A Numerical Model for Ion Charge Distribution of Plasmas in Collisional Radiative Steady State

Abstract

A numerical model for the charge state distribution of plasmas in a collisional radiative steady state (CRSS) is established by averaging over the atomic process rate coefficients in universal kinetic equations. It is used to calculate the mean ion charge and ion population for a given temperature and density of the plasmas, ranging from low Z to high Z elements. The comparisons of the calculated results with those of other non-local thermodynamic equilibrium kinetics codes show that this model possesses acceptable precision. Furthermore, the NLTE effects are investigated by virtue of the model, and the differences between CRSS and LTE models for low density plasmas are quite evident.