Errors in calculated values of electron temperatures in H II regions

This paper considers the classical method to determine the electron temperatures t _3,O, t _2,O and t _2,N from forbidden lines of the ions O⁺⁺, O⁺, and N⁺, and investigates the influence of uncertainties in atomic data on the accuracy of the determined electron temperatures. The uncertainties in atomic data (the Einstein coefficients for spontaneous transitions and electron ionization cross-sections) are estimated as discrepancies between the values computed by various authors. The error in the electron temperature caused by uncertainties in the atomic data is found to increase with the growth in the electron temperature. At a temperature 10000 K, the errors in the electron temperatures t _3,O, t _2,N, and t _2,O do not exceed 1, 3, and 7%, respectively.