Abstract

We discuss the implementation of physically meaningful branching ratios between the CRD and partial redistribution contributions to the emissivity of a polarized multi-term atom in the presence of both inelastic and elastic collisions. Our derivation is based on a recent theoretical formulation o... Show moreWe discuss the implementation of physically meaningful branching ratios between the CRD and partial redistribution contributions to the emissivity of a polarized multi-term atom in the presence of both inelastic and elastic collisions. Our derivation is based on a recent theoretical formulation of partially coherent scattering, and it relies on a heuristic diagrammatic analysis of the various radiative and collisional processes to determine the proper form of the branching ratios. The expression we obtain for the emissivity is epsilon = [e((1)) - epsilon((2))(f.s)] + epsilon((2)) where epsilon((1)) and epsilon(( 2)) are the emissivity terms for the redistributed and partially coherent radiation, respectively, and where "f.s." implies that the corresponding term must be evaluated assuming a flat- spectrum average of the incident radiation. This result is shown to be in agreement with prior literature on the subject in the limit of the unpolarized multi-level atom. Show less