Nuclear recoil effect on $g$ factor of heavy ions: prospects for tests of quantum electrodynamics in a new region

Abstract

The nuclear recoil effect on the $g$ factor of H- and Li-like heavy ions is evaluated to all orders in $\alpha Z$. 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 is masked by the uncertainties of the nuclear size and nuclear polarization contributions, it can be probed on a few-percent level in the specific difference of the $g$ factors of H- and Li-like heavy ions. This provides a unique opportunity to test QED in a new region --- strong-coupling regime beyond the Furry picture.