Abstract
Quantum electrodynamics (QED) is the most accurate and the best confirmed theory in modern physics. This chapter is devoted to the description of the QED effects in atoms and molecules. Starting from the famous Lamb’s experiment with hydrogen, we finish with the most recent experiments with heavy ions. We will demonstrate the cases where the QED effects are extremely important for the comparison of the theoretical predictions with the experiment. Finally, we will provide brief review of the most important QED challenges at present.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Dirac PAM (1928) The Quantum Theory of the Emission and Absorption of Radiation. Proc R Soc Lond Ser A 117:610
Dirac PAM (1929) The Quantum Theory of the Electron. Proc R Soc Lond Ser A 126:360
Dirac PAM (1931) A Theory of Electrons and Protons. Proc R Soc Lond Ser A 133:60
Anderson CD (1933) The Positive Electron. Phys Rev 43:491
Lamb WE Jr, Retherford RC (1947) Fine structure of the hydrogen atom by a microwave method. Phys Rev 72:241
Tiselius A (1964) Nobel lectures, physics 1942–1962. Elsevier, Amsterdam
Houston WV (1937) A New Method of Analysis of the Structure of H α and D α . Phys Rev 51:446
Williams RC (1938) The Fine Structures of H α and D α Under Varying Discharge Conditions. Phys Rev 54:558
Bethe HA (1947) The electromagnetic shift of energy levels. Phys Rev 72:339
Welton TA (1948) Some Observable Effects of the Quantum-Mechanical Fluctuations of the Electromagnetic Field. Phys Rev 74:1157
Schweber SS (1994) QED and the men who made it: Dyson, Feynman, Schwinger, and Tomonaga. Princeton series in physics. Princeton University Press, Princeton
Kroll NM, Lamb WE Jr (1949) On the self-energy of a bound electron. Phys Rev 75:388
Fukuda H, Miyamoto Y, Tomonaga S (1949) A Self-Consistent Subtraction Method in the Quantum Field Theory. Prog Theor Phys 4:47
Uehling EA (1935) Polarization Effects in the Positron Theory. Phys Rev 48:55
Feynman RP (1949) Space-time approach to quantum electrodynamics. Phys Rev 76:769
Desiderio AM, Johnson WR (1971) Lamb Shift and Binding Energies of K Electrons in Heavy Atoms. Phys Rev A 3:1267
Mohr PJ (1974) Self-Energy Radiative Corrections in Hydrogen-Like Systems. Ann Phys (New York) 88:26
Mohr PJ (1974) Numerical Evaluation of the 1S1∕2-State Radiative Level Shift. Ann Phys (New York) 88:52
Soff G, Mohr P (1988) Vacuum polarization in a strong external field. Phys Rev A 38:5066
Manakov NL, Nekipelov AA, Fainshtein AG (1989) Vacuum polarization by a strong coulomb field and its contribution to the spectra of multiply-charged ions. Zh Eksp Teor Fiz 95:1167 [Sov Phys JETP 68:673 (1989)]
Yerokhin VA, Shabaev VM (2001) Two-loop self-energy correction in H-like ions. Phys Rev A 64:062507
Shabaev VM (1993) Schrödinger-like equation for the relativistic few-electron atom. J Phys B 26:4703
Lindgren I, Persson H, Salomonson S, Karasiev V, Labzowsky L, Mitrushenkov A, Tokman M (1993) Second-order QED corrections for few-electron heavy ions: reducible Breit-Coulomb correction and mixed self-energy–vacuum polarization correction. J Phys B 26:L503
Lindgren I, Persson H, Salomonson S, Sunnergren P (1995) QED Calculations on Two- and Three-Electron Ions. Physica Scripta T59:179
Artemyev AN, Beier T, Plunien G, Shabaev VM, Soff G, Yerokhin VA (1999) Vacuum polarization screening corrections to the energy levels of lithiumlike ions. Phys Rev A 60:45
Yerokhin VA, Artemyev AN, Beier T, Plunien G, Shabaev VM, Soff G (1999) Two-electron self-energy corrections to the 2p 1∕2 − 2s transition energy in Li-like ions. Phys Rev A 60:3522
Yerokhin VA, Artemyev AN, Shabaev VM, Sysak MM, Zherebtsov OM, Soff G (2000) Two-Photon Exchange Corrections to the 2p 1∕2 − 2s Transition Energy in Li-Like High-Z Ions. Phys Rev Lett 85:4699
Sapirstein J, Cheng KT (2001) Determination of the two-loop Lamb shift in lithiumlike bismuth. Phys Rev A 64:022502
Artemyev AN, Shabaev VM, Yerokhin VA, Plunien G, Soff G (2005) QED calculations of the n = 1 and n = 2 energy levels in He-like ions. Phys Rev A 71:062104
Artemyev AN, Shabaev VM, Tupitsyn II, Plunien G, Surzhykov A, Fritzsche S (2013) Ab initio calculations of the 2p 3∕2 − 2p 1∕2 fine-structure splitting in boronlike ions. Phys Rev A 88:032518
Malyshev AV, Volotka AV, Glazov DA, Tupitsyn II, Shabaev VM, Plunien G (2014) QED calculation of the ground-state energy of berylliumlike ions. Phys Rev A 90:062517
Kozhedub YS, Andreev OV, Shabaev VM, Tupitsyn II, Brandau C, Kozhuharov C, Plunien G, Stöhlker T (2008) Nuclear deformation effect on the binding energies in heavy ions. Phys Rev A 77:032501
Mohr PJ, Plunien G, Soff G (1998) QED corrections in heavy atoms. Phys Rep 293:227
Yerokhin VA, Indelicato P, Shabaev VM (2003) Evaluation of the two-loop self-energy correction to the ground state energy of H-like ions to all orders in (Z α). Eur Phys J D 25:203
Artemyev AN, Shabaev VM, Yerokhin VA (1995) Relativistic nuclear recoil corrections to the energy levels of hydrogenlike and high-Z lithiumlike atoms in all orders in α Z. Phys Rev A 52:1884
Plunien G, Soff G (1995) Nuclear polarization contribution to the Lamb shift in actinide nuclei. Phys Rev A 51:1119
Nefiodov AV, Labzowsky LN, Plunien G, Soff G (1996) Nuclear polarization effects in spectra of multicharged ions. Phys Lett A 222:227
Gumberidze A, Bosch F, Bräuning-Demian A, Hagmann S, Kühl T, Liesen D, Schuch R, Stöhlker T (2005) Atomic physics with highly-charged heavy ions at the GSI future facility: The scientific program of the SPARC collaboration. Nucl Instrum Methods Phys Res Sect B: Beam Interact Mater Atoms 233:28. Fast ion-atom collisions – proceedings of the eighth workshop on fast ion-atom collisions, eighth workshop on fast ion-atom collisions
Yerokhin VA, Indelicato P, Shabaev VM (2006) Nonperturbative Calculation of the Two-Loop Lamb Shift in Li-Like Ions. Phys Rev Lett 97:253004
Beiersdorfer P, Chen H, Thorn DB, Träbert E (2005) Measurement of the Two-Loop Lamb Shift in Lithiumlike U89+. Phys Rev Lett 95:233003
Schweppe J, Belkacem A, Blumenfeld L, Claytor N, Feinberg B, Gould H, Kostroun VE, Levy L, Misawa S, Mowat JR, Prior MH (1991) Measurement of the Lamb Shift in Lithiumlike Uranium (U89+). Phys Rev Lett 66:1434
Brandau C, Kozhuharov C, Müller A, Shi W, Schippers S, Bartsch T, Böhm S, Böhme C, Hoffknecht A, Knopp H, Grün N, Scheid W, Steih T, Bosch F, Franzke B, Mokler PH, Nolden F, Steck M, Stöhlker T, Stachura Z (2003) Precise Determination of the 2s 1∕2-2p 1∕2 Splitting in Very Heavy Lithiumlike Ions Utilizing Dielectronic Recombination. Phys Rev Lett 91:073202
Häffner H, Beier T, Hermanspahn N, Kluge HJ, Quint W, Stahl S, Verdú J, Werth G (2000) High-Accuracy Measurement of the Magnetic Moment Anomaly of the Electron Bound in Hydrogenlike Carbon. Phys Rev Lett 85:5308
Verdú J, Djekić S, Stahl S, Valenzuela T, Vogel M, Werth G, Beier T, Kluge HJ, Quint W (2004) Electronic g Factor of Hydrogenlike Oxygen16O7+. Phys Rev Lett 92:093002
Sturm S, Wagner A, Schabinger B, Zatorski J, Harman Z, Quint W, Werth G, Keitel CH, Blaum K (2011) g Factor of Hydrogenlike28Si13+. Phys Rev Lett 107:023002
Beier T, Häffner H, Hermanspahn N, Karshenboim SG, Kluge HJ, Quint W, Stahl S, Verdú J, Werth G (2001) A new determination of the electron’s massNuclear Mass Corrections to the Electron g Factor. Phys Rev Lett 88:011603
Grotch H (1970) Nuclear Mass Corrections to the Electron g Factor. Phys Rev Lett 24:39
Beier T (2000) The g j factor of a bound electron and the hyperfine structure splitting in hydrogenlike ions. Phys Rep 339:79
Martynenko AP, Faustov RN (2001) The g Factors of Bound Particles in Quantum Electrodynamics. Zh Eksp Teor Fiz 120:539. [JETP 93(3):471–476 (2001)]
Shabaev VM, Yerokhin VA (2002) Recoil Correction to the Bound-Electron g Factor in H-Like Atoms to All Orders in α Z. Phys Rev Lett 88:091801
Yerokhin VA, Indelicato P, Shabaev VM (2002) Self-Energy Correction to the Bound-Electron g Factor in H-like Ions. Phys Rev Lett 89:143001
Pachucki K, Jentschura UD, Yerokhin VA (2004) Nonrelativistic QED Approach to the Bound-Electron g Factor. Phys Rev Lett 93:150401
Pachucki K, Jentschura UD, Yerokhin VA (2005) Erratum: Nonrelativistic QED Approach to the Bound-Electron g Factor Phys Rev Lett 94:229902
Lee RN, Milstein AI, Terekhov IS, Karshenboim SG (2005) Virtual light-by-light scattering and the g factor of a bound electron. Phys Rev A 71:052501
Pachucki K, Czarnecki A, Jentschura UD, Yerokhin VA (2005) Complete two-loop correction to the bound-electron g factor. Phys Rev A 72:022108
Mohr PJ, Taylor BN (2005) CODATA recommended values of the fundamental physical constants: 2002. Rev Mod Phys 77:1
Sturm S, Kohler F, Zatorski J, Wagner A, Harman Z, Werth G, Quint W, Keitel CH, Blaum K (2014) High-precision measurement of the atomic mass of the electron. Nature 506:467
Shabaev VM, Glazov DA, Oreshkina NS, Volotka AV, Plunien G, Kluge HJ, Quint W (2006) g-Factor of Heavy Ions: A New Access to the Fine Structure Constant. Phys Rev Lett 96:253002
Draganić I, López-Urrutia JRC, DuBois R, Fritzsche S, Shabaev VM, Orts RS, Tupitsyn II, Zou Y, Ullrich J (2003) High precision wavelength measurements of QED-sensitive forbidden transitions in highly charged argon ions. Phys Rev Lett 91:183001
Mäckel V, Klawitter R, Brenner G, López-Urrutia JRC, Ullrich J, Physica Scripta T156:014004 (2013) Laser spectroscopy of highly charged argon at the Heidelberg electron beam ion trap
Artemyev AN, Shabaev VM, Tupitsyn II, Plunien G, Yerokhin VA (2007) QED Calculation of the 2p 3∕2 − 2p 1∕2 Transition Energy in Boronlike Argon. Phys Rev Lett 98:173004
Shabaev VM, Tupitsyn II, Yerokhin VA (2013) Model operator approach to the Lamb shift calculations in relativistic many-electron atoms. Phys Rev A 88:012513
Korobov VI, Hilico L, Karr JP (2014) Theoretical transition frequencies beyond 0.1 ppb accuracy in H2 +, HD+, and antiprotonic helium. Phys Rev A 89:032511
Pieper W, Greiner W (1969) Interior electron shells in superheavy nuclei. Zeitschrift für Physik A Hadrons and Nuclei 218:327
Soff G, Müller B, Greiner W (1978) Spectroscopy of Electronic States in Superheavy Quasimolecules. Phys Rev Lett 40:540
Tupitsyn II, Kozhedub YS, Shabaev VM, Deyneka GB, Hagmann S, Kozhuharov C, Plunien G, Stöhlker T (2010) Relativistic calculations of the charge-transfer probabilities and cross sections for low-energy collisions of H-like ions with bare nuclei. Phys Rev A 82:042701
Artemyev AN, Surzhykov A, Indelicato P, Plunien G, Stöhlker T (2010) Finite basis set approach to the two-centre Dirac problem in Cassini coordinates. JPB 43:235207
Müller-Nehler U, Soff G (1994) Electron Excitations in Superheavy Quasimolecules. Phys Rep 246:101
Henning W (ed) (2001) FAIR conceptual design report: an international accelerator facility for beams of ions and antiprotons. GSI
McConnell SR, Artemyev AN, Mai M, Surzhykov A (2012) Solution of the two-center time-dependent Dirac equation in spherical coordinates: Application of the multipole expansion of the electron-nuclei interaction. Phys Rev A 86:052705
Tupitsyn II, Kozhedub YS, Shabaev VM, Bondarev AI, Deyneka GB, Maltsev IA, Hagmann S, Plunien G, Stöhlker T (2012) Relativistic calculations of the K-K charge transfer and K-vacancy production probabilities in low-energy ion-atom collisions. Phys Rev A 85:032712
Soff G, Müller B, Rafelski J (1974) Precise Values for Critical fields in Quantum Electrodynamics. Z Naturforsch A 29:1267
Soff G, Schlüter P, Müller B, Greiner W (1982) Self-Energy of Electrons in Critical Fields. Phys Rev Lett 48:1465
Persson H, Lindgren I, Salomonson S, Sunnergren P (1993) Accurate vacuum polarization contributions. Phys Rev A 48:2772
Artemyev AN, Surzhykov A (2015) Quantum electrodynamical corrections to energy levels of diatomic quasimolecules. Phys Rev Lett 114:243004
Acknowledgements
Stimulating discussions with Prof. V. M. Shabaev and Prof. P. Indelicato are gratefully acknowledged.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2017 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
About this entry
Cite this entry
Artemyev, A. (2017). QED Effects and Challenges. In: Liu, W. (eds) Handbook of Relativistic Quantum Chemistry. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-40766-6_26
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-40766-6_26
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-642-40765-9
Online ISBN: 978-3-642-40766-6
eBook Packages: Chemistry and Materials ScienceReference Module Physical and Materials ScienceReference Module Chemistry, Materials and Physics