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Ionization from Excited States as a Cause of Nonstationary Populations of Hydrogen Levels Behind A Shock Front

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It is shown that for the luminescence of hydrogen in shock fronts in the atmospheres of stars in late spectral classes, the level populations of the hydrogen atoms are determined by the entire prehistory of the process, beginning with heating in the shock front, as well as by the instantaneous electron temperature and density. Ionization from excited states with principal quantum numbers 2 ≤ k ≤ 6 plays an important role. The role of highly excited states of hydrogen atoms as they are ionized in shock fronts under the conditions of stellar atmospheres is clarified. The contribution of states with k > 10 to the ionization rate can substantially exceed the rate of ionization from the ground state.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia

    O. M. Belova

  2. P. K. Shternberg State Astrophysical Institute, M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia

    K. V. Bychkov

Authors
  1. O. M. Belova
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  2. K. V. Bychkov
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Correspondence to O. M. Belova.

Additional information

Translated from Astrofizika, Vol. 60, No. 2, pp. 219-231 (May 2017).

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Belova, O.M., Bychkov, K.V. Ionization from Excited States as a Cause of Nonstationary Populations of Hydrogen Levels Behind A Shock Front . Astrophysics 60, 200–212 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10511-017-9475-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10511-017-9475-8

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