Relativistic distorted-wave results for nickel-like gadolinium

Electron collisional data are required for population kinetics modeling and spectral predictions of highly ionized ions in high-temperature plasmas. Nickel-like ions are especially interesting for their potential use in soft-x-ray laser schemes pumped by electron collisional excitation and recombination. For highly stripped ions of moderate to high Z, relativistic effects begin to play a role in the atomic-physics calculations. We have used a relativistic multiconfigurational distorted-wave model for the calculation of electron excitation cross sections and rate coefficients between the 3$s^2$3$p^6$3$d^{10}$ Ni-like Gd ground state and the singly excited states with an N-shell electron.