We theoretically study exciton absorption on a ring threaded by a magnetic flux. For the case when the attraction between an electron and a hole is short ranged, we obtain an exact solution of the problem. We demonstrate that, despite the electrical neutrality of the exciton, both the spectral position of the exciton peak in the absorption and the corresponding oscillator strength oscillate with magnetic flux with a period ${\Phi }_0$—the universal flux quantum. The origin of the effect is the finite probability for electron and hole, created by a photon at the same point, to tunnel in the opposite directions and meet each other on the opposite side of the ring.

• Received 16 February 2000

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.62.7045