A study of the electronic structure of the Ce3+ impurity in the SrF2 crystal taking into account lattice polarization and relaxation is reported. The calculations were made by the embedded-cluster approach representing a combination of the scattered-wave and molecular-statics methods. The effects on calculations due to cluster size and the lattice deformation produced by a charged defect are discussed. The spatial structure of the cerium centers in strontium fluorite has been studied, and cerium center compensation by a nearest-neighbor interstitial halogen ion is shown to be energetically preferable. © 1996 American Institute of Physics.