CONTINUOUS EMISSION FROM A LOW-TEMPERATURE HELIUM PLASMA DUE TO RADIATIVE CHARGE-EXCHANGE AND RADIATIVE ION-ATOM RECOMBINATION

Radiative recombination and radiative charge exchange in symmetrical He+ + He collisions are considered using a semiclassical adiabatic model of collisions in low-temperature plasmas. The reaction channels are assumed to be uncoupled and the corresponding total and partial spectral coefficients for the spontaneous continuous electromagnetic emission are calculated for helium-plasma temperatures below 3 x 10(4) K. The results are compared with the similar spectral densities for electron-ion and electron-atom scattering. It is found that in a wide range of physical conditions radiative processes involving ion-atom collisions should be taken into account in the analysis of the continuum radiation from helium plasmas.