Electric dipole transition

An electric dipole transition is a transition driven, in the long-wavelength approximation, by the electric-dipole interaction $H_{\mathrm{int}}=-\mathbf{d}\cdot \mathbf{E}(t)$. Its leading amplitude is proportional to a matrix element of the electric dipole moment between the initial and final states. A vanishing element gives an electric-dipole selection rule; a nonzero element alone does not ensure a large probability, since the drive frequency, duration and strength also matter. For a charged quantum harmonic oscillator driven along its axis, $x=\sqrt{\hslash /(2m\omega )}(a+a^{†})$ gives the single-quantum rule $\Delta n=\pm 1$.