ASYMPTOTIC BEHAVIOR OF GENERALIZED WIDTH AND SHIFT FUNCTIONS IN ELECTRON-IMPACT BROADENING THEORY OF NEUTRAL SPECTRAL LINES IN PLASMAS

Explicit asymptotic formulas are derived for the generalized functions A(z1, z2) and B(z1, z2), which define the matrix elements of the electron-collision operator, in the impact broadening theory of Griem, Baranger, Kolb, and Oertel, recently extended in order to take into account any degree of degeneracy of the overlapping lines in plasmas. The results are shown graphically and confirm a complementary behavior previously predicted. The shift function remains greater than the width function in the whole asymptotic domain. © 1969 The American Physical Society.