Reexamining blackbody shifts for hydrogenlike ions

Ulrich D. Jentschura and Martin Haas
Phys. Rev. A 78, 042504 – Published 13 October 2008

Abstract

We investigate blackbody-induced energy shifts for low-lying levels of atomic systems, with a special emphasis on transitions used in current and planned high-precision experiments on atomic hydrogen and ionized helium. Fine-structure- and Lamb-shift-induced blackbody shifts are found to increase with the square of the nuclear charge number, whereas blackbody shifts due to virtual transitions decrease with increasing nuclear charge as the fourth power of the nuclear charge. We also investigate the decay width acquired by the ground state of atomic hydrogen, due to interaction with blackbody photons. The corresponding width is due to an instability against excitation to higher excited atomic levels, and due to blackbody-induced ionization. These effects limit the lifetime of even the most fundamental, a priori absolutely stable, “asymptotic” state of atomic theory, namely, the ground state of atomic hydrogen.

  • Figure
  • Received 15 July 2008

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevA.78.042504

©2008 American Physical Society

Authors & Affiliations

Ulrich D. Jentschura1,2 and Martin Haas3

  • 1Max-Planck-Institut für Kernphysik, Postfach 10 39 80, 69029 Heidelberg, Germany
  • 2Institut für Theoretische Physik, Philosophenweg 16, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
  • 3Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Medical Physics, University Hospital Freiburg, 79095 Freiburg, Germany

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Issue

Vol. 78, Iss. 4 — October 2008

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