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Article Contents

ABSTRACT

1.INTRODUCTION

2.A SHORT INTRODUCTION TO ATOMIC STRUCTURE

2.1.The Bohr atom

2.2.Level notation in multi-electron systems

2.3.Binding energies

2.4.Abundances

3.BASIC PROCESSES

3.1.Excitation processes

3.2.Ionisation processes

3.3.Recombination processes

3.4.Charge transfer processes

4.IONISATION BALANCE

4.1.Collisional Ionisation Equilibrium (CIE)

4.2.Non-Equilibrium Ionisation (NEI)

4.3.Photoionisation Equilibrium (PIE)

5.EMISSION PROCESSES

5.1.Continuum emission processes

5.2.Line emission processes

5.3.Some important line transitions

6.ABSORPTION PROCESSES

6.1.Continuum versus line absorption

6.2.Continuum absorption

6.3.Line absorption

6.4.Some important X-ray absorption lines

6.5.Curve of growth

6.6.Galactic foreground absorption

7.GALACTIC FOREGROUND EMISSION

8.COOLING FUNCTION

9.IONISATION AND EXCITATION BY NON-THERMAL ELECTRONS

10.PLASMA MODELLING

10.1.Available codes

10.2.Important parameters

10.3.Multi-Temperature emission and absorption

REFERENCES