Spin-flip investigation of the 1s → 2p and 2p → 3d transitions in the Dirac hydrogen atom in terms of the flux-quantization argument

Abstract

We investigate the spin flip-flopping rates in 1s → 2p and 2p → 3d optical transitions of the Dirac hydrogen atom by using the spin-dependent selection rules and the magnetic-flux-quantization argument. We showed that some transitions allow spin flip, which is not possible according to the conventional selection rules. The percentage of the spin-flip rate is found to be 56% in the 1s → 2p transitions and 8% in the 2p → 3d transitions. We note that the spin flip rate is larger than the non-flip rate in the 1s → 2p transitions but becomes smaller for the transitions between the higher states. The flux change between the final and initial states is equal to Φ0 or zero. This suggests that a photon carries a flux tube Φ0. The present result is believed to be of significant help in understanding the recent observation of the spin flip in excitonic transitions in nanostructures.