Abstract
The change of broad absorption bands of electronic centers in a crystal subjected to elastic and electric fields is analyzed. The centers are assumed to have cubic symmetry (Oh) and an orbital singlet ground state, but excited states of arbitrary multiplicity. This is a reasonable model for d-shell transition-metal ions. The change of the zeroth and first moment of an absorption band is given as a function of the direction cosines of the field and the polarization of the incident light. Spin-orbit splitting and indirect transitions between states of equal parity are discussed.