Atomic Physics in Hot Plasmas

David Salzmann9780195109306, 0-19-510930-9

The aim of this book is to provide the reader with a coherent and updated comprehensive treatise that covers the central subjects of the field. The style and content is suitable both for students and researchers. Highlights of the book include (among many others) the Ion-Sphere model, statistical models, Average-Atom model, emission spectrum, unresolved transition arrays, supertransition arrays, radiation transport, escape factors and x-ray lasers.

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Table of contents :
Contents……Page 8
1.1 The scope of this book……Page 12
1.2 The basic plasma parameters……Page 13
1.3 Statistics, temperature, velocity, and energy distributions……Page 14
1.4 Variations in space and time……Page 20
1.5 Units……Page 23
2.1 General properties of the models……Page 25
2.2 The Debye–Hückel theory……Page 27
2.3 The plasma coupling constant……Page 30
2.4 The Thomas–Fermi statistical model……Page 32
2.5 Ion sphere models……Page 48
2.6 Ion correlation models……Page 58
2.7 Statistical theories……Page 59
3.1 A few introductory remarks……Page 65
3.2 Atomic level shifts and continuum lowering……Page 67
3.3 Continuum lowering in weakly coupled plasmas……Page 73
3.4 The partition function……Page 79
3.5 Line shift in plasmas……Page 81
4.1 Classification of the atomic processes……Page 86
4.2 Definitions and general behavior……Page 91
4.3 The detailed balance principle……Page 93
4.4 Atomic energy levels……Page 94
4.5 Atomic transition probabilities……Page 97
4.6 Electron impact excitation and deexcitation……Page 104
4.7 Electron impact ionization and three-body recombination……Page 110
4.8 Photoionization and radiative recombination……Page 117
4.9 Autoionization and dielectronic recombination……Page 122
5.2 Local Thermodynamic Equilibrium……Page 131
5.3 Corona Equilibrium……Page 136
5.4 The Collisional Radiative Steady State……Page 138
5.5 Low density plasmas……Page 142
5.6 The average atom model……Page 146
5.7 Validity conditions for LTE and CE……Page 148
5.8 A remark on the dependence of the sensitivity of the CRSS calculations on the accuracy of the rate coefficients……Page 150
5.9 Time-dependent models……Page 154
6 The Emission Spectrum……Page 156
6.1 The continuous spectrum……Page 157
6.2 The line spectrum—isolated lines……Page 158
6.3 Satellites……Page 163
6.4 Unresolved Transition Arrays (UTAs)……Page 168
6.5 Super transition arrays (STAs)……Page 174
7.1 Introduction……Page 177
7.2 What is line broadening?……Page 179
7.3 Natural line broadening……Page 180
7.4 Doppler broadening……Page 181
7.5 Electron impact broadening……Page 183
7.6 Quasi-static Stark broadening……Page 188
7.7 Line broadening: Lyman series……Page 194
8.1 Measurements of the continuous spectrum……Page 197
8.2 Measurements of the line spectrum……Page 201
8.3 Space-resolved plasma diagnostics……Page 209
8.4 Time-resolved spectra……Page 213
8.5 The line width……Page 217
9.1 Basic definitions of the radiation field……Page 221
9.2 The radiation field in thermodynamic equilibrium: the black body radiation……Page 224
9.3 Absorption of photons by a material medium……Page 225
9.4 The continuous photoabsorption cross section……Page 227
9.5 The line photoabsorption cross section……Page 230
9.6 The basic radiation transport equation……Page 236
9.7 Radiation transport in plasmas: examples……Page 240
9.8 Diffusion approximation, radiative heat conduction, and Rosseland mean free path……Page 246
10.1 X-ray lasers……Page 249
10.2 Applications of high intensity X-ray sources……Page 257
References……Page 260
C……Page 268
I……Page 269
P……Page 270
T……Page 271
X……Page 272