Abstract
We report on a quantum electrodynamic (QED) investigation of the interaction between a ground state atom with another atom in an excited state. General expressions, applicable to any atom, are indicated for the long-range tails that are due to virtual resonant emission and absorption into and from vacuum modes whose frequency equals the transition frequency to available lower-lying atomic states. For identical atoms, one of which is in an excited state, we also discuss the mixing term that depends on the symmetry of the two-atom wave function (these evolve into either the gerade or the ungerade state for close approach), and we include all nonresonant states in our rigorous QED treatment. In order to illustrate the findings, we analyze the fine-structure resolved van der Waals interaction for nD-1S hydrogen interactions with n=8, 10, 12 and find surprisingly large numerical coefficients.
Recommended Citation
U. D. Jentschura et al., "Virtual Resonant Emission and Oscillatory Long-Range Tails in Van Der Waals Interactions of Excited States: QEDTreatment and Applications," Physical Review Letters, vol. 118, no. 12, pp. 123001-1 - 123001-6, American Physical Society (APS), Mar 2017.
The definitive version is available at https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.118.123001
Department(s)
Physics
Keywords and Phrases
Atoms; Electrodynamics; Ground State; Quantum Electronics; Quantum Theory; Van Der Waals Forces; Wave Functions; Excited States; Atom Wave Function; Ground-state Atoms; Hydrogen Interaction; Numerical Coefficients; Quantum Electrodynamics; Resonant Emissions; Transition Frequencies; Van Der Waals Interactions
International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)
0031-9007
Document Type
Article - Journal
Document Version
Final Version
File Type
text
Language(s)
English
Rights
© 2017 American Physical Society (APS), All rights reserved.
Publication Date
01 Mar 2017
