Abstract

Based on quantum electrodynamics, we reexamine the two-photon decay of one-electron atoms. Special attention is paid to the calculation of the (two-photon) total decay rates which can be viewed as the imaginary part of the two-loop self-energy. We argue that our approach can be easily applied to the cases with a virtual state having an intermediate energy between the initial and the final state of the decay process leading, thus, to the resonance peaks in the two-photon energy distribution. In order to illustrate our approach, we obtain fully relativistic results, resolved into electric and magnetic multipole components, for the two-photon decay rates of the 3 S1/2 →1S1/2 transition in neutral hydrogen as well as in various hydrogenlike ions.

Department(s)

Physics

Keywords and Phrases

Electrodynamics; Excited States; Quantum Theory; Resonance; Neutral Hydrogen; Quantum Electrodynamics; Two Photon Processes

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 Apr 2008

Included in

Physics Commons

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