin, Gary J. Ferland, E. E. Chollet, R. Horstmeyer Apr 2004

12C/13C Ratio In Planetary Nebulae From The Iue Archives, R. H. Rubin, Gary J. Ferland, E. E. Chollet, R. Horstmeyer

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications

We investigated the abundance ratio of 12C/13C in planetary nebulae by examining emission lines arising from C III 2s2p3Po2,1,0 → 2s21S0. Spectra were retrieved from the International Ultraviolet Explorer archives, and multiple spectra of the same object were co-added to achieve improved signal-to-noise ratio. The 13C hyperfine structure line at 1909.6 Å was detected in NGC 2440. The 12C/13C ratio was found to be ~4.4+/-1.2. In all other objects, we provide an upper limit for the flux of the 1910 Å line. For 23 …


The Effects Of Low-Temperature Dielectronic Recombination On The Relative Populations Of The Fe M-Shell States, S. B. Kraemer, Gary J. Ferland, J. R. Gabel Apr 2004

The Effects Of Low-Temperature Dielectronic Recombination On The Relative Populations Of The Fe M-Shell States, S. B. Kraemer, Gary J. Ferland, J. R. Gabel

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications

We examine the effects of low-temperature, or Δn=0, dielectronic recombination (DR) on the ionization balance of the Fe M shell (Fe IX-Fe XVI). Since Δn=0 rates are not available for these ions, we have derived estimates based on the existing rates for the first four ionization states of the CNO sequence and newly calculated rates for L-shell ions of third-row elements and Fe. For a range of ionization parameter and column density applicable to the intrinsic absorbers detected in ASCA, Chandra, and XMM-Newton observations of Seyfert galaxies, we generated two grids of photoionization models, with and …


The Effects Of Charge Transfer On The Thermal Equilibrium Of Photoionized Nebulae, J. B. Kingdon, Gary J. Ferland May 1999

The Effects Of Charge Transfer On The Thermal Equilibrium Of Photoionized Nebulae, J. B. Kingdon, Gary J. Ferland

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications

Charge transfer can affect both the ionization and thermal balance of astrophysical plasmas. Using the most recent rate coefficients and energy defects, we calculate the heating/cooling rates for charge transfer reactions between hydrogen and elements up to Z=30. We incorporate these values into the photoionization code CLOUDY. Results from models approximating a wide range of astrophysical objects and conditions suggest that charge transfer can make a significant contribution to the heating near the H ionization front, particularly in objects with a hard ionizing continuum or enhanced abundances. Charge transfer heating can also be important in regimes in which the usual …


Charge Transfer Between Neutral Atoms And Highly Ionized Species: Implications For Iso Observations, Gary J. Ferland, K. T. Korista, D. A. Verner, A. Dalgarno Jun 1997

Charge Transfer Between Neutral Atoms And Highly Ionized Species: Implications For Iso Observations, Gary J. Ferland, K. T. Korista, D. A. Verner, A. Dalgarno

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications

We estimate rate coefficients for charge transfer between neutral hydrogen and helium and moderately to highly ionized heavy elements. Although charge transfer does not have much influence on hot collisionally ionized plasmas, its effects on photoionized plasmas can be profound. We present several photoionization models that illustrate the significant effect of charge transfer on the far-infrared lines detected by ISO.


Accurate Hydrogen Spectral Simulations With A Compact Model Atom, Jason W. Ferguson, Gary J. Ferland Apr 1997

Accurate Hydrogen Spectral Simulations With A Compact Model Atom, Jason W. Ferguson, Gary J. Ferland

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications

Many large-scale numerical simulations of astrophysical plasmas must also reproduce the hydrogen ionization and the resulting emission spectrum, in some cases quite accurately. We describe a compact model hydrogen atom that can be readily incorporated into such simulations. It reproduces the recombination efficiency and line spectrum predicted by much larger calculations for a very broad range of densities and temperatures. Uncertainties in hydrogen collision data are the largest source of differences between our compact atom and predictions of more extensive calculations and underscore the need for accurate atomic data.


Grains In Ionized Nebulae. Ii. Heavy-Element Depletion, J. B. Kingdon, Gary J. Ferland Mar 1997

Grains In Ionized Nebulae. Ii. Heavy-Element Depletion, J. B. Kingdon, Gary J. Ferland

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications

The presence of grains in gaseous nebulae can have significant effects on the thermal balance and radiative line transfer in these objects. The depletion of condensable elements onto grains provides evidence that dust exists in the ionized regions of nebulae. In this paper, we consider the elements Sc, Ti, V, and Cr, all of which are strongly depleted in the general interstellar medium. We construct simple three-level atoms for several ions of these elements, and incorporate them into our photoionization code CLOUDY. For both a model planetary nebula and a model H II region, we find that several lines of …