Uncertainties in Atomic Data and Their Propagation Through Spectral Models. I

TL;DR

This paper introduces a method to compute and propagate uncertainties in spectral models caused by atomic data inaccuracies, providing analytic solutions and demonstrating their application to specific atomic systems.

Contribution

The paper presents a novel analytic approach for propagating atomic data uncertainties through spectral models, enabling efficient uncertainty estimation under various physical conditions.

Findings

Effective for A-values of forbidden [Fe II] transitions

Applicable to spectral models of O III and Fe II

Uncertainty estimates depend on dispersion in atomic calculations

Abstract

We present a method for computing uncertainties in spectral models, i.e. level populations, line emissivities, and emission line ratios, based upon the propagation of uncertainties originating from atomic data. We provide analytic expressions, in the form of linear sets of algebraic equations, for the coupled uncertainties among all levels. These equations can be solved efficiently for any set of physical conditions and uncertainties in the atomic data. We illustrate our method applied to spectral models of O III and Fe II and discuss the impact of the uncertainties on atomic systems under different physical conditions. As to intrinsic uncertainties in theoretical atomic data, we propose that these uncertainties can be estimated from the dispersion in the results from various independent calculations. This technique provides excellent results for the uncertainties in A-values of forbidden transitions in [Fe II].