The relative intensities of the 2s–2p and 2l–3l′ (l=0, l′= 1; l= 1, l′ = 0, 2) solar XUV lines of ions in the lithium isoelectronic sequence are sensitive to electron temperature because of the large energy separation of the 2p and 3/’ levels. Recent observations of these lines for three members of the sequence, O+5, Ne+7 and Mg+9 (Heroux and Cohen, 1971), consequently provide a potentially powerful means of studying the temperature structure of the upper chromosphere-corona transition region. These observations have been examined in the light of recent calculations of the electron excitation cross-sections for the relevant transitions (Flower, 1971). It is found that the observed intensity ratios are systematically greater than values calculated assuming that all the lines of a given ion are produced at essentially the same temperature, namely, the temperature for which the ionization equilibrium calculations of Jordan (1969) predict that emission in the lines is most highly favoured. Part of the discrepancy is removed if this assumption is dropped and the emission in each line is calculated separately before taking the ratio. These two calculations do not yield the same result because there is a high temperature tail in the ionization curve of the lithium-like ions which results in the transitions of higher excitation energy, the 2l–3l′ transitions, being enhanced relative to the 2s–2p transition. The unsatisfactory agreement between theory and observation could have important implications for current theories of the ionization equilibrium, but, before definite conclusions can be reached, further observations of the same type need to be made and remaining uncertainties in the cross-sections to be resolved.
On the Interpretation of the Relative Intensities of the Solar XUV Lines of Lithium-Like Ions
