Elements and Ions

The first file that must be read into textsc{python} is the file that defines the elements and ions. The

Translation to python:

The original data and the translation can be found in py_verner. A simple awkscript converts the downloaded data to Python format.

Datafile - elem_ions_ver.py:

There are two sections to the file, first elements are defined:

Label

z

Symbol

Abundance

Atomic Weight

Element

1

H

12.00

1.007940

Element

2

He

10.99

4.002602

and then the ions. (Abundances are generally defined logarithmically with respect to H at 12.00. In principle, there are two choices if one wished to defien a plasma where, for example, He was the dominant element. One could leave the H abundance at 12 and define the He abundance as for example 13.00 Alternatively, one could set the He abundnace to 12.00 and define all of the other elements with respect to this. Either choice should work but none has been tested. It is unclear whether code will work at all for a plasma with no H.)

Label

Symbol

z

state

g

\(\xi\)

max lev

max nlte

. config

IonV

H

1

1

2

13.59900

1000

10

1s(2S_{1/2})

IonV

H

1

2

1

1.0000e+20

0

0

Bare.

IonV

He

2

1

1

24.58800

1000

10

1s^2(1S_0)$

IonV

He

2

2

2

54.41800

1000

10

1s(2S_{1/2})

IonV

He

2

3

1

1.0000e+20

0

0

Bare

Here \(\xi\) is clearly the ionizaton potential in eV, and max lev is the number of levels that are allowed, if the ion is part of a simple atom, while max nlte is the number that are allowed if the ion is part of a macro-atom. Whether an ion is treated as part of a simple atom or as part of a macro-atom is determined by what is read in as part of the level information.

Python structure:

This data is held in Python in various fields in structures elements and ions.

Comments:

Supernova models

Supernovae (SNe) do not have solar abundances. SS included an additional file, texttt{elem_ions_ver_sn.py} for use with SN models. This is accessed through the texttt{standard_sn_kurucz} masterfile and as far as I know is just added by hand to match expected Type Ia abundances and specifically the abundances used by Tardis.

ksl - The abundances used by Verner are not necessarily the best values today. This is one of the the items we should consider updating.

Although the element data file described above includes the Atomic weight, this is not actually used as described in issue 802. The documentation needs to be updated when this is closed.