Forbidden ortho-para electric dipole transitions in the H₂⁺ ion

We present a systematic calculation of the electric dipole forbidden transitions in the homonuclear molecular ion H-2(+). We get that the transition rate from the ground ortho (v =0, N=1, J=1/2) state to the ground para (v =0, N=0, J=1/2) state is 4.9 x 10(-1)4 s(-1), which corresponds to the lifetime of 6.4 x 10(5) yr. The Einstein coefficient A(nn)' for the (v =1, N =1, J =1/2) -> (v =0, N =0, J =1/2) transition is equal to 0.12 x 10(-9) s(-1), which is of comparable order with the values for quadrupole transitions in H-2(+). It gives hope that the ortho-para transitions in H-2(+) can be explored by laser spectroscopy.