High accuracy radiative data for plasma opacities1This article is part of a Special Issue on the 10th International Colloquium on Atomic Spectra and Oscillator Strengths for Astrophysical and Laboratory Plasmas.

Abstract

Opacity, which gives the measure of the radiation transport in plasmas, is caused by the repeated absorption and emission of the propagating radiation by the constituent plasma elements. Microscopically, opacity (κ) depends mainly on two radiative processes: (i) photo-excitation (bound-bound transition) and (ii) photo-ionization (bound-free transition) in addition to electron-photon scattering. The monochromatic opacity κ(ν) at photon frequency ν is determined by the atomic parameters, oscillator strengths (f), and photo-ionization cross sections (σPI). However, total monochromatic opacity is obtained from summed contributions of all possible transitions from all ionization stages of all elements in the source. The calculation of accurate parameters for such a large number of transitions has been the main problem for obtaining accurate opacities. The overall mean opacity, such as the Rosseland mean opacity (κR), depends also on the physical conditions, such as temperature, density, elemental abundances, and equation of state. The necessity for high-precision calculations for opacities may be exemplified by the existing problems, such as the determination of solar elemental abundances. With new computational developments under the Iron Project, we are able to calculate more accurate atomic parameters, such as oscillator strengths for large number of transitions using the relativistic Breit–Pauli R-matrix (BPRM) method. We are finding new features in photo-ionization, such as the existence of extensive and dominant resonant structures in the high-energy region not studied before. These new data should provide more accurate opacities in high-temperature plasmas and can be used to investigate the well-known solar abundance problem.