Table of Contents

The time-dependent population dynamics of hyperfine (HF) sublevels of $n^2{p}_{3/2}$ atomic states upon laser excitation in a cold medium of alkali atoms is examined. We demonstrate some peculiarities of the absorption HF multiplet formation in D2-line resulting from a long interaction time (∼200 $\mathsf{\mu }$ s) interaction between light and Na ( $n=3$ ) and Cs ( $n=6$ ) atoms in a cold and slow sub-thermal ( $T\sim 1$ K) beam. We analytically describe a number of D2-line-shape effects that are of interest in spectroscopic studies of cold dusty white dwarfs: broadening by optical pumping, intensity redistribution within components of D2-line HF multiplet for partially closed transitions and asymmetry of absorption lines induced by AC Stark shifts for cyclic transitions. Full article

Regularities and systematic trends among the Stark widths of 18 Zr IV spectral lines obtained by modified semiempirical approach have been discussed. Also we compared those calculated Stark broadening parameters with estimates according to Cowley, Purić et al. and Purić and Šćepanović and checked the possibility to find some new estimates. It is demonstrated as well that the formula of Cowley (1971) overestimates Stark widths, obtained by using modified semiempirical method, with the increase of angular orbital momentum quantum number due to its neglection. It is also found that the results obtained by using formula for simple estimates of Purić et al. (1991) are in agreement with the modified semiempirical results within the estimated error bars of both methods, while the estimates using formula of Purić and Šćepanović (1999) are in strong disagreement which increases with the increase of angular orbital momentum quantum number. Full article

The collisional shift of a transition constitutes an important systematic effect in high-precision spectroscopy. Accurate values for van der Waals interaction coefficients are required in order to evaluate the distance-dependent frequency shift. We here consider the interaction of excited hydrogen $6P$ atoms with metastable atoms (in the $2S$ state), in order to explore the influence of quasi-degenerate $2P$ and $6S$ states on the dipole-dipole interaction. The motivation for the calculation is given by planned high-precision measurements of the transition. Due to the presence of quasi-degenerate levels, one can use the non-retarded approximation for the interaction terms over wide distance ranges. Full article

The spectrum of tin, excited in a vacuum spark, was recorded in the region 500–1131 Å on a 6.65-m normal incidence spectrograph. The transitions between 4d⁸5s, 4d⁸6s, 4d⁸5p and 4d⁸5d excited configurations in Sn VI were studied. More than 500 lines of the 4d⁸5p–4d⁸5d and 4d⁸5p–4d⁸6s were identified with the aid of the Cowan code calculations. 67 energy levels (out of 70 possible levels of the 4d⁸5d configuration) and all but two 4d⁸6s levels were found. The wavelength of the 4d⁸5s–4d⁸5p transitions in the region 839–1131 Å were re-measured and supplemented by Sn VI lines in the region 1131–1300 Å measured previously by Srivastava et al. (1977) for optimisation of the energy level values. The SnVI line list in the region 500–1300 Å contains now 741 lines with calculated transition probabilities. Full article

The emission of [O I] lines in the coma of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko during the Rosetta mission have been explained by electron impact dissociation of water rather than the process of photodissociation. This is the direct evidence for the role of electron induced processing has been seen on such a body. Analysis of other emission features is handicapped by a lack of detailed knowledge of electron impact cross sections which highlights the need for a broad range of electron scattering data from the molecular systems detected on the comet. In this paper, we present an overview of the needs for electron scattering data relevant for the understanding of observations in coma, the tenuous atmosphere and on the surface of 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko during the Rosetta mission. The relevant observations for elucidating the role of electrons come from optical spectra, particle analysis using the ion and electron sensors and mass spectrometry measurements. To model these processes electron impact data should be collated and reviewed in an electron scattering database and an example is given in the BEAMD, which is a part of a larger consortium of Virtual Atomic and Molecular Data Centre—VAMDC. Full article

We present the first results of medium-band photometric observations on the 1m Schmidt Telescope of Byurakan Astrophysical Observatory (Armenia). The object sample was created in the SA68 field. The medium-band filter set (13 filters with FWHM = 250 Å + 5 broadband SDSS filters) allowed us to create low-resolution spectra of each object in the SA68 field. We compared them with the template spectra to select AGNs and to determine their photometric redshifts. Our sample consists of 330 objects with 0.5–5.1 redshift range and complete up to 23.0 AB magnitude. The comparison of our sample with SDSS DR10 and BOSS + MMT QSO showed that sufficiently more objects in the 3.2–5.1 redshift range were found. Full article

White dwarfs with magnetic field strengths larger than 10 T are understood to represent more than 10% of the total population of white dwarfs. The presence of such strong magnetic fields is clearly indicated by the Zeeman triplet structure visible on absorption lines. In this work, we discuss the line broadening mechanisms and focus on the sensitivity of hydrogen lines on the magnetic field. We perform new calculations in conditions relevant to magnetized DA stellar atmospheres using models inspired from magnetic fusion plasma spectroscopy. A white dwarf spectrum from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) database is analyzed. An effective temperature is provided by an adjustment of the background radiation with a Planck function, and the magnetic field is inferred from absorption lines presenting a Zeeman triplet structure. An order-of-magnitude estimate for the electron density is also performed from Stark broadening analysis. Full article

The spectra of active galactic nuclei (AGNs) are often characterized by a wealth of emission lines with different profiles and intensity ratios that lead to a complicated classification. Their electromagnetic radiation spans more than 10 orders of magnitude in frequency. In spite of the differences between various classes, the origin of their activity is attributed to a combination of emitting components, surrounding an accreting supermassive black hole (SMBH), in the unified model. Currently, the execution of sky surveys, with instruments operating at various frequencies, provides the possibility to detect and to investigate the properties of AGNs on very large statistical samples. As a result of the spectroscopic surveys that allow the investigation of many objects, we have the opportunity to place new constraints on the nature and evolution of AGNs. In this contribution, we present the results obtained by working on multi-frequency data, and we discuss their relations with the available optical spectra. We compare our findings with the AGN unified model predictions, and we present a revised technique to select AGNs of different types from other line-emitting objects. We discuss the multi-frequency properties in terms of the innermost structures of the sources. Full article

As the object of investigation, astrophysical fully ionized electron-ion plasma is chosen with positively charged ions of two different kinds, including the plasmas of higher non-ideality. The direct aim of this work is to develop, within the problem of finding the mean potential energy of the charged particle for such plasma, a new model, self-consistent method of describing the electrostatic screening. Within the presented method, such extremely significant phenomena as the electron-ion and ion-ion correlations are included in the used model. We wish to draw attention to the fact that the developed method is suitable for astrophysical applications. Here we keep in mind that in outer shells of stars, the physical conditions change from those that correspond to the rare, practically ideal plasma, to those that correspond to extremely dense non-ideal plasma. Full article

The spectroscopic method for gas temperature determination in argon non-thermal plasmas sustained at atmospheric pressure proposed recently by Spectrochimica Acta Part B 129 14 (2017)—based on collisional broadening measurements of selected pairs of argon atomic lines, has been applied to other pairs of argon atomic lines, and the discrepancies found in some of these results have been analyzed. For validation purposes, the values of the gas temperature obtained using the different pairs of lines have been compared with the rotational temperatures derived from the OH ro-vibrational bands, using the Boltzmann-plot technique. Full article

A phenomenological picture of pulsed electrical discharge in water is produced by combining electrical, spectroscopic, and imaging methods. The discharge is generated by applying ~350 μs long 100 to 220 V pulses (values of current from 400 to 1000 A, respectively) between the point-to-point copper electrodes submerged into the non-purified tap water. Plasma channel and gas bubble occur between the tips of the electrodes, which are initially in contact with each other. The study includes detailed experimental investigation of plasma parameters of such discharge using the correlation between time-resolved high-speed imaging, electrical characteristics, and optical emission spectroscopic data. Radial distributions of the electron density of plasma is estimated from the analysis of profiles and widths of registered H_α and H_β hydrogen lines, and Cu I 515.3 nm line, exposed to the Stark mechanism of spectral lines’ broadening. Estimations of the electrodes’ erosion rate and bubbles’ size depending on the electrical input parameters of the circuit are presented. Experimental results of this work may be valuable for the advancement of modeling and the theoretical understanding of the pulse electric discharges in water. Full article

Among the great number of controversial issues, the most topical one both for theoretical and observational astrophysics presently is a problem of active galactic nuclei investigation. To explain the behaviour of blazar AO 0235+164, which has been under observation at the LX200 telescope (SPbSU) since 2002, the method of analyzing developed by V.A. Hagen-Thorn and S.G. Marchenko was applied. It is based on the assumption that in the case of observational data lying on the straight line in the absolute Stokes parameters space $\{I,Q,U\}$ (for polarimetry) and the fluxes space $\{F_1,..F_n\}$ (for photometry), relative Stokes parameters and relative flux ratios stay unchanged , and consequently, only one source is corresponding to the variability of general value of flux. In this paper, the photometric and polarimetric interpretation of blazar behaviour is presented. Furthermore, the flux and flux–flux diagrams are obtained for three periods of object monitoring: 2006–2007 and 2008–2009 (outbursts) and 2009–2016 (decline with 2015 outburst). Full article

A double resonance two-photon spectroscopy scheme is discussed to probe jointly rotational and rovibrational transitions of ensembles of trapped HD⁺ ions. The two-photon transition rates and lightshifts are calculated with the two-photon tensor operator formalism. The rotational lines may be observed with sub-Doppler linewidth at the hertz level and good signal-to-noise ratio, improving the resolution in HD⁺ spectroscopy beyond the 10⁻¹² level. The experimental accuracy, estimated at the 10⁻¹² level, is comparable with the accuracy of theoretical calculations of HD⁺ energy levels. An adjustment of selected rotational and rovibrational HD⁺ lines may add clues to the proton radius puzzle, may provide an independent determination of the Rydberg constant, and may improve the values of proton-to-electron and deuteron-to-proton mass ratios beyond the 10⁻¹¹ level. Full article

The analysis and modelling of a range of plasmas (for example, astrophysical, laser- produced and fusion) require atomic data for a number of parameters, such as energy levels, radiative rates and electron impact excitation rates, or equivalently, the effective collision strengths. Such data are desired for a wide range of elements and their many ions, although all elements are not useful for all types of plasmas. Since measurements of atomic data are mostly confined to only a few energy levels of some ions, calculations for all parameters are highly important. However, often, there are large discrepancies among different calculations for almost all parameters, which makes it difficult to apply the data with confidence. Many such discrepancies (and the possible remedies) were discussed earlier (Fusion Sci. Technol. 2013, 63, 363). Since then, many more anomalies for almost all of these atomic parameters have been noticed. Therefore, this paper is a revisit of various atomic parameters to highlight the large discrepancies, their possible sources and some suggestions to avoid these, so that comparatively more accurate and reliable atomic data may be available in the future. Full article

The shape of atomic spectral lines in plasmas contains information on the plasma parameters, and can be used as a diagnostic tool. Under specific conditions, the plasma located at the edge of tokamaks has parameters similar to those in magnetic white dwarf stellar atmospheres, which suggests that the same line shape models can be used. A problem common to tokamak and magnetic white dwarfs concerns the modeling of Stark broadening of hydrogen lines in the presence of an external magnetic field and the related Zeeman effect. In this work, we focus on a selection of issues relevant to Stark broadening in magnetized hydrogen plasmas. Various line shape models are presented and discussed through applications to ideal cases. Full article

We present an analysis of spectra observed in a corona discharge designed for the study of dielectrics in electrical engineering. The medium is a gas of helium and the discharge was performed at the vicinity of a tip electrode under high voltage. The shape of helium lines is dominated by the Stark broadening due to the plasma microfield. Using a computer simulation method, we examine the sensitivity of the He 492 nm line shape to the electron density. Our results indicate the possibility of a density diagnostic based on passive spectroscopy. The influence of collisional broadening due to interactions between the emitters and neutrals is discussed. Full article

We look at the effect of wave collapse turbulence on a hydrogen line shape in plasma. An atom immersed in plasma affected by strong Langmuir turbulence may be perturbed by a sequence of wave packets with a maximum electric field magnitude that is larger than the Holtsmark field. For such conditions, we propose to calculate the shape of the hydrogen Lyman α Lyman β and Balmer α lines with a numerical integration of the Schrödinger equation coupled to a simulation of a sequence of electric fields modeling the effects of the Langmuir wave. We present and discuss several line profiles of Lyman and Balmer lines. Full article