SPECTRAL LINE SHAPES IN PLASMAS

Line-shape analysis is one of the most important tools for diagnostics of both laboratory ,and space plasmas. Its reliable implementation requires sufficiently accurate calculations, ,which imply the use of analytic methods and computer codes of varying complexity, and, ,necessarily, varying limits of applicability and accuracy. However, studies comparing ,different computational and analytic methods are almost non-existent. The Spectral Line ,Shapes in Plasma (SLSP) code comparison workshop series [1] was established to fill this ,gap. Numerous computational cases considered in the two workshops organized to date (in ,April 2012 and August 2013 in Vienna, Austria) not only serve the purpose of code ,comparison, but also have applications in research of magnetic fusion, astrophysical, laserproduced ,plasmas, and so on. Therefore, although the first workshop was briefly reviewed ,elsewhere [2], and will likely be followed by a review of the second one, it was unanimously ,decided by the participants that a volume devoted to results of the workshops was desired. It ,is the main purpose of this special issue._,