This paper suggests a method of evaluation of uncertainties in calculated transition probabilities by randomly varying parameters of an atomic code and comparing the results. A control code has been written to randomly vary the input parameters with a normal statistical distribution around initial values with a certain standard deviation. For this particular implementation, Cowan’s suite of atomic codes (R.D. Cowan, The Theory of Atomic Structure and Spectra, Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1981) was used to calculate radiative rates of magnetic-dipole and electric-quadrupole transitions within the ground configuration of titanium-like iron, Fe V. The Slater parameters used in the calculations were adjusted to fit experimental energy levels with Cowan’s least-squares fitting program, RCE. The standard deviations of the fitted parameters were used as input of the control code providing the distribution widths of random trials for these parameters. Propagation of errors through the matrix diagonalization and summation of basis state expansions leads to significant variations in the resulting transition rates. These variations vastly differ in their magnitude for different transitions, depending on their sensitivity to errors in parameters. With this method, the rate uncertainty can be individually assessed for each calculated transition. Full article

We present a cloud-computing environment, referred to as AtomPy, based on Google-Drive Sheets and Pandas (Python Data Analysis Library) DataFrames to promote community-driven curation of atomic data for astrophysical applications, a stage beyond database development. The atomic model for each ionic species is contained in a multi-sheet workbook, tabulating representative sets of energy levels, A-values and electron impact effective collision strengths from different sources. The relevant issues that AtomPy intends to address are: (i) data quality by allowing open access to both data producers and users; (ii) comparisons of different datasets to facilitate accuracy assessments; (iii) downloading to local data structures (i.e., Pandas DataFrames) for further manipulation and analysis by prospective users; and (iv) data preservation by avoiding the discard of outdated sets. Data processing workflows are implemented by means of IPython Notebooks, and collaborative software developments are encouraged and managed within the GitHub social network. The facilities of AtomPy are illustrated with the critical assessment of the transition probabilities for ions in the hydrogen and helium isoelectronic sequences with atomic number Z ≤ 10. Full article

In this paper, we present results for the relativistic quantum mechanical calculations of electron-impact line widths and shifts of 2p-2s transitions in doubly ionized boron (B III) ions. We use the Dirac R-matrix methods to solve (N + 1)-electron colliding systems for the scattering matrices that are required. The line widths are calculated for an electron density 1:81 × 10¹⁸ cm^-3 and electron temperature 10:6 eV. The obtained results agree well with all the semiempirical calculations and most of the semiclassical calculations, and are closer to the experimental results published by Glenzer and Kunze (Glenzer, S.; Kunze, H.-J. Stark broadening of resonance transitions in B III. Phys. Rev. A 1996, 53, 2225–2229). Our line widths are almost twice as large as the earlier quantum mechanical calculations for the set of particular plasma conditions. Full article

“Stark broadening” theory and calculations have been extensively developed for about 50 years. The theory can now be considered as mature for many applications, especially for accurate spectroscopic diagnostics and modeling, in astrophysics, laboratory plasma physics and technological plasmas, as well. This requires the knowledge of numerous collisional line profiles. In order to meet these needs, the “SCP” (semiclassical perturbation) method and numerical code were created and developed. The SCP code is now extensively used for the needs of spectroscopic diagnostics and modeling, and the results of the published calculations are displayed in the STARK-B database. The aim of the present paper is to introduce the main approximations leading to the impact of semiclassical perturbation method and to give formulae entering the numerical SCP code, in order to understand the validity conditions of the method and of the results; and also to understand some regularities and systematic trends. This would also allow one to compare the method and its results to those of other methods and codes. ¹ Full article

In weakly coupled plasmas, it is common to describe the microfield using a Debye model. We examine here an “artificial” ideal one-component plasma with an infinite Debye length, which has been used for the test of line shape codes. We show that the infinite Debye length assumption can lead to a misinterpretation of numerical simulations results, in particular regarding the convergence of calculations. Our discussion is done within an analytical collision operator model developed for hydrogen line shapes in near-impact regimes. When properly employed, this model can serve as a reference for testing the convergence of simulations. Full article

In the framework of the Spectral Line Shapes in Plasmas Code Comparison Workshop (SLSP), large discrepancies appeared between the different approaches to account for ion motion effects in spectral line shape calculations. For a better understanding of these effects, in the second edition of the SLSP in August, 2013, two cases were dedicated to the study of the ionic field directionality on line shapes. In this paper, the effects of the direction and magnitude fluctuations are separately analyzed. The effects of two variants of electric field models, (i) a pure rotating field with constant magnitude and (ii) a time-dependent magnitude field in a given direction, together with the effects of the time-dependent ionic field on shapes of the He II Lyman-α and -β lines for different densities and temperatures, are discussed. Full article

Spectral line shapes of neutral helium 3889 Å(2³S–3³P) transition line are calculated by using several theoretical methods. The electronic contribution to the line broadening is calculated from quantum statistical many-particle theory by using thermodynamic Green's function, including dynamic screening of the electron-atom interaction. The ionic contribution is taken into account in a quasistatic approximation, where a static microfield distribution function is presented. Strong electron collisions are consistently considered with an effective two-particle T-matrix approach, where Convergent Close Coupling method gives scattering amplitudes including Debye screening for neutral helium. Then the static profiles converted to dynamic profiles by using the Frequency Fluctuation Model. Furthermore, Molecular Dynamics simulations for interacting and independent particles are used where the dynamic sequence of microfield is taken into account. Plasma parameters are diagnosed and good agreements are shown by comparing our theoretical results with the recent experimental result of Jovićević et al. (J. Phys. B: At. Mol. Opt. Phys. 2005, 38, 1249). Additionally, comparison with various experimental data in a wide range of electron density n_e ≈ (10²²− 10²⁴)m⁻³ and temperature T ≈ (2−6) × 10⁴ K are presented. Full article

We review studies of two kinds of dips in spectral line profiles emitted by plasmas—dips that have been predicted theoretically and observed experimentally: Langmuir-wave-caused dips (L-dips) and charge-exchange-caused dips (X-dips). There is a principal difference with respect to positions of L-dips and X-dips relative to the unperturbed wavelength of a spectral line: positions of L-dips scale with the electron density N_e roughly as N_e^1/2, while positions of X-dips are almost independent of N_e (the dependence is much weaker than for L-dips). L-dips and X-dips phenomena are important, both fundamentally and practically. The fundamental importance is due to a rich physics behind each of these phenomena. L-dips are a multi-frequency resonance phenomenon caused by a single-frequency (monochromatic) electric field. X-dips are due to charge exchange at anticrossings of terms of a diatomic quasi-molecule, whose nuclei have different charges. As for important practical applications, they are as follows: observations of L-dips constitute a very accurate method to measure the electron density in plasmas—a method that does not require knowledge of the electron temperature. L-dips also allow measuring the amplitude of the electric field of Langmuir waves—the only spectroscopic method available for this purpose. Observations of X-dips provide an opportunity to determine rate coefficient of charge exchange between multi-charged ions. This is an important reference data, virtually inaccessible by other experimental methods. The rate coefficients of charge exchange are important for magnetic fusion in Tokamaks, for population inversion in the soft x-ray and VUV ranges, for ion storage devices, as well as for astrophysics (e.g., for the solar plasma and for determining the physical state of planetary nebulae). Full article

The problems related to the spectral line-shape formation in the scrape of layer (SOL) in fusion reactor plasma for typical observation chords are considered. The SOL plasma is characterized by the relatively low electron density (10¹²–10¹³ cm⁻³) and high temperature (from 10 eV up to 1 keV). The main effects responsible for the line-shape formation in the SOL are Doppler and Zeeman effects. The main problem is a correct modeling of the neutral atom velocity distribution function (VDF). The VDF is determined by a number of atomic processes, namely: molecular dissociation, ionization and charge exchange of neutral atoms on plasma ions, electron excitation accompanied by the charge exchange from atomic excited states, and atom reflection from the wall. All the processes take place step by step during atom motion from the wall to the plasma core. In practice, the largest contribution to the neutral atom radiation emission comes from a thin layer near the wall with typical size 10–20 cm, which is small as compared with the minor radius of modern devices including international test experimental reactor ITER (radius 2 m). The important problem is a strongly non-uniform distribution of plasma parameters (electron and ion densities and temperatures). The distributions vary for different observation chords and ITER operation regimes. In the present report, most attention is paid to the problem of the VDF calculations. The most correct method for solving the problem is an application of the Monte Carlo method for atom motion near the wall. However, the method is sometimes too complicated to be combined with other numerical codes for plasma modeling for various regimes of fusion reactor operation. Thus, it is important to develop simpler methods for neutral atom VDF in space coordinates and velocities. The efficiency of such methods has to be tested via a comparison with the Monte Carlo codes for particular plasma conditions. Here a new simplified method for description of neutral atoms penetration into plasma is suggested. The method is based on the ballistic motion of neutrals along the line-of-sight (LoS) in the forward–back approximation. As a result, two-dimensional distribution functions, dependent on the LoS coordinate and the velocity projection on the LoS, and responsible for the Doppler broadening of the line shape, are calculated. A comparison of the method with Monte Carlo calculations allows the evaluation of the accuracy of the ballistic model. The Balmer spectral line shapes are calculated for specific LoS typical for ITER diagnostics. Full article

Uncertainties of calculated transition rates in LS-allowed electric dipole transitions in boron-like O IV and carbon-like Fe XXI are estimated using an approach in which differences in line strengths calculated in length and velocity gauges are utilized. Estimated uncertainties are compared and validated against several high-quality theoretical data sets in O IV, and implemented in large scale calculations in Fe XXI. Full article