Spectral transitions from the Rydberg autoionization states of a Li-like Mg X ion

Abstract

Satellite lines caused by radiative transitions from the Rydberg autoionization states of a Li-like Mg X ion in a plasma heated by radiation from a XeCl and a Nd laser are identified for the first time, and their wavelengths are measured precisely. Comparison of the experimental data with the atomic structures calculated by the method of relativistic perturbation theory shows that the accuracy of calculations of the energy of autoionization states is rather high even without the use of any semiempirical corrections and is of the order of 0.06%. The experimentally measured wavelengths can be used for a semiempirical estimate of the value of the leading order of perturbation theory among the orders that were neglected in calculations. It is shown that the simulation of the population kinetics of Rydberg autoionization states of Li-like ions in a dense plasma should take into account all possible channels of dielectronic capture, in particular, from the excited states of a He-like ion. The precision experimental wavelengths obtained for satellites of the Hes and Heγ lines of the Mg XI ion make possible to use these satellites as reference lines in studies of complicated spectra of multielectron ions.