On the calculation of line strengths, oscillator strengths and lifetimes for very large principal quantum numbers in hydrogenic atoms and ions by the McLean-Watson formula

As a sequel to an earlier study (Hey 2009 J. Phys. B: At. Mol. Opt. Phys. 42 125701), we consider further the application of the line strength formula derived by Watson (2006 J. Phys. B: At. Mol. Opt. Phys. 39 L291) to transitions arising from states of very high principal quantum number in hydrogenic atoms and ions (Rydberg-Rydberg transitions, n > 1000). It is shown how apparent difficulties associated with the use of recurrence relations, derived (Hey 2006 J. Phys. B: At. Mol. Opt. Phys. 39 2641) by the ladder operator technique of Infeld and Hull (1951 Rev. Mod. Phys. 23 21), may be eliminated by a very simple numerical device, whereby this method may readily be applied up to n ≈ 10 000. Beyond this range, programming of the method may entail greater care and complexity. The use of the numerically efficient McLean-Watson formula for such cases is again illustrated by the determination of radiative lifetimes and comparison of present results with those from an asymptotic formula. The question of the influence on the results of the omission or inclusion of fine structure is considered by comparison with calculations based on the standard Condon-Shortley line strength formula. Interest in this work on the radial matrix elements for large n and n′ is related to measurements of radio recombination lines from tenuous space plasmas, e.g. Stepkin et al (2007 Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc. 374 852), Bell et al (2011 Astrophys. Space Sci. 333 377), to the calculation of electron impact broadening parameters for such spectra (Watson 2006 J. Phys. B: At. Mol. Opt. Phys. 39 1889) and comparison with other theoretical methods (Peach 2014 Adv. Space Res. in press), to the modelling of physical processes in H II regions (Roshi et al 2012 Astrophys. J. 749 49), and the evaluation bound-bound transitions from states of high n during primordial cosmological recombination (Grin and Hirata 2010 Phys. Rev. D 81 083005, Ali-Haïmoud and Hirata 2010 Phys. Rev. D 82 063521, Ali-Haïmoud 2013 Phys. Rev. D 87 023526).