Analysis of the 3d6 4s(6D)4f-5g Supermultiplet of Fe I in Laboratory and Solar Infrared Spectra

The combined laboratory and solar analysis of the highly-excited subconfigurations 4f and 5g of Fe I has allowed us to classify 87 lines of the 4f-5g supermultiplet in the spectral region 2545-2585 cm-1. The level structure of these JK-coupled configurations is predicted by semiempirical calculations and the quadrupolic approximation. Semiempirical gf-values have been calculated and are compared to gf values derived from the solar spectrum. The solar analysis has shown that these lines, which should be much less sensitive than lower excitation lines to departures from LTE and to temperature uncertainties, lead to a solar abundance of iron which is consistent with the meteoritic value (A_Fe = 7.51).