Atomic data from the Iron Project ^*

XLVII. Electron impact excitation of Ni III

Laboratory for High Energy Astrophysics, Code 662, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA

Corresponding author: M. A. Bautista bautista@lhea1.gsfc.nasa.gov

Received: 29 August 2000
Accepted: 17 October 2000

Abstract

This paper reports R-matrix calculations of electron impact excitation rates for Ni III. The calculation includes 70 LS terms corresponding to the configurations 3d⁸, 3d⁷4s, 3d⁷4p, and 3d⁶4s². This expansion results in 162 fine structure levels and 13 041 transitions, including optical, infrared, and ultraviolet lines. The collision strengths, including detailed resonance structures, were integrated over a Maxwellian distribution of electron energies and the resulting effective collision strengths are given for a wide range of temperatures. A collisional-radiative equilibrium model of the Ni III ion is constructed and the strongest lines in the optical and infrared spectral regions are identified. The emissivities of these lines and emissivity line ratio diagnostics are presented.