The Valence and Inner Shell Ionization Properties of Sr I - III by Non-Thermal Electrons in Kilonovae
The presence of strontium (Z = 38) was identified from spectra of the first multi-messenger kilonova transient, AT2017gfo, with the evolution of its spectral signature indicating a rapidly changing ionization balance. Interpretation of spectra at later times requires a more detailed understanding of recombination and ionization processes, including ionization by `non-thermal' electrons produced by beta decay. Published measurements of the ionization cross sections of Sr I and Sr II show complex structures likely arising from excitation autoionization. Using the Flexible Atomic Code we report calculations of the valence and inner shell ionization cross sections for Sr I, Sr II, and Sr III, and recover similar structures in the ionization cross sections. Though no measurements exist for Sr III, the calculations suggest negligible contributions from excitation autoionization. These new data are incorporated into Spencer-Fano models of non-thermal electron degradation and coupled to an ionization balance solver. The effects of excitation autoionization, treated as excitation with the additional production of an Auger electron, on the degradation spectra of non-thermal are explored. Calculations at both level- and configuration-average resolution return ion fractions that agree within 5-20%. The calculations probe the impact of including final-charge-state-resolved branching ratios for inner shell ionization which result in multi-ionization events from successive Auger cascades. Omission of these branching ratios is shown to have large impacts on the ionization balance. The calculated cross sections will be provided on Zenodo.