IRON Project Logo The IRON Project


The Iron Project has the goal of computing, on a large scale, electron excitation cross sections and rates of astrophysical and technological importance, using the most reliable procedures currently available. Many of the techniques and much of the code has been developed in the Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics over the last 20 years in collaboration with colleagues all over the world.

It is with deep regret that we report the passing of Prof. Michael J. Seaton, the founding father of the Opacity Project, guiding spirit of the Iron Project and friend and mentor of atomic and astrophysicists across the globe. He will be sorely missed.

Program development has continued at the UK_RmaX project which aims to calculate atomic data for the analysis of X-ray observations. The above link gives access to program versions with many features not included in the Belfast suite and also AUTOSTRUCTURE which is currently being used to provide inner shell data radiative data for the next generation of opacities.

The publications and members of the project may be found in the following

The data from the Iron project and the earlier Opacity Project are available from the TIPTOPbase. The TIPTOPbase page also provides a link to the OPserver which allows you to calculate opacities on line.

Much of the data generated will be used by astrophysicists working with the data from the Infrared Space Observatory (ISO) and the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) both of which were launched at the end of 1995.

There are many other Atomic Physics sites on the WWW but of particular interest are ADAS and CHIANTI Database as well as databases for Atomic & Plasma physics.


Keith Butler, E-Mail: butler@usm.uni-muenchen.de , Unisternwarte Munich.

Last Updated 4th Apr 2012