Atoms, Volume 3, Issue 2 (June 2015) – 8 articles , Pages 53-272

We give a brief overview of our recent experimental and theoretical work involving highly charged tungsten ions in high-temperature magnetically confined plasmas. Our work includes X-ray and extreme ultraviolet spectroscopy, state-of-the-art structure calculations, the generation of dielectronic recombination rate coefficients, collisional-radiative spectral modeling and assessments of the atomic data need for X-ray diagnostics monitoring of the parameters of the core plasma of future tokamaks, such as ITER. We give examples of our recent results in these areas. Full article

Atomic data, such as wavelengths and line identifications, are necessary for many applications, especially in plasma diagnostics and for interpreting the spectra of distant astrophysical objects. The number of valence shell electrons increases the complexity of the computational problem. We have selected a five-electron ion, Na6+ (with the boron-like spectrum Na VII), for looking into the interplay of measurement and calculation. We summarize the available experimental work, perform our own extensive relativistic configuration interaction (RCI) computations based on multi-configuration Dirac–Hartree–Fock (MCDHF) wave functions, and compare the results to what is known of the level structure. We then discuss problems with databases that have begun to combine observations and computations. Full article

We consider an atom inside a ring cavity, where a plane-wave cavity field together with an external coherent laser beam induces a two-photon Raman transition between two hyperfine ground states of the atom. This cavity-assisted Raman transition induces effective coupling between atom’s internal degrees of freedom and its center-of-mass motion. In the meantime, atomic dynamics exerts a back-action to cavity photons. We investigate the properties of this system by adopting a mean-field and a full quantum approach, and show that the interplay between the atomic dynamics and the cavity field gives rise to intriguing nonlinear phenomena. Full article

The statistical model for calculations of the collisional-radiative processes in plasmas with tungsten impurity was developed. The electron structure of tungsten multielectron ions is considered in terms of both the Thomas-Fermi model and the Brandt-Lundquist model of collective oscillations of atomic electron density. The excitation or ionization of atomic electrons by plasma electron impacts are represented as photo-processes under the action of flux of equivalent photons introduced by E. Fermi. The total electron impact single ionization cross-sections of ions W^k+ with respective rates have been calculated and compared with the available experimental and modeling data (e.g., CADW). Plasma radiative losses on tungsten impurity were also calculated in a wide range of electron temperatures 1 eV–20 keV. The numerical code TFATOM was developed for calculations of radiative-collisional processes involving tungsten ions. The needed computational resources for TFATOM code are orders of magnitudes less than for the other conventional numerical codes. The transition from corona to Boltzmann limit was investigated in detail. The results of statistical approach have been tested by comparison with the vast experimental and conventional code data for a set of ions W^k+. It is shown that the universal statistical model accuracy for the ionization cross-sections and radiation losses is within the data scattering of significantly more complex quantum numerical codes, using different approximations for the calculation of atomic structure and the electronic cross-sections. Full article

Collisional processes and details of atomic structure of heavy many-electron atoms and ions are not yet understood in a fully satisfying manner. Experimental studies are required for guiding new theoretical approaches. In response to fusion-related needs for collisional and spectroscopic data on tungsten atoms in all charge states, a project has been initiated in which electron-impact and photon-induced ionization as well as photorecombination of Wq+ ions are studied. Cross sections and rate coefficients were determined for charge states q ranging from q = 1 to q = 5 for photoionization, for q = 1 up to q = 19 for electron-impact ionization and for q = 18 to q = 21 for electron-ion recombination. An overview, together with a critical assessment of the methods and results is provided. Full article

Theoretical studies of tungsten ions in plasmas are presented. New calculations of the radiative recombination and photoionization cross-sections, as well as radiative recombination and radiated power loss rate coefficients have been performed for 54 tungsten ions for the range W6+–W71+. The data are of importance for fusion investigations at the reactor ITER, as well as devices ASDEX Upgrade and EBIT. Calculations are fully relativistic. Electron wave functions are found by the Dirac–Fock method with proper consideration of the electron exchange. All significant multipoles of the radiative field are taken into account. The radiative recombination rates and the radiated power loss rates are determined provided the continuum electron velocity is described by the relativistic Maxwell–Jüttner distribution. The impact of the core electron polarization on the radiative recombination cross-section is estimated for the Ne-like iron ion and for highly-charged tungsten ions within an analytical approximation using the Dirac–Fock electron wave functions. The effect is shown to enhance the radiative recombination cross-sections by ≲20%. The enhancement depends on the photon energy, the principal quantum number of polarized shells and the ion charge. The influence of plasma temperature and density on the electron structure of ions in local thermodynamic equilibrium plasmas is investigated. Results for the iron and uranium ions in dense plasmas are in good agreement with previous calculations. New calculations were performed for the tungsten ion in dense plasmas on the basis of the average-atom model, as well as for the impurity tungsten ion in fusion plasmas using the non-linear self-consistent field screening model. The temperature and density dependence of the ion charge, level energies and populations are considered. Full article

We discuss new collisional-radiative modeling calculations of tungsten at moderate temperatures of 1200 to 2400 eV. Such plasma conditions are relevant to ongoing experimental work at ASDEX Upgrade and are expected to be relevant for ITER. Our calculations are made using the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) collisional-radiative modeling ATOMIC code. These calculations formed part of a submission to the recent NLTE-8 workshop that was held in November 2013. This series of workshops provides a forum for detailed comparison of plasma and spectral quantities from NLTE collisional-radiative modeling codes. We focus on the LANL ATOMIC calculations for tungsten that were submitted to the NLTE-8 workshop and discuss different models that were constructed to predict the tungsten emission. In particular, we discuss comparisons between semi-relativistic configuration-average and fully relativistic configuration-average calculations. We also present semi-relativistic calculations that include fine-structure detail, and discuss the difficult problem of ensuring completeness with respect to the number of configurations included in a CR calculation. Full article

Electron impact excitation of highly charged tungsten ions in the framework of a fully relativistic distorted wave approach is considered in this paper. Calculations of electron impact excitation cross-sections for the M- and L-shell transitions in the tungsten ions Wⁿ⁺ (n = 44–66) and polarization of the decay of photons from the excited tungsten ions are briefly reviewed and discussed. New calculations in the wide range of incident electron energies are presented for M-shell transitions in the K-like through Ne-like tungsten ions. Full article