Review of the 4th NLTE Code Comparison Workshop

We review the critical results of the 4th Non-LTE Code Comparison Workshop held in December 2005. To test the NLTE population kinetics codes, both steady-state and time-dependent cases for C, Ar, Fe, Sn, Xe, and Au plasmas were selected for detailed comparisons. Additional features such as the effects of non-Maxwellian free electrons, the influence of a Planckian radiation field, and the emission spectra were required in specific cases. The scope of problems was expanded from the previous workshops to include two problems outside the dense plasma physics, namely, the EUV lithography sources and the astrophysical photoionized plasmas. We briefly outline the technical organization of the workshop, present motivations for the chosen cases, and discuss some representative results.