In a dense and cold laser-produced plasma the measured intensity of ${\mathrm{\alpha }}_2$→${\mathrm{\alpha }}_1$ transitions in highly ionized atoms may be strongly influenced by dielectronic satellites ${\mathrm{\alpha }}_2$nl→${\mathrm{\alpha }}_1$nl with a high value of the principal quantum number n of the ‘‘spectator’’ electron. This effect may be partially or fully responsible for the reported [Y. Chung, P. Lemaire, and S. Suckewer, Phys. Rev. Lett. 60, 1122 (1988); Y. Chung, H. Hirose, and S. Suckewer, Phys. Rev. A 40, 7142 (1989)] observation that the intensity branching ratio of lines depends on the parameters of the laser-produced plasma.

• Received 29 January 1990

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevA.42.5784