A new method for finding the line widths of atomic lines produced by thermal energy fluctuations in a gaseous system is developed assuming that the atomic linear density change in the energy of the levels is equal to the linear density of the energy fluctuations per degree of freedom. A formula is derived for the atomic line widths that depends on temperature, the cubic root of the total number density of particles in the system, and on the sum of the squares of the principal quantum numbers of the states that participate in the transitions that produce the lines. The calculated widths agree well with the published experimental and theoretical values. This formula will be useful for directly diagnosing the physical state of stellar atmospheres and plasmas.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
H. R. Griem, Plasma Spectroscopy, New York, McGraw-Hill, 1964.
H. R. Griem, Spectral Line Broadening by Plasmas, New York, Academic Press, 1974.
D. Mihalas, Stellar Atmospheres, San Francisco, Freeman, 1978.
I. I. Sobelman, L. A. Vainshtein, and E. A. Yukov, Excitation of Atoms and Broadening of Spectral Lines, Berlin, Springer-Verlag, 1981.
T. Fujimoto, Plasma Spectroscopy, Oxford, Claredon Press, 2004.
O. Cardona, E. Simonneau, and L. Crivellari, Rev. Mex. Fis., 51, 476, 2005.
O. Cardona, Recent Directions in Astrophysical Quantitative Spectroscopy and Radiation Hydrodynamics, ed I. Hubeny, J. M. Stone, K. MacGregor, and K. Werner, New York, AIP Proceedings, 1171, 2009, p.349.
A. Einstein and Jb. Radioakt., 4, 411, 1907.
L. D. Landau and E. M. Lifshitz, Statistical Physics, Oxford, Pergamon Press, 1980.
R. K. Pathria, Statistical Mechanics, Oxford, Pergamon Press, 1972.
C. Kittel and H. Kroemer, Thermal Physics, New York, W. H. Freeman, 1980.
B. H. Bransden and C. J. Joachain, Physics of Atoms and Molecules, Harlow, Prentice-Hall, 2003, p.162.
A. Unsöld, Physik der Sternatmosphären (Berlin: Springer-Verlag), 1955.
R. B. Leighton, Principles of Modern Physics, New York, McGraw-Hill, 1959, p.180.
NIST, 2010, Data http://www.physics.nist.gov/PhysRefData/Handbook/Tables
O. Cardona, E. Simonneau, and L. Crivellari, Astrophys. J., 695, 85, 2009.
K. Grützmacher and B. Wende, Phys. Rev., A11, 1854, 1975.
K. Grützmacher and B. Wende, Spectral Line Shapes v.4, Ontario, Windsor, 1978, p.49.
K. Grützmacher and U. Johannsen, Spectral Line Shapes v.7, ed R. Stamm and B. Talin, New York, Nova Science Publishers, 1993, p.139.
M. A. Gigosos and V. Cardenosos, J. Phys., B29, 4795, 1996
W. L. Wiese, D. E. Kelleher, and D. R. Paguette, Phys. Rev., A6, 1132, 1972.
Y. Vitel and J. Phys., B20, 2327, 1987.
S. Büscher, Th. Wrubel, S. Ferri, and H. -J. Kunze, J. Phys., B35, 2889, 2002.
C. R. Vidal, J. Cooper, and E. W. Smith, Astrophys. J. Suppl. Ser., 25, 37, 1973.
H. R. Griem, Principles of Plasma Spectroscopy, Cambridge. Cambridge Univ. Press, 1997.
H. R. Griem and K. Y. Shen, Phys. Rev., 122, 1490, 1961.
T. L. Pittman and C. Fleurier, Phys. Rev., A33, 1291, 1986.
H. G. Adler, A. Piel, and J. Quant. Spectrosc. Radiat. Transfer, 45, 11, 1991.
D. W. Jones and W. L. Wiese, Phys. Rev., A30, 2602, 1984.
R. L. Kurucz, I. Furenlid, J. Brault, and L. Testerman, Solar Flux Atlas From 296 to 1300 nm, National Solar Observatory Atlas NO. 1, Cambridge, Harvard University, 1984.
O. Cardona, E. Simonneau, and L. Crivellari, Astrophys. J., 690, 1378, 2009.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Published in Astrofizika, Vol. 54, No. 1, pp. 89–101 (February 2011).
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Cardona, O. Atomic line broadening by thermal energy fluctuations in stellar atmospheres and plasma diagnostics. Astrophysics 54, 75–86 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10511-011-9159-8
Received:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10511-011-9159-8