L118, 1997 November 1
At the low electron temperatures existing
in photoionized gases with cosmic abundances, dielectronic recombination
(DR) proceeds primarily
via nl
nl
excitations
of core electrons
(
n=0
DR). At these temperatures, the dominant DR channel often
involves 2p
2p
fine-structure
core excitations, which are not included in LS-coupling calculations
or the Burgess formula. Using the heavy-ion storage ring at
the Max-Planck-Institut für Kernphysik in Heidelberg, Germany, we have
verified experimentally for Fe XVIII that
DR proceeding via this channel can be significant in relation to
other recombination rates, especially at the low temperatures
characteristic of photoionized gases. At temperatures in photoionized gases
near where Fe XVIII peaks in fractional abundance, our
measured Fe XVIII to Fe XVII
n=0 DR
rate coefficient is a factor of
2 larger
than predicted by existing theoretical calculations. We provide a fit to
our measured rate coefficient for ionization equilibrium models. We have
carried out new fully relativistic calculations using intermediate
coupling, which
include the 2p
2p
channel
and agree to within
30% with
our measurements. DR via
the 2p
2p
channel
may also have spectroscopic implications, providing unique
spectral signatures at soft X-ray wavelengths that could provide good
electron temperature diagnostics.
Subject headings: atomic data
atomic processes
line: formation
X-rays: general
1 Department of Physics and Astronomy and Space Sciences Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720.
2 Present address: Department of Physics and Columbia Astrophysics Laboratory, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027.
3 Institut für Kernphysik, Strahlenzentrum der Justus-Liebig-Universität, D-35392, Giessen, Germany.
4 Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA 94550.
5 Max-Planck-Institut für Kernphysik and Physikalisches Institut der Universität, Heidelberg, D-69117 Heidelberg, Germany.
The ionization and heating of the media
surrounding accretion-powered compact sources, such as cataclysmic
variables, X-ray binaries, and active galactic nuclei, are dominated
by photoionization (see Kahn & Liedahl
1995, and references therein). Theoretical models of photoionized gases
show that the ionization structure is determined by photoionization
balanced by radiative recombination (RR) and dielectronic recombination
(DR). Under these conditions the local ionization balance of a plasma is
determined by the ionization
parameter
=L
n
r
, where
L is the luminosity of the X-ray source, r is the distance
from the source,
and n
is
the electron density (Tarter, Tucker, &
Salpeter 1969). The electron temperature at which the fractional
abundance of a given ion peaks (Kallman &
McCray 1982; Kallman et al. 1996) is
far below the temperature where the ion would exist in coronal
equilibrium (Arnaud & Rothenflug 1985,
hereafter AR85; Arnaud &
Raymond 1992, hereafter AR92). As a result, X-ray
line emission is produced by RR and DR and not by electron impact
excitation (Liedahl et al.
1990; Kallman et al. 1996). Also, the
radiative recombination continuum (RRC) of an ion is predicted to appear as
a distinct narrow feature just above the ionization threshold of the
ion (Hatchett, Buff, & McCray
1976).
With the improved spectral resolution
offered by the SIS detectors of ASCA
(Tanaka, Inoue, & Holt 1994), it has
become possible to observe some of these unique properties of photoionized
gases. From ASCA observations, Angelini
et al. (1995) have identified the Ne X RRC in SIS
spectra of the low-mass X-ray pulsar 4U 1626-67, and
Liedahl & Paerels (1996) have
identified the Mg XII, Si
XIV, and S XVI RRC in spectra of
the X-ray binary Cygnus X-3. From the widths of the RRC features, electron
temperatures
of
5
100
eV are inferred for the X-ray emission-line regions. As predicted, these
temperatures are far below the temperatures where these ions are formed in
coronal equilibrium.
The upcoming launches of AXAF,
XMM, Spectrum Röntgen-Gamma, and Astro E (for a
review see Warwick 1997) are expected to
open a new era in the spectroscopy of extrasolar X-ray sources. The
combination of the large collecting area telescopes and high-resolution
spectrometers on these satellites will produce high-quality spectra to
which a wide range of plasma diagnostic techniques will be applied. Of
particular interest will be
the 0.7
2.0
keV
(6
18
Å) spectral band, which is dominated by the L-shell
transitions
(i.e., n
3
n=2)
of Fe XVII to Fe XXIV (the iron
L-shell ions). These ions exist over a wide range of physical
conditions and are expected to provide many valuable plasma
diagnostics.
For gases of cosmic abundance in
photoionization equilibrium, L-shell iron forms at log
1.8
2.8 (Kallman
et al. 1996). The electron temperature in this range of
is
100
eV. L-shell iron overlaps
in
with Ne
X, Mg XII, Si
XIV, and S XVI, which form at log
2
2.5.
Thus, the temperatures measured in 4U 1626-67 and Cyg X-3 largely validate
the predicted temperature range for L-shell iron. However, the exact
temperature at which a given ion forms depends on many variables, such as
the metallicity of the gas, the shape of the ionizing spectrum, the
presence of additional heating and/or cooling mechanisms, and radiative
transfer effects. These can be expected to vary for different sources. For
most iron L-shell ions at these low temperatures, DR is the dominant
recombination process in the plasma. It is therefore important that the
iron L-shell DR rates be benchmarked over a range that encompasses
the predicted temperature range.
DR begins when a free electron
collisonally excites a bound (core) electron of an ion and is
simultaneously captured by the ion. DR occurs when the recombined ion
radiatively stabilizes (instead of autoionizing) and emits a photon that
reduces the total energy of the system to below its ionization limit. For
DR to occur, energy conservation
requires E
=
E-E
,
where E
is the kinetic energy of the free electron,
E
is the excitation energy of the bound electron, and
E
is
the binding energy released when the free electron is captured.
Because
E
and E
are quantized, DR occurs only for specific resonant energies. The resonance
structure of DR determines its temperature dependence. For L-shell
iron,
n=0
DR occurs only
for E
150
eV,
and
n=1
DR occurs only
for E
250
eV. As a
result,
n=0
DR is the dominant DR channel for L-shell iron in photoionized
gases,
and
n=1
DR is the dominant DR channel in collisionally ionized plasmas (e.g.,
coronal plasmas).
To address the needs for modeling
photoionized gases, we have initiated a series of experiments to measure
the
n=0
DR rates for the iron L-shell ions. Measurements are carried out
using the heavy-ion test storage ring (TSR) at the Max-Planck-Institut
für Kernphysik in Heidelberg, Germany
(Habs et al. 1989). Here we present our
results for
n=0
DR of Fe XVIII. In particular, we have investigated
the capture channels
The radiative stabilization of these autoionizing states to bound
configurations of Fe XVII leads to DR resonances
for collision energies between 0 and 132 eV.
The essence of the experimental technique
involves using ions stored in an ion storage ring, merging them with a
precision-controlled electron beam in one of the straight sections of the
ring, and after the demerging of the two beams, using a dipole magnet to
separate the recombined ions from the stored ions and to direct the
recombined ions onto a particle counter. The experimental arrangement and
measuring technique have been described elsewhere
(Kilgus et al. 1992;
Lampert et al.
1996; Müller & Wolf 1997) and
are only briefly reviewed here. Negative ions are accelerated and stripped
using a tandem accelerator, post-accelerated to 311 MeV, stripped to
their final charge state, and accumulated in TSR using
repeated multiturn-injection stacking techniques
(Grieser et al. 1991) and electron cooling
(Poth 1990) to yield circulating currents
of
30
50
A. With
cooling, the storage lifetime is
50 s and
the beam diameter
is
2
3
mm. Data acquisition begins
6 s after
stacking has ended. This is long compared to the lifetime of meta-stable
Fe
2s
2p

P

(Cheng,
Kim, & Desclaux 1979), so all the stored ions are in the ground
state.
Electron cooling is achieved using a beam
of electrons that is guided by a longitudinal magnetic field
(
21 mT)
and, in one of the straight sections of TSR, merged with the circulating
ion beam for a nominal length of 1.5 m. The electron beam velocity is
matched to that of the ions. Before merging, the electron beam is
adiabatically expanded (from a diameter of 1.9 to
5.1 cm)
to reduce the velocity spread of the electrons transverse to their
direction of motion (Pastuszka et al.
1996). The velocity spread in the electron-ion center of mass (c.m.)
frame is best described by a
flattened
(i.e., nonisotropic) Maxwellian distribution with a transverse
temperature k
T
18 meV
and a longitudinal
temperature k
T
0.18 meV.
During data acquisition the electron beam is precisely modulated so that
after expansion, the electron beam density for the present measurements
varied between
1.5
and 2.5×10
cm3.
The electron cooler also serves as an
electron target. For recombination measurements, the electron energy in the
c.m. frame is chopped between cooling and measurement energies. Recombined
ions are separated from the circulating ion beam by the first dipole
magnet downstream of the cooler and are detected using a fast
scintillator, heavy-ion detector with a detection efficiency of more than
95% (Miersch et al. 1996). Recombined ions
in which the outer electron is
in n
n
=55
are expected to be field ionized by the dipole magnet and not detected.
However, the distance from the center of the cooler to the dipole magnet is
5.1
m, during which the captured electrons can radiatively decay to
below n
.
Using the hydrogenic formula of Marxer &
Spruch (1991) and the fact that DR populates mostly
l
8,
we estimate that electrons captured into
n
124
will radiatively decay below
n
and
that DR via capture into these levels is detected in our experimental
arrangement.
The measured recombination rate
coefficient 
is given
by 

E
=R


n
N
L
C
. Here
L is the nominal length of the electron-ion overlap in the electron
cooler, E is the c.m. energy, R is the recombination signal
rate, n
is the electron
density, N
is the number of stored ions in the ring, C=55.4 m is the
circumference of TSR,
and 
=
1-
v
c



1.01, where
v
is
the ion velocity and c is the speed of light. The total measurement
uncertainty is estimated to be better than ±20% (at a confidence level
believed to be equivalent to a 90% statistical confidence level). The
dominant sources of uncertainty stem from the ion current measurement, the
electron beam expansion factor, which affects the electron density
determination, and the recombined ion detection efficiency.
The measured Fe XVIII
to Fe XVII recombination rate coefficient versus
electron-ion collision energy is shown in Figure
1. Clearly visible are
the
P

P
resonance
series due to fine-structure core excitations at low energies and
the
P

S
resonance
series at higher energies, similar to earlier measurements on
the isoelectronic Se XXVI (Lampert
et al. 1996). The effects of merging and demerging the electron and ion
beams are corrected for, as described by Lampert et al.
(1996). The measured DR signal appears on top of a nonresonant
background
due to RR. Recombination due to charge transfer off residual gas in TSR is
taken into account by subtracting a constant such that the background level
at 134 eV matches the very low theoretical RR rate at that energy
(Lampert et al. 1996). The c.m. energy scale has been
reduced by a factor
of
1.02
so our experimentally determined DR series limits
(see Kilgus et al. 1992) match the spectroscopically
measured energies of the Fe
XVIII 2s
2p

P

2s
2p

P
and 2s
2p

P

2s2p

S
transitions
(Shirai et al. 1990). Individual DR
resonance strengths were determined as described by Kilgus
et al. (1992). A detailed presentation of the individually measured
resonance strengths will be given elsewhere (Savin et al. 1997, in
preparation).
Fig. 1
In Figure
2, the measured DR resonance strengths and energies have been
integrated with an isotropic Maxwellian electron velocity distribution to
yield a total Fe XVIII
n=0
DR rate coefficient as a function of electron temperature. We have fitted
our inferred DR rates using the formula of AR92:
where T
is the electron
temperature, k
is the Boltzmann constant, and
c
and E
are the strength parameter and the energy parameter for the ith
fitting function component, respectively. The best-fit values are listed
in Table 1. The fit for DR via
a
P

P
core
excitation is accurate to better than 1.3% for 0.05
eV
k
T
10
eV.
Below 0.05 eV, the fit rate goes to zero faster than the measured rate, but
because the RR rate at these energies is
600
times larger
than the
P

P
DR
rate, this has an insignificant effect on ionization balance calculations.
The fit for DR via
a
P

S
core
excitation is accurate to better than 1% for 5
eV
k
T
10
eV
and to better than 3.5% for 4
eV
k
T
5 eV. Below 4 eV, the fit rate goes to zero faster than the measured rate;
but because the RR rate at these energies is
60
times larger than
the
P

S
DR
rate, this also has an insignificant effect on ionization balance
calculations. The uncertainty in the absolute magnitude of the fitted rate
coefficient is ±20%, which represents our estimated total experimental
uncertainty. DR from the unmeasured n>124 levels are estimated to
contribute
2%
to the total DR rate. Using the Inglis-Teller
limit (Inglis & Teller 1939) and
our experimental
n
124,
we estimate that our fitted rate coefficient is valid for plasma
densities
3.6×10
cm-3.
Fig. 2
Various theoretical Fe
XVIII
n=0
DR rates are also shown in Figure 2.
At k
T
15
eV, near where Fe XVIII is predicted to peak in
fractional abundance in photoionized gases, our inferred DR rate is a
factor of
2
larger than the calculations of Roszman
(1987), Chen (1988), and
Dasgupta & Whitney (1990). These
theoretical rates all tend rapidly to zero
at k
T
20
eV because they have not
included
P

P
DR.
The calculations of Roszman (1987)
and Dasgupta & Whitney (1990) used LS
coupling and thus do not include fine-structure core excitations. The
calculations of Chen (1988) used intermediate coupling,
which can account for fine structure. But Chen did not include
the 2p
2p
channel
because the calculations were carried out for the high temperatures of
collisionally ionized plasmas (where this channel is unimportant). Related
work has been carried out in LS coupling, which does not account for
DR via fine-structure core excitations but which does include the effects
of fine-structure autoionizing transitions of the intermediate state of the
DR process (see LaGattuta, Nasser, & Hahn
1986; Ramadan & Hahn 1989).
Also shown in Figure 2
are our new fully relativistic calculations, using the
multiconfiguration Dirac-Fock method in intermediate coupling with
configuration interaction within the same complex. Details of these
calculations, extending earlier work by Chen (1988),
will be given in Savin et al. (1997, in preparation).
The
P

P
channel
is now included. DR is calculated accounting for both immediate radiative
stabilization and a single cascade between autoionizing states followed by
radiative stabilization. Thus, for
the
P

S
channel,
autoionization via
a 2p
2p
transition
(which can occur for capture
into n
18)
is also included. Calculations were carried out for
n
36
and l
8
and the results extrapolated for n>36 and
l>8. Extrapolations for l>8 were calculated using
a power law fitted to l=6, 7, and 8. Extrapolations for
n>36 were carried out using an n-3 scaling for
the Auger and radiative rates. These new calculations agree to within
30%
with the measurements.
Commonly used models of photoionized gases
are XSTAR (Kallman & Krolik 1997),
ION (Netzer 1993), and
CLOUDY (Ferland 1996). These models use
the recommended DR rates of AR92 for iron. For
Fe XVIII, AR92 incorporate the
rates of Dasgupta & Whitney (1990). Our
inferred rates are larger than those of Dasgupta & Whitney, by as much
as a factor of
2
at k
T
15
eV. Implementing our rates into the above models will shift the
Fe XVIII peak fractional abundance to higher
ionization parameters. The magnitude of this effect remains to be
determined and will require corrections to the low-temperature DR rates for
all relevant charge states that contribute to the heating and cooling of
the gas.
For the other cosmically abundant
elements, XSTAR uses the recommended DR rates of
Aldrovandi & Péquignot (1973),
ION uses the recommended rates of Shull &
Van Steenberg (1982), and CLOUDY uses the recommended rates of
AR85 supplemented by the LS-coupling calculations
by Nussbaumer & Storey
(1983, 1984,
1986, 1987)
of DR at nebular temperatures. These recommended rates (and many of the
recommended rates of AR92) are calculated using either
the Burgess (1965) formula or
LS coupling. The Burgess formula is known to be inappropriate
for low temperatures (Storey 1983). And,
as we have shown, LS-coupling calculations do not properly account
for all possible DR channels at nebular temperatures, especially for
L-shell ions where DR can proceed via fine-structure core
excitations. Similar problems may exist for M-shell ions, where DR
can proceed
via 3l
3l
core
excitations. A reevaluation of the recommended low-temperature DR rates is
needed to assess for what ions new rates must be determined.
The temperature dependence of Fe
XVIII
n=0
DR has a number of spectroscopic implications.
At k
T
15
eV the dominant DR rate is via
the
P

P
core
excitation. Because the radiative transition of the inner electron
is electric-dipole forbidden, the resulting autoionizing states of
Fe XVII stabilize by radiative decay of the captured
electron.
E
for the Fe
XVIII
P

P
transition
is 12.72 eV (Shirai et al. 1990). Using the hydrogenic
approximation
for E
,
we find that the recombining electrons are captured into levels
n
18. Accurately
calculating the resulting, cascade-generated X-ray spectrum promises to be
theoretically challenging. A similar situation can probably be expected for
any ion that undergoes DR via forbidden, fine-structure transitions.
Lines produced by
n=0
DR also offer the possibility of a new temperature diagnostic
(Liedahl 1992, Kahn &
Liedahl 1995).
Fe XVIII
P

P
DR
can generate Fe
XVII 2s
2p
2s
2p

P
3l lines. Fe
XVIII
P

S
DR
will primarily stabilize via a
2p
2s radiative
decay but can also stabilize by the radiative decay of the captured
electron. As the captured electron cascades down, it can generate Fe
XVII 2s
2p
2s2p

S
3l lines. Both of these transitions involve an excited core
configuration. RR, however, does not produce an excited core, and it will
result in
Fe XVII 2s
2p
2s
2p

P
3l lines. It is worth noting that because of their temperature
behavior,
the
P

P
DR
and
the
P

S
DR
are emitted by different temperature regions of a plasma.
Because
P

P
DR,
P

S
DR,
and RR all have distinctly different temperature dependences, ratios formed
from lines produced by these three processes may provide temperature
diagnostics. Similar mechanisms should exist for any L-shell ion.
Further experimental and theoretical work is in progress to explore this
new class of temperature diagnostics.
We thank M. Grieser, R. Repnow, and the TSR group for their expert technical support during the beam time. The authors thank T. R. Kallman, F. Paerels, J. C. Raymond, and D. A. Verner for stimulating conversations. This work was supported in part by NASA High Energy Astrophysics X-Ray Astronomy Research and Analysis grant NAGW-4185. Travel to Heidelberg and living expenses for D. W. S. were supported by NATO Collaborative Research grant CRG-950911. The experimental work has been supported in part by the German Federal Minister for Education, Science, Research, and Technology (BMBF) under contracts 06 GI 475, 06 GI 848, and 06 HD 854I. Work performed at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory was performed under the auspices of the US Department of Energy (contract W-7405-ENG-48).


. 1984,
A&AS, 56, 293 First citation in article | NASA ADS

. 1986,
A&AS, 64, 545 First citation in article | NASA ADS

. 1987,
A&AS, 69, 123 First citation in article | NASA ADS
Full image (78kb) | Discussion in text
FIG.
1.
Measured
Fe XVIII to Fe XVII recombination
rate coefficient vs. electron-ion collision energy. DR resonances resulting
from
P

P
and
P

S
core
excitations are labeled. The
nonresonant
background
recombination rate is due to RR.
Full image (44kb) | Discussion in text
FIG.
2.
Fe
XVIII to Fe XVII
Maxwellian-averaged DR rate coefficients. The solid thick line is the
integration of the experimental DR resonance strengths and energies
extracted from the results shown in Fig. 1.
Existing calculations by Roszman (1987) (long-dashed
line), Chen (1988) (dotted line),
and Dasgupta & Whitney (1990) (short-dashed
line) do not include
the
P

P
DR
channel. The thin solid line shows our calculations, including
this channel.
| i | P![]() ![]() P![]() | P![]() ![]() S![]() | ||
c
(cm3 s-1 K1.5) | E
(eV) | c
(cm3 s-1 K1.5) | E
(eV) | |
| 1... | 5.50(-6) | 2.29(-1) | 1.73(-3) | 19.1(0) |
| 2... | 9.56(-5) | 5.38(-1) | 3.72(-3) | 50.6(0) |
| 3... | 9.78(-5) | 1.71(0) | 3.23(-2) | 120.(0) |
| 4... | 2.61(-4) | 3.78(0) | 0 | 0 |
| 5... | 5.24(-4) | 9.08(0) | 0 | 0 |