The Appearance of "Forbidden Lines" in Spectra

A rough calculation shows that the quadrupole term in the radiation of a forbidden line is usually larger than the dipole produced by an external electric field. This is not true, however, when there is an intermediate state, with which both initial and final states combine, and which lies close to one of them.

If the J selection rule is violated, and the Laporte rule is obeyed, the radiation cannot be due to the quadrupole term and must be ascribed to the octopole. Hg 2270 is such a line. An octopole transition will have a Zeeman effect distinctively different from that of a dipole or quadrupole.