Atomic and molecular data and their applications: ICAMDATA 2022

Eur. Phys. J. D (2024)78:49 https://doi.org/10.1140/epjd/s10053-024-00844-4 THE EUROPEAN PHYSICAL JOURNAL D Editorial Atomic and molecular data and their applications: ICAMDATA 2022 Annarita Laricchiuta1,a , Iouli E. Gordon2,b , Christian Hill3,c , Gianpiero Colonna1,d , and Sylwia Ptasinska4,e 1 2 3 4 CNR Institute for Plasma Science and Technology (ISTP) Bari Section, Via Amendola 122/D, Bari, Italy Center for Astrophysics, Harvard and Smithsonian, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA Nuclear Data Section, International Atomic Energy Agency, Vienna, Austria Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN 46556, USA © The Author(s), under exclusive licence to EDP Sciences, SIF and Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2024 Abstract. This Editorial provides the general introduction to the collection of papers originated by the 12th ICAMDATA, recalling the inspiring principles of the conference, providing an overview of the advancement in the field of data generation and curation, and illustrating contributions relevant to different applications. This Topical Issue stems from the 12th International Conference on Atomic and Molecular Data and Their Applications (ICAMDATA), held in Mola di Bari (Italy) in September 2022. The ICAMDATA is a continuing series of international conferences that promotes the use of atomic and molecular (AM) data in various fields of science and technology, fostering crossdisciplinary cooperation between the AM data producers and users, and the coordination of AM data activities and databases worldwide. The Topical Issue collects 20 papers originating from the contributions presented at the conference. The majority of them are focussed on the theoretical derivation of structural properties of atoms and molecules and of dynamical data (cross sections and rate coefficients) for electron scattering and heavy-particle collision processes, with different approaches. Some papers presenting experimental activity are also included in the collection. Published results contribute to the construction of new knowledge, having an intrinsic and general value, but in many cases aim at giving an answer to specific needs of data in definite fields of application, ranging from astrophysics and fusion plasmas to lowtemperature plasmas for technological discharges and aerothermodynamics. Furthermore, another relevant topic is the data collection and dissemination. The existing infrastructures for data distribution [1–4] are the most valuable tool for the modelling community, and their constant updating process intercepts the ever-increasing level of accuracy and state-selectivity of both computational methods in quantum chemistry and experiments, allowing a scea e-mail: (corresponding author) e-mail: c e-mail: d e-mail: e e-mail: b 0123456789().: V,-vol nario of data-from-theory and data-from-experiments. Moreover, they represent the perfect frame for data analysis and the assessment of data quality; this objective intertwined with the need of constructing indicators for the community. In the following, the contributed papers are briefly introduced to the reader. The modern techniques in quantum chemistry provide the theoretical framework for the investigation of specific properties of atoms and molecules and of their collisional dynamics that are key in modelling a huge variety of plasma systems, from spectra of kilonovae to magnetically confined tokamak. A selection of cross sections for the electron-impact processes in high-Z atoms (Fe II, Pt III, Au III, W I-II) obtained within the fully relativistic method for atomic structure (grasp0) and for R-matrix electron scattering (pdarc) by the collision group at Queens University Belfast is presented in Ref. [5]. The pseudo-relativistic Hartree–Fock (HFR) method has been exploited for the investigation on the sensitivity of opacity for uranium (U II and U III) to the inclusion of core polarization effects, still weak, in the calculation of atomic data [6] and also of opacity for lowly and moderately charged lanthanides (Sm V-XI and Nd II-IV) to the inclusion of accurate internal partition functions [7]. These results are relevant to model kilonova spectra and light curves, and in Ref. [8], mathematical inequalities and atomic-physics sum rules are identified as tools for the assessment of the reliability of opacity tables, allowing the derivation of upper/lower bounds. A special focus is represented by the element tin. In fact, accurate atomic data are expected to impact the analysis of kilonova spectra, but are also relevant to nuclear fusion technology, especially for the design of new-concept plasma facing components in the divertor 123 49 Page 2 of 3 region of the tokamak based on liquid-metal and autoregenerating plates. In particular, the linearized coupled cluster method in combination with standard ab initio configuration interaction approaches have been used in the derivation of energy levels and multipole forbidden transitions for the singly ionized tin (Sn II) [9], intended for the analysis of the AT2017gfo kilonova emission and for the synthetic spectra generation, while the relativistic convergent close-coupling (RCCC) method has been used to derive a detailed set of electron-impact excitation cross sections for Sn III [10], enlightening the role of inter-channel coupling and the energy limit of validity for approximated approaches. An intense research activity is devoted to the characterization of highly charged ions in a relativistic framework for the interpretation of the X-ray emission spectra of astrophysical and fusion plasmas. For example, the role of hyperfine-induced multiple interference on the anisotropic character of the angular distribution of the magnetic-quadrupole line of heliumlike thallium ions following the electron-impact-induced excitation [11]. Moreover, the process of dielectronic recombination (DR) in boron-like argon [12] and in the helium-like isoelectronic sequence [13] has been investigated based on the relativistic configuration interaction method with inclusion of Breit and QED corrections and the fully relativistic distorted wave approach, respectively. The comparison with measured DR cross sections from high-resolution EBIT (Electron Beam Ion Trap) experiments in modern facilities shows an excellent agreement. In Ref. [14], the LISA (Lisbon Atomic) database is presented, providing a comprehensive collections of theoretical atomic parameters for X-ray spectroscopy, relevant for example in the characterization of nanomaterials. Data comprise the electron-impact ionization obtained in the modified relativistic binary encounter Bethe model and other structural properties, such as the fluorescence yield of sub-shell or the Coster–Kronig Auger transition yields, derived within ab initio methods in quantum chemistry. Experiments, on the other hand, can respond to the emerging need of improvements in the accuracy of data and completeness of system (...truncated)