Jena 2013 – scientific programme

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EP: Fachverband Extraterrestrische Physik

EP 4: Poster Session

EP 4.8: Poster

Tuesday, February 26, 2013, 11:15–12:45, Poster OG

Moving neutral helium in neutron star magnetic fields — •Thorsten Kersting and Günter Wunner — Institut für Theoretische Physik 1, Universität Stuttgart

In the past years, significant improvements in numerical calculations of atoms in neutron star magnetic fields have led to the possibility of producing a huge amount of atomic data, which can serve as a basis for modeling neutron star atmospheres. To calculate the quantity of interest, i.e. the opacity, from cross sections and dipole strengths, it is necessary to consider broadening effects due to influences of the hot plasma in the neutron star atmosphere. The largest broadening effect for atoms in neutron star magnetic fields is likely to be the influence of the motional Stark effect induced by the magnetic field. We will primarily focus on helium and work in center of mass and relative coordinates. The wave function is described by configuration interaction and the single-particle orbitals are expanded in B-Splines. This approach requires sophisticated numerical algorithms.