The FERRUM Project: Experimental oscillator strengths of the UV 8 multiplet and other UV transitions from the P levels of Fe II

¹ Physics Department, Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College, London SW7 2BZ, UK
² Department of Mathematics, Queen's University of Belfast, Northern Ireland
³ Atomic Astrophysics, Lund Observatory, Lund University, PO Box 43, SE-22100 Lund, Sweden

Corresponding author: J. Pickering, j.pickering@ic.ac.uk

Received: 13 May 2002
Accepted: 20 September 2002

Abstract

We report on experimental branching fractions (BFs) for 19 transitions from the three 3d⁵(⁶S)4s4p(³P) y⁶P levels in Fe II, measured in Fourier transform spectra of a Penning discharge lamp and a hollow cathode lamp. The transition wavelengths span the interval between 1600 and 2850 Å. Absolute oscillator strengths (f-values) have been derived by combining the BFs with experimental radiative lifetimes recently reported in the literature. Theoretical f-values have been calculated using configuration interaction wavefunctions. The new experimental and theoretical f-values are compared with data available in the literature and in databases. The strongest lines measured belong to the UV 8 multiplet of Fe II, which has one ground state transition appearing as a prominent feature at 1608 Å in interstellar spectra. The line is accompanied by a satellite at 1611 Å due to a level mixing, which is discussed in the paper.