Astron. Astrophys. Suppl. Ser. 139, 377-385

Stark broadening of the lower Rydberg $n_{\alpha}$, $n_{\beta}$ and $n_{\gamma}$ lines of atomic hydrogen

O. Motapon^1,2 - N. Tran Minh²

Send offprint request: O. Motapon

1 - Département de Physique, Faculté des Sciences, BP. 24157, Université de Douala, Cameroon
2 - DAMAP and URA 812 du CNRS, Observatoire de Paris-Meudon, 92195 Meudon Cedex, France

Received June 19, 1996; accepted August 27, 1998

Abstract:

This paper deals with the calculation of line widths and lineshapes of the lower Rydberg lines of atomic hydrogen ($n\sim 5-20$) in the conditions of stellar envelopes and atmospheres - electron densities scaling from 10⁹ to 10¹⁶ cm^-3 and temperatures varying between 5000 and 40000 K. For these lines, the traditional semi-classical method breaks down, especially at low densities. Another or other theoretical approaches are needed for the determination of linewidths. An alternative tool is proposed in terms of collision rate methods. Data are provided for $n_{\alpha}$, $n_{\beta}$ and $n_{\gamma}$ lines.

Key words: atomic data -- line profiles -- plasmas