Photoprocesses
Photoprocesses in plasma include many types of elementary process, namely, spontaneous radiation, photoexcitation of atomic particles, photoionization and radiative recombination of atoms, photodetachment of electron from negative ions, photodissociation of molecules, Bremsstrahlung and some others. Spontaneous radiation determines the main emission characteristic of plasma in the discrete spectrum. Photorecombination, radiative capture and inverse Bremsstrahlung lead to the formation of continuum spectrum of plasma radiation. It should be noted that radiative electron attachment to the hydrogen atom in the Sun produces the radiation in visible and near-infrared region. So this phenomenon provides the necessary conditions for the life on the Earth. Photoprocesses play important role in the coronal equilibrium establishment. Photoexcitation of atoms participates in the resonant radiation capture and should be taken into account in the case of optically thick medium.
- resonant absorption and radiation of light by atoms and molecules
- photoionizaton
- photodetachment of an electron from a negative ion
- photodissociation of molecules
Examples:
Photodissociation of CH molecule
Photodetachment of an electron from a negative ion
Born model for the calculation of the atomic photoionization cross-section
