Advances in plasma broadening of atomic hydrogen

The Stark broadening tables for hydrogen Lyman, Balmer and Paschen lines published in the early seventies give accurate results for the widths of the β lines down to relatively low electron densities, and for the far line wings in general. However, the half-widths of the α lines can be in error by as much as a factor of 30, particularly at intermediate densities. Modern theoretical methods are capable of producing accurate values over the entire density range. Recent developments in the Stark broadening of non-hydrogenic species are also considered.