Discrepancies in Atomic Data and Suggestions for their Resolutions

TL;DR

This paper reviews the significant discrepancies in atomic data used for plasma modeling, identifies their sources, and offers suggestions to improve data accuracy and reliability for various plasma applications.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive revisit of atomic parameters, highlighting discrepancies, their origins, and proposing methods to enhance data consistency and precision.

Findings

Large discrepancies exist among atomic data calculations.

Sources of discrepancies include methodological differences.

Recommendations for reducing errors in atomic data.

Abstract

The analysis and modelling of a range of plasmas (for example: astrophysical, laser-produced and fusion), require atomic data for a number of parameters, such as energy levels, radiative rates and electron impact excitation rates, or equivalently the effective collision strengths. Such data are desired for a wide range of elements and their many ions, although all elements are not useful for all types of plasmas. Since measurements of atomic data are mostly confined to only a few energy levels of some ions, calculations for all parameters are highly important. However, often there are large discrepancies among different calculations for almost all parameters, which makes it difficult to apply the data with confidence. Many such discrepancies (and the possible remedies) were discussed earlier (Fusion Sci. Tech. 2013, 63, 363). Since then a lot more anomalies for almost all of these atomic parameters have come to notice. Therefore, this paper is a revisit of various atomic parameters to highlight the large discrepancies, their possible sources and some suggestions to avoid those, so that comparatively more accurate and reliable atomic data may be available in the future.