Collision strengths for the excitation of lithium- and boron-like ions by electron impact

The theory of collision strengths of highly charged ions is presented in terms of the R-matrix formalism by utilizing time-dependent perturbation theory. This theory is then applied to the general case of an ion with three valence electrons. The theory is general enough to admit the possiblity of three equivalent electrons. The effects of configuration interaction and intermediate coupling are incorporated through the mixing coefficients calculated by diagonalizing the perturbation matrix. This matrix is formed by taking into account the electron-electron electrostatic interaction as well as all first order relativistic corrections. The dipole radiative line strengths are also calculated using these mix coefficients. The line strengths are needed for the Coulomb-Bethe approximation which estimates the contributions to the collision strengths from large values of the impact electron's orbital angular momentum. All the above quantities are calculated in both the LS and jj coupling schemes. This dual calculation provides useful information about the mixing of the states present, as well as serving as a valuable check on the development of the theory and the coding of the computer programs. An application is made to the calculation of transition energies, line strengths and collision strengths of transitions from all lower states with a configuration of 1s22I to all upper states with a configuraiton of 1s2I/sub a/'2I/sub b/'