A New Approach to Modeling Line Shapes with Quasi-H$_2^+$ Satellites in Stellar Atmospheres

Abstract

Theoretical spectral line shapes describe the distribution of opacity due to bound electronic transitions in hot dense plasmas and are used to fit emergent spectra from many astrophysical sources. Deficiencies in line broadening theory have been proposed as a possible explanation for unresolved discrepancies between theoretical and observed spectra in white dwarf star atmospheres and laboratory experiments at white dwarf star photosphere conditions. One possible source of these discrepancies is the formation of quasi-molecules. Quasi-molecules are close (unbound) collisions between atoms, which broaden line shapes and create additional satellite lines. Quasi-molecules are challenging to implement into traditional line shape codes and have historically required a number of physical approximations beyond what is used in standard Stark broadening models. Here we present a new approach to calculating line shapes with quasi-molecular resonances, using a novel multiple-basis method that considers both atomic and molecular states. We implement this approach into a simulation line shape code, present hydrogen Lyman-series line shapes with quasi-H$_2^+$ resonances, and demonstrate the impact our new line shapes have on hydrogen-atmosphere white dwarf star model spectra. We find that our new approach leads to broader quasi-molecular features that agree well with observed spectra in initial comparisons.