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X–ray spectroscopy of astrophysical plasmas
Published:26 July 2002https://doi.org/10.1098/rsta.2002.1043
Abstract
We provide a qualitative review of key X–ray spectral diagnostics of astrophysical plasmas. We begin with a brief discussion of the two major types of equilibria, collisional ionization and photoionization, and then consider the behaviour of hydrogen–like, helium–like, iron L–shell and iron K–shell transitions for these separate cases. Where possible, we discuss explicit examples using high–resolution spectra acquired by the grating instruments on the Chandra and XMM–Newton observatories.
