The quantum electrodynamic theory of the nuclear recoil effect on the atomic g factor to all orders in αZ and to first order in m/M is formulated. The complete αZ-dependence formula for the recoil correction to the bound-electron g factor in a hydrogenlike atom is derived. This formula is used to calculate the recoil correction to the bound-electron g factor in the order (αZ)^2 m/M for an arbitrary state of a hydrogenlike atom.
The quantum electrodynamic theory of the nuclear recoil effect in atoms to all orders in αZ is formulated. The nuclear recoil corrections for atoms with one and two electrons over closed shells are considered in detail. The problem of the composite nuclear structure in the theory of the nuclear recoil effect is discussed.
Fully relativistic approach is applied to evaluation of the nuclear recoil effect on the bound-electron $g$ factor in hydrogenlike ions to first order in the electron-to-nucleus mass ratio $m/M$ and to all orders in $αZ$. The calculations are performed in the range $1 \leqslant Z \leqslant 20$ for the $g$ factors of $1s$, $2s$, $2p_{1/2}$, and $2p_{3/2}$ states. The $αZ$-dependence of the nontrivial QED recoil contribution as a function of $Z$ is studied.
The relativistic nuclear recoil, higher-order interelectronic-interaction, and screened QED corrections to the transition energies in Li-like ions are evaluated. The calculation of the relativistic recoil effect is performed to all orders in 1/Z. The interelectronic-interaction correction to the transition energies beyond the two-photon exchange level is evaluated to all orders in 1/Z within the Breit approximation. The evaluation is carried out employing the large-scale configuration-interaction Dirac-Fock-Sturm method. The rigorous calculation of the complete gauge invariant sets of the scre…
A model-operator approach to fully relativistic calculations of the nuclear recoil effect on energy levels in many-electron atomic systems is worked out. The one-electron part of the model operator for treating the normal mass shift beyond the Breit approximation is represented by a sum of semilocal and nonlocal potentials. The latter ones are constructed by employing the diagonal and off-diagonal matrix elements rigorously evaluated for hydrogenlike ions to first order in the electron-to-nucleus mass ratio. The specific mass shift beyond the lowest-order relativistic approximation has a form …
Comparison of high accuracy calculations with precision measurement of the 413 nm tune-out wavelength of the He($2\,^3S_1$) state provides a unique test of quantum electro-dynamic (QED). We perform large-scale relativistic-configuration-interaction (RCI) calculations of the tune-out wavelength, that include the mass-shift operator, and fully account for leading relativistic nuclear recoil terms in the Dirac-Coulomb-Breit (DCB) Hamiltonian. We obtain the QED correction to the tune-out wavelength using perturbation theory, and the effect of finite nuclear size is also evaluated. The resulting tu…
The both mass-dependent and field shift components of the isotopic shifts and the lowest order QED corrections for the ground (singlet) $1^1S(L = 0)-$states of the ${}^{3}$He and ${}^{4}$He atoms are determined to high accuracy. For the same states we also evaluated the lowest-order QED corrections and the corresponding recoil (or finite mass) corrections. In our calculations we have used the new (corrected) formula for the recoil correction to the lowest-order QED correction which can be applied to atoms/ions with arbitrary nuclear charge $Q \ge 1$.
The quantum electrodynamics formalism to treat the interelectronic-interaction correction of first order in $1/Z$ to the two-electron part of the nuclear recoil effect on binding energies in atoms and ions is developed. The nonperturbative in $αZ$ calculations of the corresponding contribution to the energies of the $1s^2$ state in He-like and the $1s^2 2s$ and $1s^2 2p_{1/2}$ states in Li-like ions are performed in the range $Z=5-100$. The behavior of the two-electron part of the nuclear recoil effect beyond the lowest-order relativistic approximation as $Z$ grows is studied.
The atomic recoil effect leads to large (25 %) asymmetries in simple spectroscopic investigations of Ca atoms that have been laser-cooled to 10 microkelvin. Starting with spectra from the more familiar Doppler-broadened domain, we show how the fundamental asymmetry between absorption and stimulated emission of light manifests itself when shorter spectroscopic pulses lead to the Fourier transform regime. These effects occur on frequency scales much larger than the size of the recoil shift itself, and have not been observed before in saturation spectroscopy. These results are relevant to state-o…
The quantum electrodynamic theory of the nuclear recoil effect in atoms to all orders in αZ and to first order in m/M is considered. The complete αZ - dependence formulas for the relativistic recoil corrections to the atomic energy levels are derived in a simple way. The results of numerical calculations of the recoil effect to all orders in αZ are presented for hydrogenlike and lithiumlike atoms. These results are compared with analytical results obtained to lowest orders in αZ. It is shown that even for hydrogen the numerical calculations to all orders in αZ provide most precise theoretical …
The effect of finite nuclear mass on the magnetic-dipole transition probabilities between fine-structure levels of the same term is investigated. Based on a rigorous QED approach a nonrelativistic formula for the recoil correction to first order in m_e/M is derived. Numerical results for transitions of experimental interest are presented.
We analyze the collective light scattering by cold atoms in free space of a pump laser beam possessing orbital angular momentum. We derive a set of coupled equations for the atomic motion in which the vacuum-mode field is adiabatically eliminated. The resulting equations describe collective recoil as due to either transfer of linear momentum or orbital angular momentum. For a transverse annular atomic distribution the initial equilibrium with uniform atomic phases and no scattered field, is unstable. The atoms are set in rotation and bunched in phase at different harmonics depending on the pum…
The nuclear recoil effect on the $g$ factor of H- and Li-like heavy ions is evaluated to all orders in $αZ$. The calculations include an approximate treatment of the nuclear size and the electron-electron interaction corrections to the recoil effect. As the result, the second largest contribution to the theoretical uncertainty of the $g$-factor values of $^{208}$Pb$^{79+}$ and $^{238}$U$^{89+}$ is strongly reduced. Special attention is paid to tests of the QED recoil effect on the $g$ factor in experiments with heavy ions. It is found that, while the QED recoil effect on the $g$-factor value i…
The electron-electron interaction correction of first order in $1/Z$ to the one-electron part of the nuclear recoil effect on binding energies in atoms and ions is considered within the framework of the rigorous QED approach. The calculations to all orders in $αZ$ are performed for the $1s^2$ state in heliumlike ions and the $1s^2 2s$ and $1s^2 2p_{1/2}$ states in lithiumlike ions in the range $Z=5$--$100$. The results obtained are compared with the Breit-approximation values. The performed calculations complete a systematic treatment of the QED nuclear recoil effect up to the first order in $…
We present an introduction to the principles behind atomic energy level calculations with Quantum Electrodynamics (QED) and the two-time Green's function method; this method allows one to calculate an effective Hamiltonian that contains all QED effects and that can be used to predict QED Lamb shifts of degenerate, quasidegenerate and isolated atomic levels.
The FAC, GRASP2K, and MCDFGME codes are compared in three case study of radiative transitions occurring in tungsten ions: (i) Ni1 and Ni2 lines in Ni-like tungsten, (ii) $3p_{3/2}{-}3p_{1/2}$ fine splitting in Cl-like tungsten, and (iii) $Kα_{1}$ and $Kα_{2}$ lines in W VIII. Various approaches to including the Breit interaction term and QED corrections in atomic calculations are examined. Electron correlation effects are also investigated and compared to the Breit and QED contributions. The data presented here may be used to estimate theoretical uncertainties relevant to interpretation of hig…
We report on studies of simultaneous trapping of $^{85}$Rb atoms in a magneto-optical trap (MOT) and 1D optical lattice. Using Raman pump-probe spectroscopy we observe the coexistence of two atomic fractions: the first, which consists of free, unbound atoms trapped in a MOT and the second, localized in the micropotentials of the optical lattice. We show that recoil-induced resonances allow not only temperature determination of the atomic cloud but, together with vibrational resonances, can also be used for real-time, nondestructive studies of the lattice loading and of the dynamics of systems …
The nuclear recoil effect on the $g$ factor of the ground state of highly charged B-like ions is studied to first order in the electron-to-nucleus mass ratio $m/M$. The leading one-electron and two-electron recoil contributions are calculated nonperturbatively in the parameter $αZ$ within the rigorous QED formalism. The interelectronic-interaction correction to the nuclear recoil effect is evaluated in the Breit approximation by means of perturbation theory to the first order in $1/Z$. The higher-order interelectronic-interaction corrections are taken into account partially by performing the c…
We describe progress toward a precise measurement of the recoil energy of an atom measured using a perturbative grating-echo atom interferometer (AI) that involves three standing-wave (sw) pulses. With this technique, a perturbing sw pulse is used to shift the phase of excited momentum states---producing a modulation in the contrast of the interference pattern. The signal exhibits narrow fringes that revive periodically at twice the two-photon recoil frequency, $2ω_q$, as a function of the onset time of the pulse. Experiments are performed using samples of laser-cooled rubidium atoms with temp…
The most precise to-date evaluation of the nuclear recoil effect on the $n=1$ and $n=2$ energy levels of He-like ions is presented in the range $Z=12-100$. The one-electron recoil contribution is calculated within the framework of the rigorous QED approach to first order in the electron-to-nucleus mass ratio $m/M$ and to all orders in the parameter $αZ$. The two-electron $m/M$ recoil term is calculated employing the $1/Z$ perturbation theory. The recoil contribution of the zeroth order in $1/Z$ is evaluated to all orders in $αZ$, while the $1/Z$ term is calculated using the Breit approximation…
The theories of recoil-induced resonances (RIR) [J. Guo, P. R. Berman, B. Dubetsky and G. Grynberg, Phys. Rev. A {\bf 46}, 1426 (1992)] and the collective atomic recoil laser (CARL) [ R. Bonifacio and L. De Salvo, Nucl. Instrum. Methods A {\bf 341}, 360 (1994)] are compared. Both theories can be used to derive expressions for the gain experienced by a probe field interacting with an ensemble of two-level atoms that are simultaneously driven by a pump field. It is shown that the RIR and CARL formalisms are equivalent. Differences between the RIR and CARL arise because the theories are typically…
An approach, based on the use of the quasiclassical Green's function, is developed for investigating high-energy quantum electrodynamical processes in combined strong laser and atomic fields. Employing an operator technique, we derive the Green's function of the Dirac equation in an arbitrary plane wave and a localized potential. Then, we calculate the total cross section of high-energy electron-positron photoproduction in an atomic field of arbitrary charge number (Bethe-Heitler process) in the presence of a strong laser field. It is shown that the laser field substantially modifies the cross…
We use the radiative potential method to perform a detailed study of quantum electrodynamics (QED) radiative corrections to electric dipole (E1) transition amplitudes in heavy alkali-metal atoms Rb, Cs, Fr, and alkali-metal-like ions Sr+, Ba+, and Ra+. The validity of the method is checked by comparing with the results of rigorous QED in simple atomic potentials. We study the effects of core relaxation, polarization of the core by the E1 field, and valence-core correlations on QED, which are shown to be important in some cases. We identify several transitions for which the QED contribution exc…
We present a wave atom optics theory of the Collective Atomic-Recoil Laser, where the atomic center-of-mass motion is treated quantum mechanically. It extends the previous ray atom optics theory, which treated the center-of-mass atomic motion classically, to the realm of ultracold atoms. For the case of a far off resonant pump laser we derive an analytical solution which gives the linear response of the CARL system for both the quantum and classical regimes. A linear stability analysis reveals significant qualitative differences between these two regimes, which arise from the effects of diffra…
The paper presents the current status of the theory of bound-electron g factor in highly charged ions. The calculations of the relativistic, QED, nuclear recoil, nuclear structure, and interelectronic-interaction corrections to the g factor are reviewed. Special attention is paid to tests of QED effects at strong coupling regime and determinations of the fundamental constants.
Ab initio QED calculations of the ground-state binding energies of berylliumlike ions are performed for the wide range of the nuclear charge number: Z=18-96. The calculations are carried out in the framework of the extended Furry picture starting with three different types of the screening potential. The rigorous QED calculations up to the second order of the perturbation theory are combined with the third- and higher-order electron-correlation contributions obtained within the Breit approximation by the use of the large-scale configuration-interaction Dirac-Fock-Sturm method. The effects of n…
We report on cw measurements of probe beam absorption and four-wave-mixing spectra in a $^{85}$Rb magneto-optical trap taken while the trap is in operation. The trapping beams are used as pump light. We concentrate on the central feature of the spectra at small pump-probe detuning and attribute its narrow resonant structures to the superposition of Raman transitions between light-shifted sublevels of the ground atomic state and to atomic recoil processes. These two contributions have different dependencies on trap parameters and we show that the former is inhomogeneously broadened. The strong …
The technique of quantum electrodynamics (QED) calculations of energy levels in the helium atom is reviewed. The calculations start with the solution of the Schrödinger equation and account for relativistic and QED effects by perturbation expansion in the fine-structure constant $α$. The nonrelativistic wave function is represented as a linear combination of basis functions depending on all three interparticle radial distances, $r_1$, $r_2$ and $r = |\vec{r}_1-\vec{r}_2|$. The choice of the exponential basis functions of the form $\exp(-αr_1 -βr_2 -γr)$ allows us to construct an accurate and c…
Ab initio method based on a complex-scaling approach and aimed at a rigorous QED description of autoionizing states is worked out. The autoionizing-state binding energies are treated nonperturbatively in $αZ$ and include all the many-electron QED contributions up to the second order. The higher-order electron correlation, nuclear recoil, and nuclear polarization effects are taken into account as well. The developed formalism is demonstrated on the $LL$ resonances in heliumlike argon and uranium. The most accurate theoretical predictions for the binding energies are obtained.
Fully relativistic approach to evaluate the correlation effects in highly charged ions is presented. The interelectronic-interaction contributions of first and second orders in $1/Z$ are treated rigorously within the framework of bound-state quantum electrodynamics, whereas the calculations of the third- and higher-order contributions are based on the Dirac-Coulomb-Breit Hamiltonian. The developed approach allows one to deal with single as well as degenerate or quasi-degenerate states. We apply this approach to the calculations of the correlation contributions to the $n=1$ and $n=2$ energy lev…
We experimentally investigate the formation of subradiant atomic momentum states in Bose-Einstein condensates inside a recoil resolving optical ring resonator according to the theoretical proposal of Cola, Bigerni, and Piovella. The atoms are pumped from the side with laser light that contains two frequency components. They resonantly drive cavity assisted Raman transitions between three discreet atomic momentum states. Within a few hundred microseconds, the system evolves into a stationary subradiant state. In this state, the condensate develops two density gratings suitable to diffract the t…
The strong mixing of close levels with two valence electrons in Be-like xenon greatly complicates ab initio QED calculations beyond the first-order approximation. Due to a strong interplay between the electron-electron correlation and QED effects, the standard single-level perturbative QED approach may fail, even if it takes into account the second-order screened QED diagrams. In the present Letter, the corresponding obstacles are overcome by working out the QED perturbation theory for quasidegenerate states. The contributions of all the Feynman diagrams up to the second order are taken into a…
We investigate the finite nuclear mass corrections in the helium atom in order to resolve a significant disagreement between the $2^3S - 2^3P$ and $2^3S - 2^1S$ transition isotope shifts. These two transitions lead to discrepant results for the nuclear charge radii difference between $^4$He and $^3$He. The accurate treatment of the finite nuclear mass effects is quite complicated and requires the use of the quantum field theoretical approach. We derive $α^6 m^2/M$ correction with the help of nonrelativistic QED and dimensional regularization of the three body Coulombic system, and present accu…
We present numerical values for the self-energy shifts predicted by QED (Quantum Electrodynamics) for hydrogenlike ions (nuclear charge $60 \le Z \le 110$) with an electron in an $n=3$, 4 or 5 level with high angular momentum ($5/2\le j \le 9/2$). Applications include predictions of precision transition energies and studies of the outer-shell structure of atoms and ions.
High-precision QED calculations of the ground-state ionization energies are performed for all boronlike ions with the nuclear charge numbers in the range $16 \leqslant Z\leqslant 96$. The rigorous QED calculations are performed within the extended Furry picture and include all many-electron QED effects up to the second order of the perturbation theory. The contributions of the third- and higher-order electron-correlation effects are accounted for within the Breit approximation. The nuclear recoil and nuclear polarization effects are taken into account as well. In comparison with the previous e…
The coherence effects induced by external photons coupled to matter waves inside a Mach-Zehnder three-grating interferometer are analyzed. Alternatively to atom-photon entanglement scenarios, the model considered here only relies on the atomic wave function and the momentum shift induced in it by the photon scattering events. A functional dependence is thus found between the observables, namely the fringe visibility and the phase shift, and the transversal momentum transfer distribution. A good quantitative agreement is found when comparing the results obtained from our model with the experime…
Theoretical \emph{g}-factor calculations for the first excited \exst state of boronlike ions in the range $Z$=10--20 are presented and compared to the previously published values. The first-order interelectronic-interaction contribution is evaluated within the rigorous QED approach in the effective screening potential. The second-order contribution is considered within the Breit approximation. The QED and nuclear recoil corrections are also taken into account.
Binding energies of the $^3P_0$ and $^3P_2$ levels of the $1s^2\,2s\,2p$ electron configuration in berylliumlike xenon are rigorously evaluated using ab initio QED approach. All relevant one- and many-electron QED contributions are accounted for up to the second order of the perturbation theory. The interelectronic-interaction effects of the third and higher orders are considered within the Breit approximation. Nuclear recoil effect is taken into account as well. In addition, we study all possible levels of the configuration $1s^2\,2s\,2p$, namely $^1P_1$ and $^3P_{0,1,2}$, by means of the con…
We present the most accurate up-to-date theoretical values of the {2p_{1/2}}-{2s} and {2p_{3/2}}-{2s} transition energies and the ground-state hyperfine splitting in ${\rm Sc}^{18+}$. All two- and three-electron contributions to the energy values up to the two-photon level are treated in the framework of bound-state QED without $\aZ$-expansion. The interelectronic interaction beyond the two-photon level is taken into account by means of the large-scale configuration-interaction Dirac-Fock-Sturm (CI-DFS) method. The relativistic recoil correction is calculated with many-electron wave functions …
The leading relativistic and recoil corrections to bound state $g$-factors of particles with arbitrary spin are calculated. It is shown that these corrections are universal for any spin and depend only on the free particle gyromagnetic ratios. To prove this universality we develop NRQED for charged particles with an arbitrary spin. The coefficients in the NRQED Hamiltonian for higher spin particles are determined only by the requirements of Lorentz invariance and local charge conservation in the respective relativistic theory. For spin one charged particles the NRQED Hamiltonian follows from t…
The nuclear recoil effect on the $g$ factor of Li-like ions is evaluated. The one-electron recoil contribution is treated within the framework of the rigorous QED approach to first order in the electron-to-nucleus mass ratio $m/M$ and to all orders in the parameter $αZ$. These calculations are performed in a range $Z=3-92$. The two-electron recoil term is calculated for low- and middle-$Z$ ions within the Breit approximation using a four-component approach. The results for the two-electron recoil part obtained in the paper strongly disagree with the previous calculations performed using an eff…
The interaction of an atomic gas confined inside a cavity with a strong electromagnetic field is numerically and theoretically investigated in a regime where recoil effects are not negligible. The spontaneous appearance of a density grating (atomic bunching) accompanied by the onset of coherent backpropagation is found to be ruled by a continuous phase-transition. Numerical tests allow us to convincingly prove that the transition is steered by the appearence of a periodic atomic density modulation. Consideration of different experimental relaxation mechanisms induces us to analyze the problem …
Formulas and expectation values which are need to determine the lowest-order QED corrections ($\sim α^3$) and corresponding recoil (or finite mass) corrections in the two-electron helium-like ions are presented. Other important properties of the two-electron ions are also determined to high accuracy, including the expectation values of the qausi-singular Vinti operator and $\langle r^{-2}_{eN} \rangle$ and $\langle r^{-2}_{ee} \rangle$ expectation values. Elastic scattering of fast electrons by the two-electron ions in the Born approximation is considered. Interpolation formulas are derived fo…
This paper presents a setup capable of producing a high-flux continuous beam of cold rubidium atoms for cavity QED experiments in the regime of strong coupling. A 2 $D^+$ MOT, loaded by rubidium getters in a dry film coated vapor cell, fed a secondary moving-molasses MOT (MM-MOT) at a rate of 1.5 x $10^{10}$ atoms/sec. The MM-MOT provided a continuous beam with tunable velocity. This beam was then directed through the waist of a 280 $μ$m cavity resulting in a Rabi splitting of more than +/- 10 MHz. The presence of sufficient number of atoms in the cavity mode also enabled splitting in the pola…
The derivation of leading quantum electrodynamic corrections to the nuclear magnetic shielding in light hydrogen- and helium-like atomic systems is described in detail. The presented theoretical approach applies to any light atomic and molecular systems, enabling the determination of the magnetic moment of light nuclei with much higher precision than known presently.
We report a clear evidence of atomic fractals in the nonlinear motion of a two-level atom in a standing-wave microcavity. Fractal-like structures, typical for chaotic scattering, are numerically found in the dependencies of outgoing positions and momenta of scattered atoms on their ingoing values and in the dependence of exit times of cold atoms on their initial momenta in the generic semiclassical models of cavity QED (1) with atoms in a far-detuned amplitude (phase)-modulated standing wave and (2) with coupled atomic external and internal degrees of freedom. Tiny interplay between all the de…
The photon polarization operator in superstrong magnetic fields induces the dynamical photon "mass" which leads to screening of Coulomb potential at small distances $z\ll 1/m$, $m$ is the mass of an electron. We demonstrate that this behaviour is qualitatively different from the case of D=2 QED, where the same formula for a polarization operator leads to screening at large distances as well. Because of screening the ground state energy of the hydrogen atom at the magnetic fields $B \gg m^2/e^3$ has the finite value $E_0 = -me^4/2 \ln^2(1/e^6)$.
An eight-component formalism is proposed for the relativistic two-fermion problem. In QED, it extends the applicability of the Dirac equation with hyperfine interaction to the positronium case. The use of exact relativistic two-body kinematics entails a CP-invariant spectrum which is symmetric in the total cms energy. It allows the extension of recent α^6 recoil corrections to the positronium case, and implies new recoil corrections to the fine and hyperfine structures and to the Bethe logarithm.
The fine structure constant $α$ has a particular status in physics. Its precise determination is required to test the quantum electrodynamics (QED) theory. The constant $α$ is also a keystone for the determination of other fundamental physical constants, especially the ones involved in the framework of the future International System of units. This paper presents Paris experiment, where the fine structure constant is determined by measuring the recoil velocity of a rubidium atom when it absorbs a photon. The impact of the recent improvement of QED calculations of the electron moment anomaly an…
We discuss how we formulate time evolution of physical quantities in the framework of the Rigged QED (Quantum Electrodynamics). The Rigged QED is a theory which has been proposed to treat dynamics of electrons, photons and atomic nuclei in atomic and molecular systems in a quantum field theoretic way. To solve the dynamics in the Rigged QED, we need different techniques from those developed for the conventional QED. As a first step toward this issue, we propose a procedure to expand the Dirac field operator, which represents electrons, by the electron annihilation/creation operators and soluti…
