Recoil corrections with finite nuclear size in hydrogenic systems

Formulas for the combined nuclear-recoil and finite-nuclear-size effects of orders ${(Z\ensuremath{\alpha})}^{5}$ and ${(Z\ensuremath{\alpha})}^{6}$ are derived without any expansion in the nuclear-charge radius ${r}_{C}$, making them applicable to both electronic and muonic atoms. The obtained results are particularly relevant for high-precision determinations of root-mean-square charge radii from muonic atom spectroscopy. We demonstrate that calculations of the atomic isotope shift based on the widely used Breit approximation give rise to an unphysical nuclear-size contribution that is linear in the nuclear-charge radius ${r}_{C}$ at order ${(Z\ensuremath{\alpha})}^{5}$. This spurious term vanishes in a full QED treatment, leaving the correct contribution quadratic in ${r}_{C}$. For electronic atoms, this quadratic term is significantly smaller than the spurious linear contribution.

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Publication Details

Journal
Physical review. A/Physical review, A
Published
2025-03-27
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1103/physreva.111.032820
Citations
7
Primary Topic
Atomic and Molecular Physics
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
8.73
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article

Recoil corrections with finite nuclear size in hydrogenic systems

Krzysztof Pachucki, Vojtěch Patkóš, V. A. Yerokhin
7 citations
Physical review. A/Physical review, A
Atomic and Molecular Physics
8.73
article

Recoil corrections with finite nuclear size in hydrogenic systems

Krzysztof Pachucki, Vojtěch Patkóš, V. A. Yerokhin
article en
7 citations

Abstract

Formulas for the combined nuclear-recoil and finite-nuclear-size effects of orders ${(Z\ensuremath{\alpha})}^{5}$ and ${(Z\ensuremath{\alpha})}^{6}$ are derived without any expansion in the nuclear-charge radius ${r}_{C}$, making them applicable to both electronic and muonic atoms. The obtained results are particularly relevant for high-precision determinations of root-mean-square charge radii from muonic atom spectroscopy. We demonstrate that calculations of the atomic isotope shift based on the widely used Breit approximation give rise to an unphysical nuclear-size contribution that is linear in the nuclear-charge radius ${r}_{C}$ at order ${(Z\ensuremath{\alpha})}^{5}$. This spurious term vanishes in a full QED treatment, leaving the correct contribution quadratic in ${r}_{C}$. For electronic atoms, this quadratic term is significantly smaller than the spurious linear contribution.

Physical review. A/Physical review, AVol. 111(3)
Charles University (CZ), Max Planck Institute for Nuclear Physics (DE), University of Warsaw (PL)
Affordable and clean energy
Openalex Percentile: Top 2%
Atomic and Molecular Physics
8.73
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Recoil corrections with finite nuclear size in hydrogenic systems — Krzysztof Pachucki, Vojtěch Patkóš, et al. · Physical review. A/Physical review, A (2025) | TGRS Research Map | TGRS