Quantum electrodynamics in strong electric fields: the ground-state Lamb shift in hydrogenlike uranium

X-ray spectra following radiative recombination of free electrons with bare uranium ions (U92+) were measured at the electron cooler of the ESR storage ring. The most intense lines observed in the spectra can be attributed to the characteristic Lyman ground-state transitions and to the recombination of free electrons into the K shell of the ions. Our experiment was carried out by utilizing the deceleration technique which leads to a considerable reduction of the uncertainties associated with Doppler corrections. This, in combination with the 0 degree observation geometry, allowed us to determine the ground-state Lamb shift in hydrogenlike uranium (U91+) from the observed x-ray lines with an accuracy of 1%. The present result is about 3 times more precise than the most accurate value available up to now and provides the most stringent test of bound-state quantum electrodynamics for one-electron systems in the strong-field regime.     

Two-electron self-energy contribution to the ground-state energy of helium-like ions

The two-electron self-energy contribution to the ground-state energy of helium-like ions is calculated both for a point nucleus and an extended nucleus in a wide interval of Z. All the two-electron contributions are compiled to obtain most accurate values for the two-electron part of the ground-state energy of helium-like ions in the range Z = 20–100. The theoretical value of the ground-state energy of ²³⁸U⁹⁰⁺, based on currently available theory, is evaluated to be −261382.9(8) eV, without higher-order one-electron QED corrections.     

Ionization of a two-electron atom in a strong electromagnetic field

A one-dimensional model of a helium atom in an intense field of a femtosecond electromagnetic pulse has been constructed using the Hartree technique. “Exact” calculations have been compared to the approximations of “frozen” and “passive” electrons. A nonmonotonic dependence of the single-electron ionization probability on the radiation intensity has been detected. Minima in the ionization probability are due to multiphoton resonances between different atomic states due to the dynamic Stark effect. We suggest that the ionization suppression is due to the interference stabilization in this case. Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 112, 470–482 (August 1997)     

Two-photon decay in strong central fields observed for the case of He-like gold

The photon energy differential shape of the second order matrix element for the two-photon (2E1) decay of the 1s2s¹S₀ level in He-like gold has been measured. The results are in agreement with a recent fully relativistic calculation. The corresponding 2E1 matrix element deviates from those in lighter He-like systems due to the strong central field in a heavy two-electron ion.     

Neutral particle production in strong electromagnetic fields

The sharp electron-positron coincidences observed at GSI are still unexplained. One possibility quite often discussed, is that a new neutral particle might be produced due to a direct highly non-linear coupling to the strong electro-magnetic fields encountered in heavyion collisions. We show that this is no valid possibility as the momentum spectrum resulting from any such coupling is incompatible with the experimental observations.     

On the contribution of anomalous diagrams to the ground-state energy of nuclear matter

It is shown that spin-orbit two-nucleon interaction does not lead to anomalous contributions to the Brueckner-Goldstone perturbation series in the second approximation.In conclusion, the author thanks Prof. I. Úlehla for pointing out this problem and J. Kvasnica C.Sc. for valuable remarks regarding the paper.     

Ionization and stabilization of a two-electron atom in a strong electromagnetic field

Direct numerical simulations are performed to analyze stabilization of a two-electron model atom in a strong electromagnetic field. The system is found to be stabilized with respect to both single and double ionization. By comparing the present results with those concerning stability of one-electron atoms, it is shown that stabilization is due to the formation of a Kramers-Henneberger two-electron atom. Ionization and stabilization characteristics of excited singlet and triplet states of an atomic system are examined.     

Excited atomic and molecular states in strong electromagnetic fields

Large changes in atomic and molecular structure can occur when strong static or oscillating electromagnetic fields are present. Such fields also can ionize atoms. Strong oscillating fields induced multiphoton transitions between bound states as well as to the continuum. What is known about these phenomena is reviewed, with emphasis on theories and experiments concerned with the field-sensitive excited and highly-excited states.     

Beta decay and other processes in strong electromagnetic fields

We consider effects of the fields of strong electromagnetic waves on various characteristics of quantum processes. After a qualitative discussion of the effects of external fields on the energy spectra and angular distributions of the final-state particles as well as on the total probabilities of the processes (such as decay rates and total cross sections), we present a simple method of calculating the total probabilities of processes with production of nonrelativistic charged particles. Using nuclear β decay as an example, we study the weak- and strong-field limits, as well as the field-induced β decay of nuclei stable in the absence of the external fields, both in the tunneling and multiphoton regimes. We also consider the possibility of accelerating forbidden nuclear β decays by lifting the forbiddeness due to the interaction of the parent or daughter nuclei with the field of a strong electromagnetic wave. It is shown that for currently attainable electromagnetic fields all effects on total β-decay rates are unobservably small.     

Convergence to the ground-state energy in the thermodynamic limit of the Ising model in a strong transverse field

For the quantum mechanical Ising model in a strong transverse field we show that the convergence of the ground-state energy per site as the volume goes to infinity has an Ornstein-Zernicke behavior. That is, if the diameter of thed-dimensional lattice is given byL, the absolute value of the difference of the ground-state energy per site and its limit is asymptotically exp(-L)L ^–d/2 for some positive constant. We also show that the correlation function has the same behavior. Our results are derived by cluster expansions, using a method of Bricmont and Fröhlich which we extend to the quantum mechanical case.     

Electron-electron interaction in the magnetoresistance of graphene

We investigate the magnetotransport in large area graphene Hall bars epitaxially grown on silicon carbide. In the intermediate field regime between weak localization and Landau quantization, the observed temperature-dependent parabolic magnetoresistivity is a manifestation of the electron-electron interaction. We can consistently describe the data with a model for diffusive (magneto)transport that also includes magnetic-field-dependent effects originating from ballistic time scales. We find an excellent agreement between the experimentally observed temperature dependence of magnetoresistivity and the theory of electron-electron interaction in the diffusive regime. We can further assign a temperature-driven crossover to the reduction of the multiplet modes contributing to electron-electron interaction from 7 to 3 due to intervalley scattering. In addition, we find a temperature-independent ballistic contribution to the magnetoresistivity in classically strong magnetic fields.     

Nonlinear interaction of strong laser fields in vacuum

Quantum electrodynamics (QED) predicts that electromagnetic fields interact with each other in vacuum. We study the possibility of revealing this interaction experimentally with intensities on the order of 10²⁴–10²⁶ W/cm², which may be available in the next generation of laser systems. In particular, we investigate high-order harmonic generation in vacuum via the collision of two ultrastrong counterpropagating laser pulses. The experimental feasibility of the related process of stimulated light-by-light scattering is also examined. Finally, the importance of including diffractive effects to describe the nonlinear interaction between an x-ray probe and a strong, focused optical standing wave is pointed out.     

Electron-phonon interaction and current in strong electric fields

Using the Houston-wave approach we investigate the electron-phonon interaction in electric fieldsF which are sufficiently strong to change an electron's Bloch state drastically during the relaxation time τ, but still too weak to support standing electron waves between the band edges. We calculate τ for the low density, high temperature limit and find τ～F ^?1/2. The electric current in the field region of the “hot electrons” between its ohmic rise and its decrease proportional toF ^?1 is determined. Its increase withF ^+1/2 in the limit of relatively low fields agrees with Shockley's result.     

On the dissociation energy and interaction potential of ground-state Ne2

The thermal conductivity, λ, and the specific heat capacity per unit volume, ρC _p, of cyclopentane were determined in the range 100–300 K and up to 2·1 GPa. The transient hot-wire technique was used, and the experiments were carried out in a piston-cylinder apparatus. The λ values for the liquid and the two plastic crystalline phases are quite similar, while there is a strong increase corresponding to the plastic →normal crystal transition. In the normal crystal phase a T ^-1 dependence is observed, in contrast to the small variations of λ with temperature in the other phases. The pressure dependence of λ for the two plastic crystal phases shows a behaviour similar to that of the compressed liquid. Approximate ρC _p data are reported. An extended phase diagram for cyclopentane is given.     

Intersubband transport in quantum wells in strong magnetic fields mediated by single- and two-electron scattering

We show theoretically that in quantum wells subjected to a strong magnetic field the intersubband current peaks at magnetic field values, which reveal the underlying specific intersubband scattering mechanism. We have designed and grown a superlattice structure in which such current oscillations are clearly visible, and in which the transition from the purely single-electron to the mixed single- and two-electron scattering regimes can be observed by tuning the applied voltage bias. The measurements were conducted in ultrahigh magnetic fields (up to 45 T) to obtain the full spectrum of the current oscillations.     

Shell structure of the electromagnetic energy density in the presence of a ground-state hydrogen atom

The structure of the energy density of the virtual electromagnetic field surrounding a ground-state hydrogen atom is discussed in the framework of nonrelativistic QED. Both the electric and the magnetic part of this energy density are analysed in terms of a shell structure, similar to that previously proposed for the coarse grained energy density W(r). The physical meaning of this shell structure is discussed. It is suggested that, differently from W(r), the energy density investigated here can be measured experimentally, and it is shown that it is rich of detailed information about the dynamical structure of the source atom.     

The filled band contribution to the low temperature magnetization of graphite in strong magnetic fields

It is shown that the contribution of filled band electrons to the low-temperature magnetization of graphite explains remarkably well the recently observed high-field diamagnetism of graphite, refuting a previous theoretical prediction that graphite might become paramagnetic in the ultra-quantum limit.     

A new approach to the resonant interaction between atoms and strong electromagnetic field

The interaction of a two-level system with an intense electromagnetic field, is analysed by an approach which is capable of taking into account the character of interatomic collisions. This approach demonstrates why the Rabi shift cannot be observed in the Doppler limit, and clarifies the assumptions underlying the work of other authors.