Effect of the diamagnetic interaction on the intensity of the radiation lines of an atom in a magnetic field

Under the conditions of the total Paschen-Back effect the diamagnetic inter action determines the dependence of the intensity of the Zeeman components of atomic radiation lines on a magnetic field. The change in the matrix ele ments of the radiative transitions is due to the magnetically induced corre ctions to the wavefunctions of the initial and final states, whose contribu tions are of the same order of magnitude for the head lines of the optical series. For the high-frequency lines the positive corrections to the matrix element from the wavefunction of the upper level dominate. A magnetic fiel d also induces dipole radiative transitions with selection rules for the or bital angular momentum parallel to Delta l parallel to greater than or equa l to 3. The matrix elements of such transitions increase rapidly with the e nergy of the upper level, making possible efficient single-photon populatio n of the dipole-inaccessible Rydberg states in moderate magnetic fields. (C ) 2000 MAIK "Nauka/Interperiodica".