Atomic processes in plasmas - An overview

Natural and man-made plasmas almost always not only contain free electrons and completely-stripped ions, but also bound-state atoms and positive, or even negative, ions, not to mention molecules, clusters, dust particles, etc. All of these constituents interact more or less strongly with electro-magnetic fields, and with each other. The often rather complex atomic processes or interactions to be discussed here are essential for our understanding of basic plasma properties (e.g., of the equation of state) and for many plasma applications, including materials processing. Special emphasis is placed on diagnostics and modeling under extreme plasma conditions and on the interpretation of unusual measurements, e.g., polarization spectroscopy, spectral line broadening, charge-exchange and beam-emission spectroscopy.