We present Maxwellian-averaged effective collision strengths for the electron-impact excitation of S iii over a wide range of electron temperatures of astrophysical importance, log T e (K) = 3.0-6.0. The calculation incorporates 53 fine-structure levels arising from the six configurations 3s 2 3p 2 , 3s3p 3 , 3s 2 3p3d, 3s 2 3p4s, 3s 2 3p4p and 3s 2 3p4d, giving rise to 1378 individual lines, and is undertaken using the recently developed RMATRX II plus FINE95 suite of codes. A detailed comparison is made with a previous R-matrix calculation and significant differences are found for some transitions. The atomic data are subsequently incorporated into the modeling code cloudy to generate line intensities for a range of plasma parameters, with emphasis on allowed UV and EUV emission lines detected from the Io plasma torus. Electron density-sensitive line ratios are calculated with the present atomic data and compared with those from CHIANTI v7.1, as well as with Io plasma torus spectra obtained by FUSE and EUVE. The present line intensities are found to agree well with the observational results and provide a noticeable improvement upon the values predicted by CHIANTI.Subject headings: atomic data -atomic processes -plasmas -scattering -planets and satellites: individual (Io, Jupiter) -ultraviolet: planetary systems

Context. Mg  emission lines are observed in a range of astronomical objects such as the Sun, other cool stars and in the coronal line region of Seyfert galaxies. Under coronal conditions Mg  emits strongly in the extreme ultraviolet (EUV) and soft X-ray spectral regions which makes it an ideal ion for plasma diagnostics. Aims. Two theoretical atomic models, consisting of 125 fine structure levels, are developed for the Mg  ion. The 125 levels arise from the 2s 2 2p, 2s2p 2 , 2p 3 , 2s 2 3s, 2s 2 3p, 2s 2 3d, 2s2p3s, 2s2p3p, 2s2p3d, 2p 2 3s, 2p 2 3p and 2p 2 3d configurations. Electron impact excitation collision strengths and radiative transition probabilities are calculated for both Mg  models, compared with existing data, and the best model selected to generate a set of theoretical emission line intensities. The EUV lines, covering 312-790 Å, are compared with existing solar spectra (SERTS-89 and SUMER), while the soft X-ray transitions (69-97 Å) are examined for potential density diagnostic line ratios and also compared with the limited available solar and stellar observational data. Methods. The R-matrix codes Breit-Pauli RMATRXI and RMATRXII are utilised, along with the PSTGF code, to calculate the collision strengths for two Mg  models. Collision strengths are averaged over a Maxwellian distribution to produce the corresponding effective collision strengths for use in astrophysical applications. Transition probabilities are also calculated using the CIV3 atomic structure code. The best data are then incorporated into the modelling code CLOUDY and line intensities generated for a range of electron temperatures and densities appropriate to solar and stellar coronal plasmas.Results. The present effective collision strengths are compared with two previous calculations. Good levels of agreement are found with the most recent, but there are large differences with the other for forbidden transitions. The resulting line intensities compare favourably with the observed values from the SERTS-89 and SUMER spectra. Theoretical soft X-ray emission lines are presented and several density diagnostic line ratios examined, which are in reasonable agreement with the limited observational data available.

Accurate fine-structure atomic data for the Fe-peak elements are essential for interpreting astronomical spectra. There is a severe paucity of data available for Sc II, highlighted by the fact that no collision strengths are readily available for this ion. We present electron-impact excitation collision strengths and Maxwellian averaged effective collision strengths for Sc II. The collision strengths were calculated for all 3916 transitions amongst 89 jj levels (arising from the 3d4s, 3d 2 , 4s 2 , 3d4p, 4s4p, 3d5s, 3d4d, 3d5p, 4p 2 and 3d4f configurations), resulting in a 944 coupled channel problem. The R-matrix package RMATRXII was utilized, along with the transformation code FINE and the external region code PSTGF, to calculate the collision strengths for a range of incident electron energies in the 0 to 8.3 Rydberg region. Maxwellian averaged effective collision strengths were then produced for 27 temperatures lying within the astrophysically significant range of 30 to 10 5 K.The collision strengths and effective collision strengths were produced for two different target models. The purpose was to systematically examine the effect of including open 3p correlation terms into the configuration interaction expansion for the wavefunction. The first model consisted of all 36 CI terms that could be generated with the 3p core closed. The second model incorporated an additional six configurations which allowed for single-electron excitations from within the 3p core. Comparisons are made between the two models and the results of Bautista et al., obtained by private communication. It is concluded that the first model produced the most reliable set of collision and effective collision strengths for use in astrophysical and plasma applications.

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