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[39.02] Radiative Transfer Effects in Highly Ionized Media

M. Sako (Caltech)

Radiative transfer effects that are relevant for calculating the emergent X-ray line spectrum from an optically thick, highly ionized medium are investigated. The effects of resonance line transfer with sources of overlapping line and continuum opacity are studied under various physical conditions. By solving the transfer equation, we show that these effects do not only alter line ratios within a single ion, but are capable of affecting line intensities across different elements. Several specific examples are discussed, including the line fluorescence problem of \ion{O}{8} and \ion{N}{7}, and the impact on the global spectral modeling of optically thick sources.

This work was supported by NASA through Chandra Postdoctoral Fellowship Award Number PF1-20016 issued by the Chandra X-ray Observatory Center, which is operated by the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory for and behalf of NASA under contract NAS8-39073.

Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, 35#2
© 2003. The American Astronomical Soceity.