The defect energy and configuration of oxygen-atom interstitials in cr
ystalline magnesium oxide have been studied within a band model, using
the Hartree-Fock linear combination of atomic orbitals method. Specia
l attention has been paid to the size of the supercell that is necessa
ry to obtain reliable results. Volume-centered, face-centered, and edg
e-centered interstitials have been studied. In all three cases the mos
t stable defect configuration is the O--O- ''dumbbell'' formed by the
symmetrical displacement of one of the nearest-neighbor lattice anions
, with a redistribution of charge such that each O atom in the dumbbel
l carries a charge of close to -1e. The separation of the two O atoms
in the dumbbell depends on its orientation and is between 1.32 and 1.3
8 Angstrom.