Energy levels, radiative rates and electron impact excitation rates for transitions in Si III

Abstract

Energy levels and radiative rates (A-values) for four types of transitions (E1, E2, M1, and M2) are reported for an astrophysically important Mg-like ion Si~III, whose emission lines have been observed in a variety of plasmas. For the calculations, well-known and widely-used GRASP code has been adopted, and results are listed for transitions among the 141 levels of the 3$\ell3\ell'$ and 3$\ell$4$\ell$ configurations. Experimental energies are available for only the lowest 58 levels but there is no major discrepancy with theoretical results. Similarly, the A-values and lifetimes show a satisfactory agreement with other available results, particularly for strong E1 transitions. Collision strengths are also calculated, with the DARC code, and listed for resonance transitions over a wide energy range, up to 30~Ryd. No similar results are available in the literature for comparisons. However, comparisons are made with the more important parameter, effective collision strength ($\Upsilon$), for which recent $R$-matrix results are available for a wide range of transitions, and over a large range of temperatures. To determine $\Upsilon$, resonances have been resolved in a narrow energy mesh, although these are not observed to be as important as for other ions. Unfortunately, large discrepancies in $\Upsilon$ values are noted for about half the transitions. The differences increase with increasing temperature and worsen as the upper level J increases. In most cases the earlier results are overestimated, by up to (almost) two orders of magnitude, and this conclusion is consistent with the one observed earlier for Be-like ions.