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# New recursion relations of matrix elements of 𝑟^𝜆 and 𝛽𝑟^𝜆 between relativistic hydrogenic eigenstates

## 1 Introduction

Matrix elements of the radial coordinate have been very important since the early days of quantum mechanics . These quantities are a crucial link between theoretical predictions and the observed facts. For example, they are needed for studies of the behaviour of Rydberg electrons in external fields, or in any calculation involving the multipolar expansion of electromagnetic fields . On the other hand, the interest in calculating relativistic effects on high Z atomic or ionic transitions requires calculating matrix elements between relativistic eigenstates of the Dirac hydrogen atom. Experiments with precisions of the order of $`10^3`$ eV or less are now standard. For example, experiments performed using new photon sources for the Opacity and Iron Projects, or experiments with merged beam techniques, or the use of specialized laser sources . All of these mean that relativistic effects can be quite easily observed in atomic, molecular or ionic processes and, therefore, that techniques for evaluating relativistic expectation values are quite useful—as has been known for some time now .

The nonrelativistic evaluation of matrix elements has a long and succesful history, but the relativistic efforts have mainly come from the last 35 years or so. We have to pinpoint however, that even these relativistic calculations, even exact ones, are an approximation, for the only way of calculating exactly relativistic effects in the interaction of atoms with electromagnetic fields is using the full QED formalism. See, for example, . But even so, many calculations use a nonrelativistic approach recurring to the Schrödinger equation —which is also a valid approximation . Even in the relativistic quantum mechanics approximation, in many circunstances it is much better to have recursion relations between power-of-$`r`$ terms than to have to deal with the cumbersome and complex formulas that stem from the exact evaluation of the matrix elements . Furthermore, all what is needed in many ocassions is to have the matrix elements for exponents in a certain range, so it is very convenient to have recursion formulas . For instance, the behaviour of Rydberg electrons in external fields, or the long range interactions of ionic cores . Thus, we have been investigating such formulas in Dirac relativistic quantum mechanics. We have discovered various of such expressions since, perhaps not surprisingly, there appears to be more independent recursions. We have been applying an hypervirial inspired technique that have produced excelent results in nonrelativistic quantum mechanics  to uncover some of the recurrence relations, but we are now combining that technique with operator algebra  to generalize the previously obtained recurrence relations to more compact recursions; equations (44) and (45) in section 3. An advantage of these recursions is that they are able to relate only three consecutive powers of $`r`$ or $`\beta r`$—to be compared with the results in

Our paper is organized as follows. In section 2 the relativistic quantum mechanics of an hydrogen atom is reviewed since all the discussions that follows use its energy eigenfunctions and eigenvalues. A useful feature of our discussion is that we express compactly the relativistic eigenfunctions in terms of generalized Laguerre polynomials of noninteger index . The relativistic recurrence relations of matrix elements of powers of the radial coordinate are derived in section 3. Section 4 gathers the definitions of the symbols we use for writing compactly these recurrence relations. Section 5 contains our conclusions.

## 2 The relativistic hydrogen atom

The radial wave function of an electron in an hydrogen atom is

$$\mathrm{\Psi }=\frac{1}{r}\left(\begin{array}{c}F_{njϵ}(r)\\ iG_{njϵ}(r)\end{array}\right)$$
(1)
where $`F_{njϵ}(r)`$, $`G_{njϵ}(r)`$ are respectively called the big and the small components of the spinorial wavefunctions $`\mathrm{\Psi }`$, $`n=1,2,3,\mathrm{}`$, $`j=1/2,3/2,5/2,\mathrm{}`$ is the total (orbital plus spin) angular momentum quantum number of the electron, and $`ϵ=(1)^{j+l1/2}`$, $`l=j\pm 1`$ is the orbital angular momentum quantum number, the sign is chosen according to whether $`l`$ refers to the big ($`+`$) or to the small ($``$) component. This wave function is a solution of the Coulomb radial Dirac equation

$$\left(c\alpha _r\left[p_ri\frac{\mathrm{}\beta }{r}ϵ\left(j+\frac{1}{2}\right)\right]+\beta mc^2\frac{Zq_e^2}{r}\right)\mathrm{\Psi }(r)=E\mathrm{\Psi }(r)$$
(2)
where $`Z`$ is the atomic number, $`m`$ the electron mass, $`q_e`$ is the magnitude of the electron charge, and the subscript $`r`$ refers to the radial part of the wave function. The Dirac matrices are

$$\alpha _r=\left(\begin{array}{cc}0& 1\\ 1& 0\end{array}\right),\beta =\left(\begin{array}{cc}1& 0\\ 0& 1\end{array}\right),$$
(3)
and the radial momentum operator is

$$p_r=i\mathrm{}\left(\frac{1}{r}+\frac{d}{dr}\right).$$
(4)
The components of the eigenfunctions, $`F`$ and $`G`$, are the solutions of the following differential equations

$$\left(\frac{d}{d\rho }+\frac{ϵ(j+1/2)}{\rho }\right)G(\rho )=\left(\nu +\frac{Z\alpha _F}{\rho }\right)F(\rho )$$
(5)
and

$$\left(+\frac{d}{d\rho }+\frac{ϵ(j+1/2)}{\rho }\right)F(\rho )=\left(\frac{1}{\nu }+\frac{Z\alpha _F}{\rho }\right)G(\rho )$$
(6)
where

$$\rho =kr,k\frac{1}{\mathrm{}c}\sqrt{m^2c^4E^2},\nu \sqrt{\frac{mc^2E}{mc^2+E}}.$$
(7)
The solutions of these coupled equations —that can be expressed in terms of the Sonine polynomials, in terms of Laguerre polynomials, of non-integer index, or as special cases of the hypergeometric function, see  for details— can be written as

$$F(\rho )=+C\sqrt{mc^2+E}\rho ^s\mathrm{exp}(\rho )\left[A_nL_n^{2s}(2\rho )+B_{n1}^{2s}(2\rho )\right],$$
(8)
and

$$G(\rho )=C\sqrt{mc^2E}\rho ^s\mathrm{exp}(\rho )\left[A_nL_n^{2s}(2\rho )B_{n1}^{2s}(2\rho )\right],$$
(9)
where the $`L_n^{2s}(x)`$ are Laguerre polynomials of noninteger index, the numbers $`A_n`$ and $`B_n`$ are

$$A_n=\left[ϵ\left(j+\frac{1}{2}\right)+s+\frac{Z\alpha _F}{\nu }+n\frac{Z\alpha _F}{\nu }\right]^{1/2},$$
(10)
$$B_n=(n+2s)\left[ϵ\left(j+\frac{1}{2}\right)+s\frac{Z\alpha _F}{\nu }+n\frac{Z\alpha _F}{\nu }\right]^{1/2};$$
(11)
where $`s=\sqrt{(j+1/2)^2Z^2\alpha _F^2}`$. The normalization constant $`C`$ is

$$C=\frac{\mathrm{}2^{s1}}{Z\alpha __Fc^2}\sqrt{\frac{n!k}{2m^3\mathrm{\Gamma }(n+2s+1)}}.$$
(12)
The energy levels are given by the usual expression

$$\frac{E}{mc^2}\frac{E_{njϵ}}{mc^2}=\left[1+\frac{Z^2\alpha _F^2}{nj1/2+\sqrt{(j+1/2)^2Z^2\alpha _F^2}}\right]^{1/2},$$
(13)
where $`n=1,2,3,\mathrm{}`$, $`\alpha _F=q_e^2/\mathrm{}c1/137`$ is the fine structure constant. It is convenient to point out that the quantum number $`ϵ`$ we use is related to the often used $`\kappa `$  as $`\kappa =ϵ(j+1/2)`$. The quantum number $`\kappa `$ is an eigenvalue of the following operator

$$\widehat{K}=\beta \left(\mathrm{}^2+𝚺𝐋\right),\text{where}𝚺=2𝐒=\mathrm{}\left(\begin{array}{cc}\sigma & 0\\ 0& \sigma \end{array}\right),$$
(14)
and $`\sigma =(\sigma _x,\sigma _y,\sigma _z)`$ is the standard 3-vector of the Pauli matrices. For the sake of simplicity we often use the single symbol $`a`$ to mean all the three quantum numbers $`n_a,j_a,ϵ_a`$, and write the radial wave functions in ket (or bra) form as $`\mathrm{\Psi }_a|a`$.

We calculate recursions beween matrix elements of the form

$$a^{}|\beta ^br^\lambda |a=𝑑rr^2\mathrm{\Psi }_a^{}^{}(r)\beta ^br^\lambda \mathrm{\Psi }_a(r)$$
(15)
where $`\mathrm{\Psi }_a^{}^{}(F_a^{}^{}/r,iG_a^{}^{}/r)`$, $`b=0,\text{ or }1`$, and $`\lambda `$ is a possibly complex exponent. The recurrence relations (29), (33), (38) –(45) hold true if $`s_1+s_2+1+|\lambda |>0`$  where as before the $`s_b+\sqrt{(j_b+1/2)^2Z^2\alpha _F^2},b=1,2`$ are real numbers; this conditions is basically that any integrand goes to zero faster than $`1/r`$ as $`r\mathrm{}`$ .

One of the advantages of the approach developed here is that is not only applicable to Dirac hydrogenic wavefunctions but can also be used within the quantum defect approximation, as discussed by Owono Owono, Kwato Njock, and Oumarou , see also . This feature is important since the quantum deffect approximation describes accurately the behaviour of Rydberg electrons in atomic systems .

## 3 Relativistic recursion relations

Using hypervirial methods we have recently obtained a useful form of recurrence relations for atomic eigenstates. In this work we want to discuss the additional use of operator algebra to obtain alternative and independent expressions for recurrence relations of atomic expectation values. Let us begin with the radial Dirac equation for an electron in an arbitarry radial potential $`V(r)`$, where the index $`a`$ serves to distinguish Hamiltonians with different quantum numbers and it is convenient to distinguish wavefunctions with different energy eigenvalues.

Let us begin with the Dirac radial equation written with a certain radial potential that afterwards will be identified with Coulomb’s

$$H_a\mathrm{\Psi }_a=\left(c\alpha _r\left[p_ri\frac{\mathrm{}\beta }{r}ϵ_a\left(j_a+\frac{1}{2}\right)\right]+\beta m_ac^2+V_a(r)\right)\mathrm{\Psi }_a(r)=E_a\mathrm{\Psi }_a(r),$$
(16)
here $`H_a`$ is the Dirac Hamiltonian, the energy eigenvalue $`E_a`$ is given by (13), and $`a`$ is an index that will be quite useful in what follows.

To begin with, let us consider an arbitrary radial function $`f(r)`$ and define $`\xi (r)H_2ffH_1`$. To obtain the recurrence relations, let us establish that

$`H_2\xi `$ $``$ $`\xi H_1=c^2\mathrm{}^2f^{\prime \prime }c^2\mathrm{}^2\beta {\displaystyle \frac{\mathrm{\Delta }^{}}{2r}}\left(2f{\displaystyle \frac{d}{dr}}+f^{}+{\displaystyle \frac{f}{r}}\right)+c^2\mathrm{}^2\beta {\displaystyle \frac{\mathrm{\Delta }^+}{2r}}f^{}`$ (17)
$`+`$ $`c^2\mathrm{}^2\left({\displaystyle \frac{\mathrm{\Delta }^{}}{2r}}\right)^2f+\left(c^2\beta m^{}+V^{}\right)^2f`$
$``$ $`i\mathrm{}c\alpha _r[(f^{}+{\displaystyle \frac{\mathrm{\Delta }^{}}{2r}}\beta f)(V^{}c^2\beta m^+)+V^{}f^{}+(V^{})^{}f`$
$`+`$ $`c^2\beta m^{}(2f^{}{\displaystyle \frac{d}{dr}}+f^{}+2{\displaystyle \frac{f}{r}})+c^2m^{}{\displaystyle \frac{\mathrm{\Delta }^+}{2r}}f+\beta V^{}{\displaystyle \frac{\mathrm{\Delta }^{}}{2r}}f],`$
where, $`\mathrm{\Delta }_aϵ_a(2j_a+1)`$ and, if $`X`$ is any symbol of interest, we are —and will be— using

$$X^\pm X_2\pm X_1.$$
(18)
The following five identities are not too difficult to establish by the use of a little operator algebra

$`H_2(ic\alpha _rf)`$ $`+`$ $`(ic\alpha _rf)H_1=c^2\mathrm{}\left(2f{\displaystyle \frac{d}{dr}}+f^{}+2{\displaystyle \frac{f}{r}}{\displaystyle \frac{\mathrm{\Delta }^{}}{2r}}\beta f\right)`$ (19)
$`+`$ $`ic\alpha _r\left(c^2\beta m^{}V^+\right)f,`$
$$H_2ffH_1=i\mathrm{}c\alpha _r\left(f^{}+\frac{\mathrm{\Delta }^{}}{2r}\beta f\right)+\left(c^2\beta m^{}+V^{}\right)f,$$
(20)
$$H_2f+fH_1=i\mathrm{}c\alpha _r\left(2f\frac{d}{dr}+f^{}+2\frac{f}{r}+\frac{\mathrm{\Delta }^+}{2r}\beta f\right)+\left(c^2\beta m^++V^+\right)f,$$
(21)
$$H_2V^{}fV^{}fH_1=i\mathrm{}c\alpha _r\left(V^{}f^{}+(V^{})^{}f+\frac{\mathrm{\Delta }^{}}{2r}V^{}\beta f\right)+\left(c^2\beta m^{}+V^{}\right)V^{}f,$$
(22)
and

$`H_2\left(ic\alpha _r\beta {\displaystyle \frac{f}{r}}\right)`$ $`+`$ $`\left(ic\alpha _r\beta {\displaystyle \frac{f}{r}}\right)H_1=c^2\mathrm{}\left[\beta \left({\displaystyle \frac{f^{}}{r}}{\displaystyle \frac{f}{r^2}}\right){\displaystyle \frac{\mathrm{\Delta }^+}{2r}}{\displaystyle \frac{f}{r}}\right]`$ (23)
$`+`$ $`ic\alpha _r\left(c^2\beta m^{}V^+\right)\beta {\displaystyle \frac{f}{r}}.`$
To get the relation we are after, we need to eliminate the terms involving $`ic\alpha _r`$ and the terms involving $`d/dr`$ of equation (17). To this end, from (19) we extract the term in the left hand side (LHS) of the following equation

$``$ $`c^2\mathrm{}^2\beta {\displaystyle \frac{\mathrm{\Delta }^{}}{2r}}\left(2f{\displaystyle \frac{d}{dr}}+f^{}+2{\displaystyle \frac{f}{r}}\right)=i\mathrm{}c\alpha _r\beta {\displaystyle \frac{\mathrm{\Delta }^{}}{2r}}\left(c^2\beta m^{}V^+\right)f`$ (24)
$``$ $`c^2\mathrm{}^2\left({\displaystyle \frac{\mathrm{\Delta }^{}}{2r}}\right)^2f\left(H_2(i\mathrm{}c\alpha _r\beta {\displaystyle \frac{\mathrm{\Delta }^{}}{2r}}f)+(i\mathrm{}c\alpha _r\beta {\displaystyle \frac{\mathrm{\Delta }^{}}{2r}}f)H_1\right).`$
Furthermore, from (20), we extract

$$i\mathrm{}c\alpha _r\left(f^{}+\frac{\mathrm{\Delta }^{}}{2r}\beta f\right)=\left(H_2ffH_1\right)\left(c^2\beta m^{}+V^{}\right)f,$$
(25)
from (21), we extract

$``$ $`i\mathrm{}\alpha _rc^3\beta m^{}\left(2f{\displaystyle \frac{d}{dr}}+f^{}+2{\displaystyle \frac{f}{r}}\right)=\left(H_2c^2m^{}\beta f+c^2m^{}\beta fH_1\right)`$ (26)
$`+`$ $`i\mathrm{}c\alpha _rc^2m^{}{\displaystyle \frac{\mathrm{\Delta }^+}{2r}}f\left(c^2\beta m^++V^+\right)\beta f,`$
from (22), we extract

$``$ $`i\mathrm{}c\alpha _r\left(V^{}f^{}+(V^{})^{}f\right)=\left(H_2V^{}fV^{}fH_1\right)`$ (27)
$`+`$ $`i\mathrm{}c\alpha _r{\displaystyle \frac{\mathrm{\Delta }^{}}{2r}}V^{}\beta f\left(c^2\beta m^{}+V^{}\right)V^{}f,`$
and from (23), we extract

$`\left[H_2\left(ic\mathrm{}\alpha _r{\displaystyle \frac{\mathrm{\Delta }^{}}{2r}}\beta {\displaystyle \frac{f}{r}}\right)+\left(ic\mathrm{}\alpha _r{\displaystyle \frac{\mathrm{\Delta }^{}}{2r}}\beta {\displaystyle \frac{f}{r}}\right)H_1\right]`$
$`ic\mathrm{}\alpha _r{\displaystyle \frac{\mathrm{\Delta }^{}}{2r}}\left(c^2\beta m^{}V^+\right)\beta f=c^2\mathrm{}^2{\displaystyle \frac{\mathrm{\Delta }^{}}{2r}}\left[\beta \left(f^{}{\displaystyle \frac{f}{r}}\right){\displaystyle \frac{\mathrm{\Delta }^+}{2r}}f\right].`$ (28)
The LHS of equations (24) to (3) are to be substituted into equation (17). Then, after introducing explicitly the Coulomb potential $`V_1=V_2=Zq_e^2/r`$, imposing the equality of the masses $`m_1=m_2`$ (since $`H_1`$ and $`H_2`$ describe the same system), substituting the arbitrary function $`f(r)`$ for the potential function $`r^\lambda `$, and taking matrix elements between states $`2|`$ and $`|1`$ at the end, these steps yield the recurrence relation

$$\left(E_2E_1\right)^22|r^\lambda |1+k_22|r^{\lambda 2}|1=l_02|\beta r^\lambda |1+l_22|\beta r^{\lambda 2}|1,$$
(29)
where

$`k_2`$ $`=`$ $`c^2\mathrm{}^2\lambda \left(\lambda 1\right){\displaystyle \frac{c^2\mathrm{}^2}{4}}\mathrm{\Delta }^+\mathrm{\Delta }^{},`$
$`l_0`$ $`=`$ $`2c^2m(E_2E_1),`$
$`l_2`$ $`=`$ $`{\displaystyle \frac{c^2\mathrm{}^2}{2}}\left[2\mathrm{\Delta }^{}+\lambda \left(\mathrm{\Delta }^+\mathrm{\Delta }^{}\right)\right].`$ (30)
Now, following a strictly similar procedure but substituting equations (19), (20), (23), and the following one

$`H_2V^{}f+V^{}fH_1=\left(c^2\beta m^++V^+\right)V^{}f`$ (31)
$``$ $`i\mathrm{}c\alpha _r\left[2V^{}f{\displaystyle \frac{d}{dr}}+V^{}f^{}+(V^{})^{}f+2V^{}{\displaystyle \frac{f}{r}}+V^{}{\displaystyle \frac{\mathrm{\Delta }^+}{2r}}\beta f\right],`$
into the next equation

$`H_2\xi `$ $`+`$ $`\xi H_1=c^2\mathrm{}^2\left(2f^{}{\displaystyle \frac{d}{dr}}+f^{\prime \prime }+2{\displaystyle \frac{f^{}}{r}}\beta {\displaystyle \frac{\mathrm{\Delta }^{}}{2r}}{\displaystyle \frac{f}{r}}\right)`$ (32)
$`+`$ $`c^2\mathrm{}^2{\displaystyle \frac{\mathrm{\Delta }^+}{2r}}{\displaystyle \frac{\mathrm{\Delta }^{}}{2r}}f+\left(c^2\beta m^++V^+\right)\left(c^2\beta m^{}+V^{}\right)f`$
$``$ $`i\mathrm{}c\alpha _r[(f^{}+{\displaystyle \frac{\mathrm{\Delta }^{}}{2r}}\beta f)(V^+c^2\beta m^{})+c^2\beta m^{}f^{}+c^2m^{}{\displaystyle \frac{\mathrm{\Delta }^{}}{2r}}f`$
$`+`$ $`2V^{}f{\displaystyle \frac{d}{dr}}+V^{}f^{}+(V^{})^{}f+2V^{}{\displaystyle \frac{f}{r}}+V^{}{\displaystyle \frac{\mathrm{\Delta }^+}{2r}}\beta f],`$
again introducing explicitly the Coulomb potential $`V_1=V_2=Zq_e^2/r`$, making the masses equal $`m_1=m_2`$, substituting the potential function $`r^\lambda `$, and, at the end, taking the matrix elements, we obtain the following recurrence relation

$$\left(E_2+E_1\right)\left(E_2E_1\right)2|r^\lambda |1+M_12|r^{\lambda 1}|1+M_22|r^{\lambda 2}|1=N_22|\beta r^{\lambda 2}|1,$$
(33)
where

$`M_1`$ $`=`$ $`2E^{}Zq_E^2,`$
$`M_2`$ $`=`$ $`c^2\mathrm{}^2\lambda \left(\lambda 2\right){\displaystyle \frac{c^2\mathrm{}^2}{4}}\mathrm{\Delta }^+\mathrm{\Delta }^{},`$
$`N_2`$ $`=`$ $`{\displaystyle \frac{c^2\mathrm{}^2}{2}}\left[\mathrm{\Delta }^{}+\lambda \left(\mathrm{\Delta }^+\mathrm{\Delta }^{}\right)\right].`$ (34)
The new recursions \[equations (29) and (33)\] can be more useful if the matrix elements of terms $`r^\lambda `$ were uncoupled from the matrix elements of terms $`\beta r^\lambda ^{}`$. To disentangle such relations, we need the following three previously reported recursions ,

$$c_02|r^\lambda |1=c_12|r^{\lambda 1}|1+c_22|r^{\lambda 2}|1+c_32|r^{\lambda 3}|1=d_22|\beta r^{\lambda 2}|1+d_32|\beta r^{\lambda 3}|1,$$
(35)
$$e_02|\beta r^\lambda |1=b_02|r^\lambda |1+b_22|r^{\lambda 2}|1+e_12|\beta r^{\lambda 1}|1+e_22|\beta r^{\lambda 2}|1,$$
(36)
and

$$g_22|r^{\lambda 2}|1=p_22|\beta r^{\lambda 2}|1+p_32|\beta r^{\lambda 3}|1.$$
(37)
where the coefficients $`b`$, $`c`$, $`d`$, $`e`$, $`g`$, and $`p`$ are all defined in .

Using now (33) and (37) in (29), (35) and (36), we get the following six uncoupled recurrence relations,

$$𝙰_\mathrm{𝟶}2|r^\lambda |1=𝙰_\mathrm{𝟷}2|r^{\lambda 1}|1+𝙰_\mathrm{𝟸}2|r^{\lambda 2}|1+𝙰_\mathrm{𝟹}2|r^{\lambda 3}|1,$$
(38)
$$𝙱_\mathrm{𝟶}2|r^\lambda |1=𝙱_\mathrm{𝟷}2|r^{\lambda 1}|1+𝙱_\mathrm{𝟸}2|r^{\lambda 2}|1+𝙱_\mathrm{𝟹}2|r^{\lambda 3}|1.$$
(39)
$$𝙲_\mathrm{𝟶}2|r^\lambda |1=𝙲_\mathrm{𝟷}2|r^{\lambda 1}|1+𝙲_\mathrm{𝟸}2|r^{\lambda 2}|1+𝙲_\mathrm{𝟹}2|r^{\lambda 3}|1+𝙲_\mathrm{𝟺}2|r^{\lambda 4}|1,$$
(40)
$$𝙳_\mathrm{𝟶}2|\beta r^\lambda |1=𝙳_\mathrm{𝟷}2|\beta r^{\lambda 1}|1+𝙳_\mathrm{𝟸}2|\beta r^{\lambda 2}|1+𝙳_\mathrm{𝟹}2|\beta r^{\lambda 3}|1+𝙳_\mathrm{𝟺}2|\beta r^{\lambda 4}|1,$$
(41)
$$𝙴_\mathrm{𝟶}2|\beta r^\lambda |1=𝙴_\mathrm{𝟷}2|\beta r^{\lambda 1}|1+𝙴_\mathrm{𝟸}2|\beta r^{\lambda 2}|1+𝙴_\mathrm{𝟹}2|\beta r^{\lambda 3}|1,$$
(42)
and

$$𝙵_\mathrm{𝟶}2|\beta r^\lambda |1=𝙵_\mathrm{𝟷}2|\beta r^{\lambda 1}|1+𝙵_\mathrm{𝟸}2|\beta r^{\lambda 2}|1+𝙵_\mathrm{𝟹}2|\beta r^{\lambda 3}|1.$$
(43)
The equation obtained from substituting (37) into (36) \[equation (42) above\] coincides with one of the previously obtained recursions \[equation (18) in Ref. \]. This is nice since it serves as a way of checking the above recursions. The coefficients in equations (38), (39), (40), (41), (42), and (43) are all gathered in section 4.

The equations (38) and (39) above express two forms of a recurrence relation relating matrix elements of $`r^\lambda `$ with matrix elements of $`r^{\lambda i}`$, $`i=1,2,3`$. This is a manifestation of the richer behaviour — though at the same time more restricted — of relativistic quantum mechanics as compared with the nonrelativistic theory. We can combine anyway equation (38) with equation (39) to get the simpler relation

$$\left(\frac{𝙱_0}{𝙱_3}\frac{𝙰_0}{𝙰_3}\right)2|r^\lambda |1=\left(\frac{𝙱_1}{𝙱_3}\frac{𝙰_1}{𝙰_3}\right)2|r^{\lambda 1}|1+\left(\frac{𝙱_2}{𝙱_3}\frac{𝙰_2}{𝙰_3}\right)2|r^{\lambda 2}|1.$$
(44)
A similar situation occurs with equations (42) and (43) above; they can be combined to yield the simpler relation

$$\left(\frac{𝙵_0}{𝙵_3}\frac{𝙴_0}{𝙴_3}\right)2|\beta r^\lambda |1=\left(\frac{𝙵_1}{𝙵_3}\frac{𝙴_1}{𝙴_3}\right)2|\beta r^{\lambda 1}|1+\left(\frac{𝙵_2}{𝙵_3}\frac{𝙴_2}{𝙴_3}\right)2|\beta r^{\lambda 2}|1.$$
(45)
Equations (45) and (44) are simpler, and thus potentially more useful, than those reported in .

## 4 The coefficients in the recursion relations

The coeficients used in the recursion relations \[equations (38), (39), (40), (41), (42), and (43)\] are defined as —the various symbols used to write these equations are defined at the end in equation (4).

$`𝙰_\mathrm{𝟶}`$ $`=`$ $`{\displaystyle \frac{\mathrm{}E^+\left(E^{}\right)^2\mathrm{\Delta }^{}}{D}}{\displaystyle \frac{\mathrm{}E^+E^{}\mathrm{\Delta }^{}W}{R}},`$
$`𝙰_\mathrm{𝟷}`$ $`=`$ $`{\displaystyle \frac{2E^{}K}{D+4\mathrm{}mc^2}}+W{\displaystyle \frac{2K}{R}}+{\displaystyle \frac{(\lambda 1)K}{D+4\mathrm{}mc^2}}\left[{\displaystyle \frac{2\mathrm{}E^+\mathrm{\Delta }^+}{R\mathrm{}(\mathrm{\Delta }^+\mathrm{\Delta }^{})}}\right],`$
$`𝙰_\mathrm{𝟸}`$ $`=`$ $`{\displaystyle \frac{c^2\mathrm{}\mathrm{\Delta }^{}P}{2}}+c^2\mathrm{}W{\displaystyle \frac{\mathrm{\Delta }^{}S}{4R}}+{\displaystyle \frac{(\lambda 1)K}{D+4\mathrm{}mc^2}}\left[{\displaystyle \frac{4\mathrm{}Zq_e^2\mathrm{\Delta }^+}{R\mathrm{}(\mathrm{\Delta }^+\mathrm{\Delta }^{})}}\right],`$
$`𝙰_\mathrm{𝟹}`$ $`=`$ $`{\displaystyle \frac{c^2\mathrm{}\mathrm{\Delta }^{}P}{2}}+{\displaystyle \frac{Q}{D+4\mathrm{}mc^2}}\left[{\displaystyle \frac{S+12\mathrm{}^2(1\lambda )}{2\mathrm{}^2\left[\mathrm{\Delta }^+\lambda (\mathrm{\Delta }^+\mathrm{\Delta }^{})\right]}}\right],`$ (46)
The $`𝙰_𝚊`$ are the explicit coefficients in equation (38).

$`𝙱_\mathrm{𝟶}`$ $`=`$ $`8Zq_e^2D{\displaystyle \frac{E^+E^{}}{c^2\mathrm{}R}},`$
$`𝙱_\mathrm{𝟷}`$ $`=`$ $`4\mathrm{}\lambda F{\displaystyle \frac{16(Zq_e^2)^2E^{}D}{c^2\mathrm{}^2[\mathrm{\Delta }^++\lambda (\mathrm{\Delta }^++\mathrm{\Delta }^{})]}}{\displaystyle \frac{\mathrm{\Delta }^+E^+E^{}L}{R}}{\displaystyle \frac{4(E^+)^2E^{}D}{c^2\mathrm{}[R+2\mathrm{}(\mathrm{\Delta }^+\mathrm{\Delta }^{})]}},`$
$`𝙱_\mathrm{𝟸}`$ $`=`$ $`2Aq_e^2D{\displaystyle \frac{4(\lambda ^21)\mathrm{\Delta }^+\mathrm{\Delta }^{}}{[\mathrm{\Delta }^++\lambda (\mathrm{\Delta }^+\mathrm{\Delta }^{})]}}{\displaystyle \frac{2Zq_e^2E^{}\mathrm{\Delta }^+L}{R}}{\displaystyle \frac{2Zq_e^2E^{}E^+D}{c^2\mathrm{}[R+2\mathrm{}(\mathrm{\Delta }^+\mathrm{\Delta }^{}}},`$
$`𝙱_\mathrm{𝟹}`$ $`=`$ $`c^2\mathrm{}(1\lambda )L{\displaystyle \frac{c^2}{4R}}\mathrm{\Delta }^+L\left(S4\mathrm{}\lambda \right)2E^+D{\displaystyle \frac{S+12\mathrm{}^2\lambda }{2\mathrm{}^2[R+2\mathrm{}(\mathrm{\Delta }^+\mathrm{\Delta }^{})]}},`$ (47)
The $`𝙱_𝚊`$ are the explicit coefficients in equation (39).

$`𝙲_\mathrm{𝟶}`$ $`=`$ $`{\displaystyle \frac{4mE^+\left(E^{}\right)^2}{\mathrm{}[R+2\mathrm{}(\mathrm{\Delta }^+\mathrm{\Delta }^{})]}},`$
$`𝙲_\mathrm{𝟷}`$ $`=`$ $`{\displaystyle \frac{8mZq_e^2(E^{})^2}{\mathrm{}[R+2\mathrm{}(\mathrm{\Delta }^+\mathrm{\Delta }^{})]}},`$
$`𝙲_\mathrm{𝟸}`$ $`=`$ $`mc^2E^{}{\displaystyle \frac{S+12\mathrm{}^2\lambda }{\mathrm{}[R+2\mathrm{}(\mathrm{\Delta }^+\mathrm{\Delta }^{})]}},`$
$`𝙲_\mathrm{𝟹}`$ $`=`$ $`2Zq_e^2E^{}{\displaystyle \frac{R+\mathrm{}\mathrm{\Delta }^{}}{R}},`$
$`𝙲_\mathrm{𝟺}`$ $`=`$ $`{\displaystyle \frac{c^2}{4R}}\left(S4\mathrm{}^2\lambda \right)\left(R+\mathrm{}\mathrm{\Delta }^{}\right)c^2\mathrm{}^2\lambda (\lambda 1)+{\displaystyle \frac{c^2\mathrm{}^2}{4}}\mathrm{\Delta }^+\mathrm{\Delta }^{}.`$ (48)
The $`𝙲_𝚊`$ are the explicit coefficients in equation (40).

$`𝙳_\mathrm{𝟶}`$ $`=`$ $`{\displaystyle \frac{2}{D}}\left({\displaystyle \frac{\mathrm{\Delta }^{}}{\mathrm{\Delta }^+}}\right)E^+\left(E^{}\right)^2\left(T+\mathrm{}\right),`$
$`𝙳_\mathrm{𝟷}`$ $`=`$ $`{\displaystyle \frac{4Zq_e^2\left(E^{}\right)^2}{D}}\left({\displaystyle \frac{\mathrm{\Delta }^{}}{\mathrm{\Delta }^+}}\right)T{\displaystyle \frac{Zq_e^2\mathrm{}\mathrm{\Delta }^{}}{D}}E^+\left(E^{}\right)^2U,`$
$`𝙳_\mathrm{𝟸}`$ $`=`$ $`{\displaystyle \frac{2\mathrm{}}{D}}\left(E^{}\right)^2\left(Z_e^2\right)^2\mathrm{\Delta }^{}U+\left({\displaystyle \frac{\mathrm{\Delta }^{}}{\mathrm{\Delta }^+}}\right)c^2\left(T+\mathrm{}\right)P+{\displaystyle \frac{c^2\mathrm{}^2}{2}}\mathrm{\Delta }^{}W,`$
$`𝙳_\mathrm{𝟹}`$ $`=`$ $`{\displaystyle \frac{c^2\mathrm{}}{2}}Zq_e^2\mathrm{\Delta }^{}UP{\displaystyle \frac{2}{\mathrm{}\mathrm{\Delta }^+D}}\left(T2\mathrm{}\right)Y+{\displaystyle \frac{Q}{D+4\mathrm{}mc^2}},`$
$`𝙳_\mathrm{𝟺}`$ $`=`$ $`{\displaystyle \frac{Zq_e^2YE^+\left(E^{}\right)^2}{D+4\mathrm{}mc^2}},`$ (49)
The $`𝙳_𝚊`$ are the explicit coefficients in equation (41).

$`𝙴_\mathrm{𝟶}`$ $`=`$ $`2E^+D{\displaystyle \frac{8\lambda }{\mathrm{\Delta }^+}}F\left(T+\mathrm{}\right),`$
$`𝙴_\mathrm{𝟷}`$ $`=`$ $`4Zq_e^2D+{\displaystyle \frac{4\mathrm{}}{\mathrm{\Delta }^+}}Zq_e^2\lambda FU,`$
$`𝙴_\mathrm{𝟸}`$ $`=`$ $`{\displaystyle \frac{c^2\mathrm{}}{2}}\mathrm{\Delta }^+L{\displaystyle \frac{2c^2}{\mathrm{\Delta }^+}}L\left(1\lambda \right)\left(T\mathrm{}\right),`$
$`𝙴_\mathrm{𝟹}`$ $`=`$ $`{\displaystyle \frac{c^2Zq_e^2}{\mathrm{\Delta }^+}}\left(1\lambda \right)LU,`$ (50)
The $`𝙴_𝚊`$ are the explicit coefficients in equation (42).

$`𝙵_\mathrm{𝟶}`$ $`=`$ $`{\displaystyle \frac{4mc^2}{\mathrm{}\mathrm{\Delta }^+}}\left(E^{}\right)^3\left(T+\mathrm{}\right),`$
$`𝙵_\mathrm{𝟷}`$ $`=`$ $`Zq_e^2\left(E^{}\right)^2U,`$
$`𝙵_\mathrm{𝟸}`$ $`=`$ $`{\displaystyle \frac{c^2E^+}{8\mathrm{}\mathrm{\Delta }^+}}SU+{\displaystyle \frac{c^2}{2\mathrm{\Delta }^+}}S\left(\lambda 1\right)+{\displaystyle \frac{c^2\mathrm{}}{2}}\left(R+\mathrm{}\mathrm{\Delta }^{}\right),`$
$`𝙵_\mathrm{𝟹}`$ $`=`$ $`{\displaystyle \frac{c^2}{4}}Zq_e^2SU,`$ (51)
The $`𝙵_𝚊`$ are the explicit coefficients in equation (43).

The above equations are written in terms of the following symbols.

$`D`$ $`=`$ $`\mathrm{}\mathrm{\Delta }^{}E^{}4mc^2\mathrm{}\lambda ,`$
$`T`$ $`=`$ $`{\displaystyle \frac{\mathrm{\Delta }^++\mathrm{\Delta }^{}}{4mc^2}}\mathrm{}E^++\mathrm{}\lambda ,`$
$`F`$ $`=`$ $`\left(E^{}\right)^24m^2c^4,`$
$`K`$ $`=`$ $`Zq_e^2\mathrm{}E^{}\mathrm{\Delta }^{},`$
$`L`$ $`=`$ $`4\mathrm{}^2\lambda ^2\mathrm{}^2\left(\mathrm{\Delta }^{}\right)^2,`$
$`U`$ $`=`$ $`{\displaystyle \frac{\mathrm{}}{mc^2}}\left(\mathrm{\Delta }^++\mathrm{\Delta }^{}\right),`$
$`W`$ $`=`$ $`\left(1\lambda \right)+{\displaystyle \frac{\lambda E^+\mathrm{\Delta }^+}{\mathrm{\Delta }^{}E^{}4mc^2\lambda }},`$
$`Y`$ $`=`$ $`2c^2\mathrm{}^3Zq_e^2\left(\lambda 1\right)\left(\lambda 2\right)\mathrm{\Delta }^{},`$
$`P`$ $`=`$ $`{\displaystyle \frac{Y}{D}}{\displaystyle \frac{\mathrm{}\mathrm{\Delta }^+}{2}},`$
$`Q`$ $`=`$ $`c^2\mathrm{}^3Zq_e^2\left(\lambda 1\right)\mathrm{\Delta }^{}\mathrm{\Delta }^+,`$
$`S`$ $`=`$ $`4\mathrm{}^2\lambda \left(\lambda 1\right)\mathrm{}^2\mathrm{\Delta }^+\mathrm{\Delta }^{},`$
$`R`$ $`=`$ $`\mathrm{}\mathrm{\Delta }^{}+\lambda \mathrm{}\left(\mathrm{\Delta }^+\mathrm{\Delta }^{}\right).`$ (52)
The coefficients appearing in equations (44) and (45) are respectively expressed in terms of definitions (4), (4), and (4), (4).

## 5 Conclusion

In this paper we have derived exact recurrence relations between general non-necessarily diagonal matrix elements of powers of the radial coordinate. These recursions relate any three consecutive powers of $`r`$ or of $`\beta r`$. The states used for evaluating the matrix elements are radial completely relativistic hydrogenic eigenstates. The derivation was done employing a technique inspired in the hypervirial method and using some operator algebra . The matrix elements analysed here are all gauge invariant . The relations obtained may have different uses in many interesting atomic calculations, as in the calculation of transitions between Rydberg states beyond the semiclassical approximation .

## Acknowledgements

This work has been partially supported by PAPIIT-UNAM (grant 108302). We acknowledge with thanks the insightful comments of P T M Jarel, G R Inti, G R Maya, A S Ubo, and P M Schwartz.