Aims: We generate theoretical ultraviolet and extreme-ultraviolet emission line ratios for O IV and show their strong versatility as electron temperature and density diagnostics for astrophysical plasmas. Methods: Recent fully relativistic calculatio
ns of radiative rates and electron impact excitation cross sections for O IV, supplemented with earlier data for A-values and proton excitation rates, are used to derive theoretical O IV line intensity ratios for a wide range of electron temperatures and densities. Results: Diagnostic line ratios involving ultraviolet or extreme-ultraviolet transitions in O IV are presented, that are applicable to a wide variety of astrophysical plasmas ranging from low density gaseous nebulae to the densest solar and stellar flares. Comparisons with observational data, where available, show good agreement between theory and experiment, providing support for the accuracy of the diagnostics. However, diagnostics are also presented involving lines that are blended in existing astronomical spectra, in the hope this might encourage further observational studies at higher spectral resolution.
Fully relativistic calculations of radiative rates and electron impact excitation cross sections for Fe X are used to derive theoretical emission-line ratios involving transitions in the 174-366 A wavelength range. A comparison of these with solar ac
tive region observations obtained during the 1989 and 1995 flights of the Solar Extreme-ultraviolet Research Telescope and Spectrograph (SERTS) reveals generally very good agreement between theory and experiment. Several Fe X emission features are detected for the first time in SERTS spectra, while the transition at 195.32 A is identified for the first time (to our knowledge) in an astronomical source. The most useful Fe X electron density diagnostic line ratios are assessed to be 175.27/174.53 and 175.27/177.24, which both involve lines close in wavelength and free from blends, vary by factors of 13 between Ne = 1E8 and 1E13 cm-3, and yet show little temperature sensitivity. Should these lines not be available, then the 257.25/345.74 ratio may be employed to determine Ne, although this requires an accurate evaluation of the instrument intensity calibration over a relatively large wavelength range. However, if the weak 324.73 A line of Fe X is reliably detected, the use of 324.73/345.74 or 257.25/324.73 is recommended over 257.25/345.74.
New fully relativistic calculations of radiative rates and electron impact excitation cross sections for Fe XVI are used to determine theoretical emission-line ratios applicable to the 251 - 361 A and 32 - 77 A portions of the extreme-ultraviolet (EU
V) and soft X-ray spectral regions, respectively. A comparison of the EUV results with observations from the Solar Extreme-Ultraviolet Research Telescope and Spectrograph (SERTS) reveals excellent agreement between theory and experiment. However, for emission lines in the 32 - 49 A portion of the soft X-ray spectral region, there are large discrepancies between theory and measurement for both a solar flare spectrum obtained with the X-Ray Spectrometer/Spectrograph Telescope (XSST) and observations of Capella from the Low Energy Transmission Grating Spectrometer (LETGS) on the Chandra X-ray Observatory. These are probably due to blending in the solar flare and Capella data from both first order lines and from shorter wavelength transitions detected in second and third order. By contrast, there is very good agreement between our theoretical results and the XSST and LETGS observations in the 50 - 77 A wavelength range, contrary to previous results. In particular, there is no evidence that the Fe XVI emission from the XSST flare arises from plasma at a much higher temperature than that expected for Fe XVI in ionization equilibrium, as suggested by earlier work.
