Nonperturbative effects caused by the radiative component of the electron magnetic moment in hydrogen-like atoms

The lower levels of the discrete spectrum of a hydrogen-like atom are calculated within the point-like nucleus approximation with nonperturbative consideration for the Schwinger interaction of the radiative component of the magnetic moment of a free electron with the Coulomb field of a nucleus. The behavior of the 1s _1/2, 2s _1/2, 2p _1/2, and 2p _3/2 levels is investigated depending on the nuclear charge values, including the range of Z > 137, where the Dirac Hamiltonian continues to be self adjoint in the presence of the Schwinger term. It is shown that the Schwinger interaction for large Z causes significant changes in the properties of the discrete spectrum; in particular, the first level that reaches the threshold of a negative continuum is 2p _1/2 and this occurs at Z = 147. The behavior of the g-factor of an electron for the 1s _1/2 and 2p _1/2 states as a function of Z is considered as well and it is shown that for extremely large charges the correction to the g-factor due to the Schwinger term becomes a very significant effect.     

Perturbativity and nonperturbativity in large-<Emphasis Type="Italic">Z</Emphasis> effects for hydrogen-like atoms

The effects induced by the interaction ΔU_AMM of the anomalous component of the electron magnetic moment with the Coulomb field of a nucleus at Zα > 1 are examined for the lower levels of a hydrogen-like atom within purely perturbative and essentially nonperturbative in α/π approaches. Owing to the specific features of the ΔU_AMM operator for a point-like Coulomb source, the distribution of the charge over the volume of the nucleus is set in the nonperturbative case at the quark structure level using valence (constituent) u and d quarks. It is demonstrated that such nonperturbative analysis turns out to be nontrivial as well as the manner in which its results are altered in the transition from the central problem with spherical symmetry to the inclusion of the peripheral contribution. It is also demonstrated that these methods yield matching (with an accuracy no worse than 0.1%) results for the shift of levels 1s_1/2 and 2p_1/2 due to ΔU_AMM at all values of Z through to critical ones. Thus, it is confirmed that the perturbation theory in α/π provides correct results for superheavy atoms if the complete dependence of the wave function on Zα is taken into account from the beginning.     

Dynamical screening of AMM and QED effects for large-<Emphasis Type="Italic">Z</Emphasis> hydrogen-like atoms

The effective interaction ΔU_AMM of the anomalous magnetic moment (AMM) of an electron with the Coulomb field of an extended nucleus is analyzed. As soon as the q² dependence of the electron formfactor F₂(q²)is taken into account from the beginning, the AMM is found to be dynamically screened at small distances of r ? 1/m. The ΔU_AMM effects on the low-lying electronic levels of a superheavy extended nucleus with Zα > 1are analyzed using the nonperturbative approach. The growth rate of the ΔU_AMM contribution with increasing Z is shown to be essentially nonmonotonic. At the same time, the energy shifts of electronic levels in the vicinity of the threshold of the lower continuum monotonically decrease in the region Z ?Z_cr,1s. The latter result is generalized to the whole self-energy contribution to energy shifts of electronic levels, thus also referring to the possible behavior of QED radiative effects with virtual-photon exchange, considered beyond the framework of the perturbative expansion in Zα.     

Interaction of dirac particle AMM with Coulomb field of a superheavy nucleus: Perturbative and nonperturbative aspects

The interaction ΔU_AMM of the Dirac particle anomalous magnetic moment (AMM) with the Coulomb field of a nucleus and its effect on the low-lying atomic levels are studied for Zα > 1 using both perturbative and essentially nonperturbative approaches. The Zα dependence of particle wavefunctions (WFs) is fully taken into account from the beginning. In deriving the ΔU_AMM contribution, the nucleus is viewed either as a uniformly charged extended Coulomb source or as a distributed system formed by pointlike u and d quarks. When estimated nonperturbatively, the ΔU_AMM-induced effects in the Dirac equation framework prove to be identical for these two cases. At the same time, the ΔU_AMM-induced effect is specific in that its perturbative and nonperturbative estimates are very different for Δg ? const and practically identical as soon as the dynamical screening of AMM at short distances is taken into account in the Dirac equation.     

Multiplasmon laser gain in low-dimensional systems

The light absorption and laser gain in quantum wells are calculated using the cumulant expansion method and the fluctuation-dissipation theorem with allowance made for the strong Coulomb interaction of charge carriers. It is shown that the multiplasmon transitions result in a smoothening of the absorption spectrum and a shift in the absorption edge toward the long-wavelength range. The theoretical laser gain spectra are in agreement with the available experimental data. For In_0.05Ga_0.95As quantum wells, the laser gain g = 50 cm^?1 is reached at an electron density nd₀ = 1.64 × 10¹² cm^?2.     

Self-energy radiative corrections in hydrogen-like systems

The one-photon self-energy radiative level shift of an electron in a Coulomb field is examined. An expression for the level shift which is suitable for direct numerical evaluation, for Z in the range 10–110, is obtained. It is based on the known Coulomb radial Green's functions and not on a power series expansion in Zα. In the following paper, the numerical evaluation of the level shift for the $\text{1S}{}_{\mathrm{<mtext>1</mtext><mtext>2</mtext>}}$ state is described.     

Radiative recombination of ions and nuclei in electron cooling systems

Experimental data on rates for the radiative recombination of nuclei (from helium to uranium) and various ions in interaction with an electron beam in electron cooling systems are reviewed. An analysis of the experimental data has yielded the dependence of the radiative recombination rate on the relative electron energy appreciably differently than the theoretical models obtained earlier by H. Kramers and R. Schuch. In addition, it is shown that the radiative recombination rate of nuclei in the experiment depends on the transverse electron energy as T _?? ^?0.82 ,which is also different from the results of the calculations by the theoretical model proposed by M. Bell and J. Bell. Experimental data on the cooling of ions in intermediate charge states are analyzed and the dependence of the radiative recombination rate on the charge state of the ion (electron-shell configuration) is shown. For some ion charge states, the rate of the process is of a resonance character. Loss to radiative recombination in the electron cooling system of the NICA Booster is evaluated for the Au³²⁺, Au³³⁺, Au⁵⁰⁺, and Au⁵¹⁺ ion beams. Limitations imposed on the Au79+ beam lifetime by radiative recombination in the electron cooling system of the NICA Collider are analyzed. Possible ways to decrease the radiative recombination rate of nuclei by selecting the parameters of the electron cooling system for the NICA Collider are proposed.     

Critical charge in quantum electrodynamics

The critical nuclear charge Z _cr and the critical distance R _cr in the system of two colliding heavy nuclei—they are defined as those at which the ground-state level of the electron spectrum descends to the boundary of the lower continuum, with the result that beyond them (that is, for Z>Z _cr or R<R _cr) spontaneous positron production from a vacuum becomes possible—are important parameters in the quantum electrodynamics of ultrastrong Coulomb fields. Various methods for calculating Z _cr and R _cr are considered, along with the dependence of these quantities on the screening of the Coulomb field of a nucleus by the electron shell of the atom, on an external magnetic field, on the particle mass and spin, and on some other parameters of relevance. The effective-potential method for the Dirac equation and the application of the Wentzel-Kramers-Brillouin method to the Coulomb field for Z>137 and to the two-body Salpeter equation for the quark-antiquark system are discussed. Some technical details in the procedure for calculating the critical distance R _cr in the relativistic problem of two Coulomb centers are described.     

Numerical evaluation of the 1S12-state radiative level shift

The one-photon self-energy radiative level shift for an electron in a Coulomb potential is evaluated numerically for the $\text{1S}{}_{\mathrm{<mtext>1</mtext><mtext>2</mtext>}}$ state. The evaluation is done for values of the nuclear charge Z = 10, 20,…, 110. The errors in the values obtained are estimated to be less than 0.1 %. The results are compared with the results of previous calculations. The evaluation is based on the expressions given in the preceding paper.     

Effect of electron emission on the charge and shielding of a dust grain in a plasma: A continuum theory

The continuum approximation is used to analyze the effect of electron emission from the surface of a spherical dust grain immersed in a plasma on the grain charge by assuming negligible ionization and recombination in the disturbed plasma region around the grain. A parameter is introduced that quantifies the emission intensity regardless of the emission mechanism (secondary, photoelectric, or thermionic emission). An analytical expression for the grain charge Z _d is derived, and a criterion for change in the charge sign is obtained. The case of thermionic emission is examined in some detail. It is shown that the long-distance asymptotic behavior of the grain potential follows the Coulomb law with a negative effective charge Z _eff, regardless of the sign of Z _d. Thus, the potential changes sign and has a minimum if Z _d > 0, which implies that attraction is possible between positively charged dust grains.     

Dielectronic recombination rate coefficients for Fe23+ ion

The dielectronic recombination rate coefficients are explicitly calculated for the Li-like ion Fe²³⁺, which recombines with the continuum electron to form Fe²²⁺. Both 1s²2s and 1s²2p initial states are treated for the temperature range 1～8 keV. The rate coefficients are obtained from a direct evaluation of the Auger and radiative transition probabilities which are calculated from nonrelativistic Hartree-Fock wave functions. The L-shell electron excitation with Δn≠0 is found to be the dominant transition, while the 2s→2p excitation with Δn = 0 contributes approx. 10–25% of the Δn≠0 value. The K-shell excitation effect is about 1～30% in the temperature range considered, and the cascade effect is estimated to be a reduction in the rate of about 14%.     

Positron lines from subcritical heavy ion-atom collisions

Positron lines were observed in heavy ion-atom collisions at bombarding energies close to the Coulomb barrier in subcritical systems with the sum of the atomic numbers of the colliding nucleiZ _u =Z ₁+Z ₂ being smaller thanZ _u =172. Each collision system, studied,²⁰⁸Pb +²⁰⁸Pb(Z_u=164),²³⁸U+¹⁸¹Ta(Z_u=165), and²³⁸Au(Z_u=171), exhibits the emission of two positron lines withZ _u -independent c.m. energies of ～ 258 keV and ～ 340 keV, and with widths of about 30 keV, superimposed on continuous positron spectra from nuclear pair decay and pair emission induced by the time changing Coulomb field of the collision. The production cross section of thee ⁺-lines rises with a high power ofZ _u (ocZ _u ²²), which is comparable to theZ _u ²⁰-dependence for the collision induced positrons.     

Peculiarities in charge symmetry of energy loss in ion-atom collisions

Systematic experimental studies on energy loss (?dE/dx) were performed for ions with nuclear charge Z = 2–18 in various gases. The energy range ～0.001 to ～1 MeV/amu was considered. Detailed analysis confirmed the oscillating character of the energy loss dependence on the ionic nuclear charge associated with the ions’ electron shell structure. The symmetry of the energy loss dependence on the nuclear charges of projectile Z and target Z _t is examined.     

EPR of a fullerene-molecule-derived paramagnetic center as a mesoscopic conducting object

Discussion of theg-factor value of fullerene is based on the model of itinerant electrons restricted to the surface of the fullerene molecule C₆₀. The Ag shift, i.e., the difference between the experimentalg-factor and theg-factor of free electron Δg = g ? 2.0023 for C ₆₀ ^?1 is negative as for a very small metallic conducting particle.g-factor value is proportional to the interaction between itinerant electrons in the conduction band, thus the Δg is negative for C ₆₀ ^?1 and C ₆₀ ^?3 having less than half filled conduction band, while Δg is positive for C ₆₀ ⁺ where the conduction band is almost filled.     

Nonperturbative effects of vacuum polarization for a quasi-one-dimensional Dirac–Coulomb system with <Emphasis Type="Italic">Z</Emphasis> &gt; <Emphasis Type="Italic">Z</Emphasis><Subscript><Emphasis Type="Italic">cr</Emphasis></Subscript>

Major nonperturbative properties of the vacuum charge density ρ _VP (x) and vacuum-polarization energy ξ _VP are considered for an overcritical Coulomb source with Z > Z _cr in 1 + 1 D. We demonstrate that, for a broad range of external-field parameters, vacuum energy may significantly deviate from the perturbative quadratic increase and even decrease towards deeply negative values due to vacuum polarization in the overcritical region.     

Radiative corrections for pion polarizability experiments

We use the semi-analytical program RCFORGV to evaluate radiative corrections to onephoton radiative emission in the high-energy scattering of pions in the Coulomb field of a nucleus with atomic numberZ. It is shown that radiative corrections can simulate a pion polarizability effect. The average effect is α _π ^rc =?β _π ^rc =(0.20±0.05)×^?43 cm³, for pion energies 40–600 GeV. We also study the range of applicability of the equivalent photon approximation in describing onephoton radiative emission.     

n-shell Thomas-Fermi model: Coulomb atom

A simple expression for the electron density of then-shell of the Coulomb atom with the nuclear charge Zρ _n(r)=Z ³ π ^?2 n ^?3(2Z ^?1 r ^?1?n ^?2)^1/2 is found in the semi-classical approximation. It is used for the asymptotic estimation of averages 〈r ^a 〉 (?2<a<∞). An explicit dependence of the leading oscillatory contribution to 〈r ^a 〉 due to angular moments on the electron number is also obtained.     

Theoretical studies of the dependence of EPR g-factors on local structure for the trigonal Er3+–VK centres in KMgF3 and KZnF3

The dependence of the EPR g-factors on the local structural parameter for a 4f¹¹ configuration ion Er³⁺ in a trigonal crystal-field has been studied by diagonalizing the 364×364 complete energy matrices. Our studies indicate that the EPR spectra of the trigonal Er³⁺–V_K centers in KMgF₃ and KZnF₃ may be attributed to the translation of the cubic Kramers doublet Γ₇. Furthermore, the EPR g-factors of the trigonal Er³⁺–V_K centers may be interpreted reasonably by the shifts ΔZ≈0.340 Å and ΔZ≈0.303 Å of the Er³⁺ ions toward the charge compensator V_K along the C₃ axis for the KMgF₃:Er³⁺ and the KZnF₃:Er³⁺ systems respectively.     

Studies of EPR g factors of the isoelectronic 3d series Cr, Mn and Fe in SrTiO3 crystals

The g-shifts Δg(=g−g_s, where g_s≈2.0023 is the free-ion value) of the isoelectronic 3d³ series Cr³⁺, Mn⁴⁺ and Fe⁵⁺ in SrTiO₃ crystals are calculated from the high-order perturbation formula based on the cluster approach for 3d³ ion in cubic octahedral site. The formula includes not only the contribution from the crystal-field (CF) mechanism, but also that from the charge-transfer (CT) mechanism (which is omitted in the CF theory). From the calculations, it is found that the contribution Δg_CT from the CT mechanism in sign is contrary to the corresponding Δg_CF from the CF mechanism and the relative importance of CT mechanism (characterized by |Δg_CT/Δg_CF|) increases with the increasing valence state (and hence the atomic number) of 3d³ ion. The positive g-shift Δg of SrTiO₃:Fe⁵⁺ is due mainly to the contribution of CT mechanism. So, for the explanations of g factors of the high valence state 3dⁿ ions (e.g. Mn⁴⁺ and Fe⁵⁺) in crystals, the contributions from both CF and CT mechanisms should be taken into account.     

An investigation on the defect structures and spin Hamiltonian parameters for the two orthorhombic Ti3+ centers in ZnWO4

By employing the perturbation formulae of the spin Hamiltonian parameters (SHPs) (g factors g_xx, g_yy, g_zz, hyperfine structure constants A_xx, A_yy, A_zz and superhyperfine parameters A_xx׳, A_yy׳, A_zz׳) for a 3d¹ ion in orthorhombically elongated octahedra and tetrahedra, the defect structures and the experimental EPR spectra are theoretically and systematically investigated for the two orthorhombic Ti³⁺ centers C₁ and C₂ in ZnWO₄. Center C₁ is ascribed to the impurity Ti³⁺ at host W⁶⁺ site associated with two nearest neighbor oxygen vacancies due to charge compensation. The resultant tetrahedral [TiO₄]^5– cluster is determined to undergo the local orthorhombic elongation distortion, characterized by the axial distortion angle Δθ (=θ–θ₀≈–6.84°) of the local impurity-ligand bond angle θ related to θ₀ (≈54.74°) and the perpendicular distortion angle Δε (=ε–ε₀≈2.5°) related to ε₀ (≈45°) of an ideal tetrahedron because of the Jahn–Teller effect. Center C₂ is attributed to Ti³⁺ on Zn²⁺ site, and this octahedral [TiO₆]^9– cluster may experience the local axial elongation ΔZ (≈0.001 Ǻ) and the planar bond angle variation Δφ (≈9.1°) due to the Jahn–Teller effect, resulting in a more regular oxygen octahedron. All the calculated SHPs (i.e., g factors for both centers, the hyperfine structure constants for center C₂ and superhyperfine parameters of next nearest neighbor ligand W for center C₁) show good agreement with the observed values. However, the theoretical results based on the previous assignment of center C₁ as Ti³⁺ on W⁶⁺ site with only one nearest planar oxygen vacancy (i.e., five-fold coordinated octahedral [TiO₅]^7– cluster) show much worse agreement with the experimental data. The defect structures and the SHPs (especially the g anisotropies) are discussed for both centers. The present studies on the superhyperfine parameters of ligand W⁶⁺ for center C₁ would be helpful to further investigations on the superhyperfine interactions of cation ligands which were rather scarcely treated before.