Dependence of crystal field in rare earth garnets on the structure of coordination dodecahedron

The superposition model is used to relate the crystal field parameters reported in various rare earth garnets to the structure of the coordination dodecahedron. The results obtained confirm the overall consistency of the model, reported by other authors, but they differ in the dependence of intrinsic parameters upon distance. Special attention is paid to the approximations inherent to the procedure and to the utility of the model in quantitative predictions.