Ligand field density functional theory (LFDFT) calculations have been used to model the uranium M4,5, N4,5 and O4,5-edge X-ray absorption near edge structure (XANES) in UO₂, characterized by the promotion of one electron from the core and the semi-core 3d, 4d and 5d orbitals of U⁴⁺ to the valence 5f. The model describes the procedure to resolve...