Storage ring measurement of the C IV recombination rate coefficient

The low energy C IV dielectronic recombination (DR) rate coefficient associated with 2s-2p Delta n=0 excitations of this lithiumlike ion has been measured with high energy-resolution at the heavy-ion storage-ring TSR of the Max-Planck-Institut fuer Kernphysik in Heidelberg, Germany. The experimental procedure and especially the experimental detection probabilities for the high Rydberg states produced by the recombination of this ion are discussed in detail. From the experimental data a Maxwellian plasma rate coefficient is derived with 15% systematic uncertainty and parameterized for ready use in plasma modeling codes. Our experimental result especially benchmarks the plasma rate coefficient below 10000 K where DR occurs predominantly via C III (1s2 2p 4l) intermediate states and where existing theories differ by orders of magnitude. Furthermore, we find that the total dielectronic and radiative C IV recombination can be represented by the incoherent sum of our DR rate coefficient and the RR rate coefficient of Pequignot et al. (1991, Astron. Astrophys., 251, 680).Comment: 9 figures, 2 table

Dielectronic Recombination in Photoionized Gas. II. Laboratory Measurements for Fe XVIII and Fe XIX

In photoionized gases with cosmic abundances, dielectronic recombination (DR) proceeds primarily via nlj --> nl'j' core excitations (Dn=0 DR). We have measured the resonance strengths and energies for Fe XVIII to Fe XVII and Fe XIX to Fe XVIII Dn=0 DR. Using our measurements, we have calculated the Fe XVIII and Fe XIX Dn=0 DR DR rate coefficients. Significant discrepancies exist between our inferred rates and those of published calculations. These calculations overestimate the DR rates by factors of ~2 or underestimate it by factors of ~2 to orders of magnitude, but none are in good agreement with our results. Almost all published DR rates for modeling cosmic plasmas are computed using the same theoretical techniques as the above-mentioned calculations. Hence, our measurements call into question all theoretical Dn=0 DR rates used for ionization balance calculations of cosmic plasmas. At temperatures where the Fe XVIII and Fe XIX fractional abundances are predicted to peak in photoionized gases of cosmic abundances, the theoretical rates underestimate the Fe XVIII DR rate by a factor of ~2 and overestimate the Fe XIX DR rate by a factor of ~1.6. We have carried out new multiconfiguration Dirac-Fock and multiconfiguration Breit-Pauli calculations which agree with our measured resonance strengths and rate coefficients to within typically better than <~30%. We provide a fit to our inferred rate coefficients for use in plasma modeling. Using our DR measurements, we infer a factor of ~2 error in the Fe XX through Fe XXIV Dn=0 DR rates. We investigate the effects of this estimated error for the well-known thermal instability of photoionized gas. We find that errors in these rates cannot remove the instability, but they do dramatically affect the range in parameter space over which it forms.Comment: To appear in ApJS, 44 pages with 13 figures, AASTeX with postsript figure

Dielectronic Recombination of Ground-State and Metastable Li+ Ions

Dielectronic recombination has been investigated for Delta-n = 1 resonances of ground-state Li+(1s^2) and for Delta-n = 0 resonances of metastable Li+(1s2s ^3S). The ground-state spectrum shows three prominent transitions between 53 and 64 eV, while the metastable spectrum exhibits many transitions with energies < 3.2 eV. Reasonably good agreement of R-matrix, LS coupling calculations with the measured recombination rate coefficient is obtained. The time dependence of the recombination rate yields a radiative lifetime of 52.2 +- 5.0 s for the 2 ^3S level of Li+.Comment: Submitted to Phys. Rev. A; REVTeX, 4 pages, 3 figure

Dielectronic Recombination of Fe XIX Forming Fe XVIII: Laboratory Measurements and Theoretical Calculations

We have measured resonance strengths and energies for dielectronic recombination (DR) of Fe XIX forming Fe XVIII via N = 2 → N' = 2 and N = 2 → N' = 3 core excitations. All measurements were carried out using the heavy-ion Test Storage Ring at the Max Planck Institute for Nuclear Physics in Heidelberg, Germany. We have also calculated these resonance strengths and energies using two independent, state-of-the-art techniques: the perturbative multiconfiguration Breit-Pauli (MCBP) and multiconfiguration Dirac-Fock (MCDF) methods. Overall, reasonable agreement is found between our experimental results and theoretical calculations. The most notable discrepancies are for the 3l3l' resonances. The calculated MCBP and MCDF resonance strengths for the n = 3 complex lie, respectively, ≈47% and ≈31% above the measured values. These discrepancies are larger than the estimated ≲ 20% total experimental uncertainty in our measurements. We have used our measured 2 → 2 and 2 → 3 results to produce a Maxwellian-averaged rate coefficient for DR of Fe XIX. Our experimentally derived rate coefficient is estimated to be good to better than ≈20% for kBTe ≥ 1 eV. Fe XIX is predicted to form in photoionized and collisionally ionized cosmic plasmas at kBTe Gt 1 eV. Hence, our rate coefficient is suitable for use in ionization balance calculations of these plasmas. Previously published theoretical DR rate coefficients are in poor agreement with our experimental results. None of these published calculations reliably reproduce the magnitude or temperature dependence of the experimentally derived rate coefficient. Our MCBP and MCDF results agree with our experimental rate coefficient to within ≈20%

Recombination Measurements at Low Energies with Au49+,50+,51+ at the TSR

Recombination of Au49+, Au50+, and Au51+ ions has been studied at the TSR. With Au50+ ions a storage lifetime of only 2 to 4 s was observed with the magnetically expanded electron beam of the cooler at a density of ne = 107 cm-3. This short storage time is a consequence of the highest recombination rate coefficient ever observed with an atomic ion (1.8·10-6 cm3 s-1 at zero relative energy Erel = 0 between electrons and ions). At about 30 meV a huge dielectronic recombination resonance is found with a record small width of only about 15 meV. Such resonances fortuitously occurring near Erel=0 are probably the main reason for the enhanced recombination rates observed with Au50+, with Pb53+ (in a recent experiment at LEAR) as well as with other complex ions. For Au49+ and Au51+ the recombination rates are smaller by an order of magnitude

Recombination in Electron Coolers

An introduction to electron}ion recombination processes is given and recent measurements are described as examples, focusing on low collision energies. Discussed in particular are "ne-structure-mediated dielectronic recombination of #uorine-like ions, the moderate recombination enhancement by factors of typically 1.5}4 found for most ion species at relative electron}ion energies below about 10 meV, and the much larger enhancement occurring for speci"c highly charged ions of complex electronic structure, apparently caused by low-energy dielectronic recombination resonances. Recent experiments revealing dielectronic resonances with very large natural width are also described. 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved

Photodissociation spectroscopy of stored CH⁺ ions: Detection, assignment, and close-coupled modeling of near-threshold Feshbach resonances

We have measured and theoretically analyzed a photodissociation spectrum of the CH+ molecular ion in which most observed energy levels lie within the fine-structure splitting of the C + fragment and predissociate, and where the observed irregular line shapes and dipole-forbidden transitions indicate that nonadiabatic interactions lead to multichannel dynamics. The molecules were prepared in low rotational levels J = 0-9 of the vibrational ground state X 1+ (v = 0) by storing a CH+ beam at 7.1 MeV in the heavy-ion storage ring TSR for up to 30 s, which was sufficient for the ions to rovibrationally thermalize to room temperature by spontaneous infrared emission. The internally cold molecules were irradiated with a dye laser at photon energies between 31 600-33 400 cm-1, and the resulting C+ fragments were counted with a particle detector. The photodissociation cross section displays the numerous Feshbach resonances between the two C+ fine-structure states predicted by theory for low rotation. The data are analyzed in two steps. First, from the overall structure of the spectrum, by identifying branches, and by a Le Roy-Bernstein analysis of level spacings we determine the dissociation energy D0 = (32 946.7±1.1) cm-1 (with respect to the lower fine-structure limit) and assign the strongest features to the vibrational levels v = 11-14 of the dipole-allowed A 1 state. The majority of the 66 observed resonances cannot be assigned in this way. Therefore, in a second step, the complete spectrum is simulated with a close-coupling model, starting from recent ab initio Born-Oppenheimer potentials. For the long-range induction, dispersion and exchange energies, we propose an analytical expression and derive the C6 coefficients. After a systematic variation of just the vibrational defects of the four Born-Oppenheimer potentials involved, the close-coupling model yields a quantitative fit to the measured cross section in all detail, and is used to assign most of the remaining features to the dipole-forbidden a 3 state (v = 17-20), and some to the weakly bound c 3+ state (v = 0-2). The model potentials, which reproduce the spectrum and compactly represent the spectroscopic data, should help to predict more accurately C+ + H scattering in the interstellar medium

Photodissociation spectroscopy of stored CH+ ions: Detection, assignment, and close-coupled modeling of near-threshold Feshbach resonances

We have measured and theoretically analyzed a photodissociation spectrum of the CH+ molecular ion in which most observed energy levels lie within the fine-structure splitting of the C+ fragment and predissociate, and where the observed irregular line shapes and dipole-forbidden transitions indicate that nonadiabatic interactions lead to multichannel dynamics. The molecules were prepared in low rotational levels J"=0-9 of the vibrational ground state X (1)Sigma(+) (v"=0) by storing a CH+ beam at 7.1 MeV in the heavy-ion storage ring TSR for up to 30 s, which was sufficient for the ions to rovibrationally thermalize to room temperature by spontaneous infrared emission. The internally cold molecules were irradiated with a dye laser at photon energies between 31 600-33 400 cm(-1), and the resulting C+ fragments were counted with a particle detector. The photodissociation cross section displays the numerous Feshbach resonances between the two C+ fine-structure states predicted by theory for low rotation. The data are analyzed in two steps. First, from the overall structure of the spectrum, by identifying branches, and by a Le Roy-Bernstein analysis of level spacings we determine the dissociation energy D-0=(32 946.7+/-1.1) cm(-1) (with respect to the lower fine- structure limit) and assign the strongest features to the vibrational levels v'=11-14 of the dipole-allowed A (1)Pi state. The majority of the 66 observed resonances cannot be assigned in this way. Therefore, in a second step, the complete spectrum is simulated with a close-coupling model, starting from recent ab initio Born-Oppenheimer potentials. For the long-range induction, dispersion and exchange energies, we propose an analytical expression and derive the C-6 coefficients. After a systematic variation of just the vibrational defects of the four Born-Oppenheimer potentials involved, the close-coupling model yields a quantitative fit to the measured cross section in all detail, and is used to assign most of the remaining features to the dipole-forbidden a (3)Pi state (v'=17-20), and some to the weakly bound c (3)Sigma(+) state (v'=0-2). The model potentials, which reproduce the spectrum and compactly represent the spectroscopic data, should help to predict more accurately C++H scattering in the interstellar medium. (C) 2002 American Institute of Physics