Search Results (5)

The approximate solution of the nonlinear Thomas–Fermi (TF) equation for ions is found by the Fermi method. The solution is based on the new asymptotic representation of the TF ion size valid for any ionization degree. The two universal functions and their derivatives, introduced by Fermi, are calculated by recent effective algorithms for the Emden–Fowler type equations with the accuracy sufficient for majority of applications. The comparison of our results with those obtained previously shows high accuracy and validity for arbitrary values of ionization degree. This study could potentially be of interest for the statistical TF method applications in physics and chemistry. 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

The study deals with two conceptual problems in the theory of Stark broadening by plasmas. One problem is the assumption of the density matrix diagonality in the calculation of spectral line profiles. This assumption is closely related to the definition of zero wave functions basis within which the density matrix is assumed to be diagonal, and obviously violated under the basis change. A consistent use of density matrix in the theoretical scheme inevitably leads to interdependence of atomic kinetics, describing the population of atomic states with the Stark profiles of spectral lines, i.e., to spectral-kinetic coupling. The other problem is connected with the study of the influence of microfield fluctuations on Stark profiles. Here the main results of the perturbative approach to ion dynamics, called the theory of thermal corrections (TTC), are presented, within which the main contribution to effects of ion dynamics is due to microfield fluctuations caused by rotations. In the present study the qualitative behavior of the Stark profiles in the line center within predictions of TTC is confirmed, using non-perturbative computer 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