Blue absorption and red emission of Bi2+ in solids: strongly spin–orbit coupled 6p levels in low symmetry fields

Ab initio calculations on a (BiO8)14− cluster under the effects of a high symmetry Oh confinement potential are used to study the energies of the 2P1/2, 2P3/2(1), and 2P3/2(2) spin–orbit coupling levels of the 6s26p configuration of Bi2+ in Oh, D4h, D2h, D4, D2d, D2, S4, C4v, C4, C3v, C2v, C2, Cs, and C1 fields, together with the 2P1/2 → 2P3/2(1) and 2P1/2 → 2P3/2(2) absorption oscillator strengths and the 2P3/2(1) radiative lifetime.