Abstract
We investigate the two-photon decay rate of a highly excited atomic state which can decay to bound states of lower energy via cascade processes. We show that a naïve treatment of the process, based on the introduction of phenomenological decay rates for the intermediate, resonant states, leads to lower-order terms which need to be subtracted in order to obtain the coherent two-photon correction to the decay rate. The sum of the lower-order terms is exactly equal to the one-photon decay rate of the initial state, provided the naïve two-photon decay rates are summed over all available two-photon channels. A quantum electrodynamics treatment of the problem leads to an “automatic” subtraction of the lower-order terms.
Recommended Citation
U. D. Jentschura, "Virtual Resonant States in Two-Photon Decay Processes: Lower-Order Terms, Subtractions, and Physical Interpretations," Physical Review A, American Physical Society (APS), Feb 2009.
The definitive version is available at https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevA.79.022510
Department(s)
Physics
Sponsor(s)
German Research Association
Keywords and Phrases
Atom-Photon Collisions; Bound States; Hydrogen Neutral Atoms; Resonant States; Two-Photon Processes; Quantum electrodynamics
International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)
1050-2947; 2469-9926
Document Type
Article - Journal
Document Version
Final Version
File Type
text
Language(s)
English
Rights
© 2009 American Physical Society (APS), All rights reserved.
Publication Date
01 Feb 2009
