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.
Recommended Citation
U. D. Jentschura and M. K. Haas, "Reexamining Blackbody Shifts for Hydrogenlike Ions," Physical Review A - Atomic, Molecular, and Optical Physics, vol. 78, no. 4, pp. 042504-1 - 042504-5, American Physical Society (APS), Oct 2008.
The definitive version is available at https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevA.78.042504
Department(s)
Physics
Keywords and Phrases
Atomic Physics; Atoms; Ground State; Helium; Hydrogen; Inert Gases; Atomic Hydrogens; Atomic Systems; Atomic Theories; Decay Widths; Excited Atomic Levels; Hydrogenlike Ions; Induced Energies; Nuclear Charge Numbers; Nuclear Charges; Special Emphases; Virtual Transitions; Electromagnetic Induction
International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)
1050-2947
Document Type
Article - Journal
Document Version
Final Version
File Type
text
Language(s)
English
Rights
© 2008 American Physical Society (APS), All rights reserved.
Publication Date
01 Oct 2008
