Some programs are currently available which help to design model atoms etc. All these programs work interactive and are (more or less :-( ...) self-explaining.
The programs PRO2 and LINE1 can consider - besides pure Doppler line broadening - the quadratic (“formula 3”) and the linear (“formula 4” -- this gives the name of the program ...) Stark effect for the line broadening. Both formulas need some input data which has to be includes in the atomic data file ATOMS. (Sect. 2).
The program FORMEL4 calculates these data (mainly the classical damping constant and the effective quantum number) from an existing atomic data file.
The calculated data is saved into the files FORMEL4.DAT and FORMEL4.RBB. FORMEL4.RBB can be used the replace the respective section of the atomic data file which was used to calculate the data.
FORMEL4 inserts also the vacuum wavelengths, starting with the keyword WAVELENGTH: in columns 81-91. The wavelength values may be the replaced by measured wavelengths in order to shift those lines which arise from levels with uncertain energies to the correct wavelengths. A subsequent run (necessary!) of SETF2 on the modified ATOMS yield a frequency grid with these lines at the correct wavelengths.
The level energies in literature are commonly given in cm-1, measured from the ground state of their ionization state. In the Tübingen NLTE Model-Atmosphere Package (TMAP), the level energies given are the difference to the next ionization limit, i.e. the energy which is necessary to ionize into the ground state of the next ionization stage. The program LEVEL simply transforms these energies.
The program LEVEL runs interactively. It is possible to calculate
• energies of single levels
• energies of combined levels
Furthermore it is possible to combine
• levels from an existing atomic data file
The data is saved into LEVEL.DAT and (for the combination of levels) into XX.ENTARTET (XX is the principal quantum number of the combined levels).
During the calculation of the model atmospheres, multiplets are considered with a combined level. For the subsequent detailed line profile calculation, it is necessary to split these multiplets into single components. While (in most cases) the level energies can be taken from literature, there are only rudimentary informations about the oscillator strengths of the single components. The program MULTIPLET splits up oscillator strengths of doublets, triplets, and quartets under the assumption of LS coupling.
The calculated data is saved into MULTIPLET.DAT.
For some RBF cross-sections of levels of the ions He I, C I - C IV, N I - N V, O I - O III, Ne I - Ne II, Mg I - Mg II, Si I - Si IV etc., tables have been calculated by Hofs”a”s. These can be evaluated with the program SEATON. One gets input parameter for the Seaton formula(Sect. A.4). For those levels which are not included in the tables, SEATON can calculate a hydrogen-like cross-section.