INNER-SHELL PHOTOIONIZATION STUDIES OF NEUTRAL ATOMIC NITROGEN

ABSTRACT Inner-shell ionization of a 1s electron by either photons or electrons is important for X-ray photoionized objects such as active galactic nuclei and electron-ionized sources such as supernova remnants. Modeling and interpreting observations of such objects requires accurate predictions for...

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Published inThe Astrophysical journal Vol. 818; no. 2; pp. 149 - 154
Main Authors Stolte, W. C., Jonauskas, V., Lindle, D. W., Sant'Anna, M. M., Savin, D. W.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United Kingdom The American Astronomical Society 20.02.2016
Subjects
ASTROPHYSICS
ASTROPHYSICS, COSMOLOGY AND ASTRONOMY
atomic data
atomic processes
BRANCHING RATIO
Charge
CHARGE STATES
Communities
COMPARATIVE EVALUATIONS
COMPUTERIZED SIMULATION
CROSS SECTIONS
GALAXY NUCLEI
INNER-SHELL IONIZATION
Ionization
Mathematical models
methods: laboratory: atomic
NITROGEN
NITROGEN IONS
opacity
PHOTOIONIZATION
Photons
STABILIZATION
SUPERNOVA REMNANTS
X RADIATION
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Summary:ABSTRACT Inner-shell ionization of a 1s electron by either photons or electrons is important for X-ray photoionized objects such as active galactic nuclei and electron-ionized sources such as supernova remnants. Modeling and interpreting observations of such objects requires accurate predictions for the charge state distribution (CSD), which results as the 1s-hole system stabilizes. Due to the complexity of the complete stabilization process, few modern calculations exist and the community currently relies on 40-year-old atomic data. Here, we present a combined experimental and theoretical study for inner-shell photoionization of neutral atomic nitrogen for photon energies of 403-475 eV. Results are reported for the total ion yield cross section, for the branching ratios for formation of N+, , and , and for the average charge state. We find significant differences when comparing to the data currently available to the astrophysics community. For example, while the branching ratio to is somewhat reduced, that for N+ is greatly increased, and that to , which was predicted to be zero, grows to at the higher photon energies studied. This work demonstrates some of the shortcomings in the theoretical CSD data base for inner-shell ionization and points the way for the improvements needed to more reliably model the role of inner-shell ionization of cosmic plasmas.
Bibliography:ApJ97573
Instrumentation and Computational Algorithms
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ISSN:0004-637X
1538-4357
DOI:10.3847/0004-637X/818/2/149