2000A&A...363..343V

The Self-Absorption Curve method has been applied to the UV2 multiplet a⁶D-z⁶F° of Fe II observed in the laboratory and in emission-line stars. For the laboratory observations line opacities of this multiplet were obtained using various sets of atomic data. The best fit is obtained using data by Bergeson et al. (1996ApJ...464.1044B), which provide line opacities that are in remarkable agreement with results by Kastner (1999, Physics Letters A, 254, 279), derived using independent methods. A value of 7.3x10¹²cm^–2 for the Fe⁺ column density is derived for the laboratory source, and lower limits of 2.1x10¹⁵ and ∼2x10¹⁷cm^–2 are obtained for the peculiar stars KQ Pup and RR Tel, respectively.