2003ApJS..149..157S

The identification of spectral lines can be a tedious process requiring the interrogation of large spectroscopic databases, but it does lend itself to software algorithms that can determine the characteristics of candidate line identifications. We present here criteria used for the identification of lines and a logic developed for a line identification software package called EMILI, which uses the v2.04 Atomic Line List as the basic line database. EMILI considers all possible database transitions within the wavelength uncertainties for observed optical emission lines and computes an approximate intensity for each candidate line. It searches for other multiplet members that are expected to be seen with each candidate line, and rank-orders all of the tentative line identifications for each observed line based on a set of criteria. When applied to the spectra of the Orion Nebula and the planetary nebula IC 418, EMILI's recommended line IDs agree well with those of previous traditional manual line assignments. The existence of a semiautomated procedure should give impetus to the study of very high signal-to-noise spectra, enabling the identification of previously unidentified spectral lines to be handled with ease and consistency.