RD06		10min10:03

SCOTT R. BROZELL AND RUSSELL M. PITZER, Department of Chemical Physics, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210.

The energy-level splittings of the 5f⁷ nominal ⁸S_7/2 ground-state of Am²⁺ in an octahedral site of CaF₂ were studied using ab initio\/ quantum chemical methods. The CaF₂ host was modeled with a large finite cluster of ions which approximate the Madelung potential of the crystal lattice. The potential energy curve for the symmetric stretch of the nearest-neighbor fluoride ions was calculated. The actinide dopant was treated with relativistic core potentials and Gaussian double-zeta basis sets.