Emissivity line ratios for [Mn III] and spectral diagnostics of H II regions

We present the first theoretical emission-line study of Mn III as potential determinant of physical conditions and manganese abundance. We compute atomic data for a set of Mn III lines and line emissivity ratios as temperature-density diagnostics. Accurate relativistic Breit-Pauli R-matrix calculations have been carried out for electron impact excitation of Mn III transitions that have not been previously studied. Selected forbidden lines are shown to be sensitive to temperature and density under nebular conditions in H II regions such as SNRs. The coupled channel R-matrix calculations include a wavefunction expansion that includes 38 levels of Mn III dominated by the ground and first excited electronic configurations 3d 5 and 3d 44s. Collision strengths for all 703 forbidden transitions among those levels, and Maxwellian averaged rate coefficients are obtained. A collisional-radiative model yields emissivity line ratios using calculated collision strengths and radiative decay A-values. Based on the present analysis, certain [Mn III] lines are predicted to be sensitive to density and/or in the typical nebular range. The detection of those lines could also yield cosmic Mn abundance relative to other elements.