Electronic energy-levels in dense plasmas

Abstract

Modern inertial-confinement fusion experiments subject matter to extreme physical conditions previously studied only in theoretical astrophysics. At very high plasma density, atomic energy states are significantly altered by electric fields of neighboring ions and by free electrons; the resulting phenomena of pressure ionization and continuum lowering may be analyzed with a sequence of models, each adding new subtleties to a complex picture. In this paper, we develop a simple parameterization of pressure ionization, discuss limitations of the Debye-Huckel model for plasma perturbations, and survey an approximate description of X-ray spectra based on the WKB approximation. WKB theory leads to a simple derivation of the screened hydrogenic model for plasma ionization and radiative properties. Electron eigenvalues are obtained from the total ion energy in agreement with Koopman's theorem, and the representation of spectral terms is improved by a new set of screening coefficients.