Non LTE radiation processes: application to the solar corona

Abstract

These lectures are intended to present a simple but relatively complete description of the theory needed to understand the formation of lines in non-local thermodynamical equilibrium (NLTE), without appealing to any previous knowledge except a few basics of physics and spectroscopy. After recalling elementary notions of radiation transfer, the chapter is focussed on the computation of the level populations, the source function, the ionization state, and finally the line intensity. An application is made to forbidden coronal lines which were observed during eclipses since decades.