Electron-impact ionization cross sections and rates for ions of argon

A distorted-wave Born exchange (DWBE) approximation including relativistic correction is used to calculate the electron-impact ionization cross sections and rate coefficients for the highly charged ions Ar⁷⁺,…,Ar¹⁷⁺. The comparison of the calculated results with the experimental data and other theoretical calculations shows that the DWBE method is valid for these ions of argon. The calculated results for direct ionization cross sections and excitation autoionization were fitted by empirical formulas to meet the requirements of applications. A set of improved empirical formulas are used for the fast and accurate calculations of rate coefficients from the fit parameters of cross sections.