Atomic Processes Relevant in Z-Pinch and Laboratory Astrophysical Plasmas; Applications in X-Ray Diagnostics

Summary form only given. Accurate determination of atomic data that have significant effects on line emission is crucial for reliable X-ray diagnostics of laboratory Z-pinch and astrophysical plasmas. An adequate description of the dynamics of ionization and X-ray production requires an extensive amount of atomic data that include important collisional and radiative processes such as collisional excitation (including inner-shell), ionization, and both radiative as well as dielectronic recombination rates. These data are self-consistently generated for the relevant low-to-mid Z elements using sophisticated atomic codes which are continually improved as better and more state-of-the-art models become available. These developments and diagnostics applications will be demonstrated by giving examples of K- and L-shell X-ray emission from ions of interest. We will also demonstrate the differences between our detailed atomic model that couples all important excited states and the use of an average atom model. For high-current driven Z-pinch experiments, for example, involving medium to high Z plasmas, rapid "burn through" in the L-shell is required to generate K-shell ions and this burn-through is inhibited by L-shell radiation losses. In calculating these population dynamics, a detailed level accounting such as ours is absolutely essential