Recombination in dense plasmas

Abstract

Calculations for He⁺-like ions of charge Z=1 and 10 indicate that the effects of continuum lowering upon the total rate of recombination of plasma ions are important when the plasma temperature (K) and density satisfy the inequality N_e>10¹⁴ZT cm^-3. The calculations also show that collisional interruption of the dielectronic recombination process does not significantly alter the net recombination rate, but that it can substantially reduce the intensities of satellite X-ray lines. As examples, helium-like satellite lines produced by C⁺⁴ and Na⁺⁹ are considered in detail.