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Precision spectroscopy of the helium atom

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Abstract

Persistent efforts in both theory and experiment have yielded increasingly precise understanding of the helium atom. Because of its simplicity, the helium atom has long been a testing ground for relativistic and quantum electrodynamic effects in few-body atomic systems theoretically and experimentally. Comparison between theory and experiment of the helium spectroscopy in 1s2p3P J can potentially extract a very precise value of the fine structure constant á. The helium atom can also be used to explore exotic nuclear structures. In this paper, we provide a brief review of the recent advances in precision calculations and measurements of the helium atom.

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Correspondence to Shui-ming Hu  (胡水明).

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Hu, Sm., Lu, ZT. & Yan, ZC. Precision spectroscopy of the helium atom. Front. Phys. China 4, 165–169 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11467-009-0018-6

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