Diagnostics of plasma based on K, L and M x-ray line positions

Abstract

Ionization can affect the energy of characteristic x-ray lines sufficiently for a single line to be of value in plasma diagnostics. Recently, the ionization of a hot, dense tungsten plasma was determined from a detailed analysis of a single, highly resolved L x-ray line, and in an iridium plasma the change in energy of a single K x-ray line confirmed the theoretical estimate of the ionization. Diagnosing plasmas by these ionization energy shifts depends essentially on computations that can now be performed with sufficient accuracy, e.g. with the multi-configuration Dirac–Fock method. Besides extending earlier computations on the influence of outer-shell ionization on the energy of tungsten's K and L x-ray lines, this paper also presents the effect of ionization on the lower-energy M x-ray lines and a discussion of their relative merits for plasma diagnostics.