Absorption Spectrum and Magnetic Properties of Osmium Hexafluoride

This paper is devoted to a discussion of the optical absorption spectrum and the susceptibility of OsF6. It is assumed that two 5d electrons, which move in a ligand field of octahedral symmetry, are responsible for the magnetic and optical properties of the molecule. The calculated positions of the energy levels depend on the strength of the ligand field, the Coulomb integrals and the spin-orbit coupling constant. These quantities are treated as parameters. If they are given appropriate values, excellent agreement with observed energy level positions is obtained. The calculated susceptibility is also in good agreement with experimental values. In order to fit the magnetic data it is necessary to assume that the orbital reduction factor is approximately 0.7.