A critical analysis of the advanced generalized theory: Applicability and applications

Abstract A recent series of theoretical works (“advanced generalized theory”) has been proposed and applied to the analysis of hydrogen lines, particularly H α in plasmas. The “advanced generalized theory” (AGT) [JQSRT 1994;51:129, Phys Rev E 1999;60:R2480, JQSRT 2000; 65:405] is critically examined, both theoretically and in applications to the analysis of experimental data. A number of serious flaws are exposed and discussed. The major flaws include using an inconsistent perturbation theory and erroneous Weisskopf radius-type arguments to access dynamic behavior. Further, the results derived from calculations using the theory are in disagreement with both exact analytic results and benchm…