The carbon atom in intense magnetic fields

TL;DR

This paper calculates the energy levels of the carbon atom in extremely strong magnetic fields, providing new data crucial for astrophysical models of white dwarfs and neutron stars.

Contribution

It extends a pseudospectral computational method to include ten previously uninvestigated low-lying states of carbon in intense magnetic fields.

Findings

New data for ten low-lying states of carbon in magnetic fields.

Strong binding of these states increases with magnetic field strength.

Results align with existing data for some states, validating the approach.

Abstract

The energy levels of the first few low-lying states of carbon in intense magnetic fields upwards of $\approx 10^7$ T are calculated in this study. We extend our previously employed pseudospectral approach for calculating the eigenstates of the carbon atom. We report data for the ground state and a low-lying state that are in good agreement with findings elsewhere, as well as new data for ten other states of the carbon atom that have not been investigated until now. It is seen that these hitherto uninvestigated states also become strongly bound with increasing magnetic field strengths. The data presented in this study are relevant for astrophysical applications, such as magnetized white dwarf and neutron star spectral analysis as well as opacity calculations and absorption features, including in the context of material accreting onto the surfaces of these compact objects.