The problem of low temperature dielectronic recombination: A joint theoretical and experimental approach

The calculation of low temperature dielectronic recombination rate coefficients, of relevance for photo-ionized astrophysical plasmas, are known to have very large uncertainties. A summary of the discrepancies is given, showing that the uncertainties in resonance positions of low energy doubly excited states is the main factor contributing the uncertainty in the calculated rates. A summary is given of future experimental plans, to be performed on the CRYRING@ESR at the GSI facility in Germany, along with a theoretical approach using large-scale configuration interaction calculations, that aims to address this problem. In addition, a method is outlined to assess the uncertainty in calculated Auger matrix elements due to the use of Fermi's golden rule.