arXiv subjects

U. D. Jentschura

Publications and source records attributed to U. D. Jentschura.

At least 109 records · Page 6Linked to original sources

arXiv2010

Multi-Instantons and Exact Results III: Unified Description of the Resonances of Even and Odd Anharmonic Oscillators

This is the third article in a series of three papers on the resonance energy levels of anharmonic oscillators. Whereas the first two papers mainly dealt with double-well potentials and modifications thereof [see J. Zinn-Justin and U. D. Jentschura, Ann. Phys. (N.Y.) 313 (2004), pp. 197 and 269], we here focus on simple even and odd anharmonic oscillators for arbitrary magnitude and complex phase of the coupling parameter. A unification is achieved by the use of PT-symmetry inspired dispersion relations and generalized quantization conditions that include instanton configurations. Higher-order formulas are provided for the oscillators of degrees 3 to 8, which lead to subleading corrections to the leading factorial growth of the perturbative coefficients describing the resonance energies. Numerical results are provided, and higher-order terms are found to be numerically significant. The resonances are described by generalized expansions involving intertwined non-analytic exponentials, logarithmic terms and power series. Finally, we summarize spectral properties and dispersion relations of anharmonic oscillators, and their interconnections. The purpose is to look at one of the classic problems of quantum theory from a new perspective, through which we gain systematic access to the phenomenologically significant higher-order terms.

math-ph↗

arXiv2010

Separation of Transitions with Two Quantum Jumps from Cascades

We consider the general scenario of an excited level |i> of a quantum system that can decay via two channels: (i) via a single-quantum jump to an intermediate, resonant level |bar m>, followed by a second single-quantum jump to a final level |f>, and (ii) via a two-quantum transition to a final level |f>. Cascade processes |i> -> |bar m> -> | f> and two-quantum transitions |i> -> |m> -> |f> compete (in the latter case, |m> can be both a nonresonant as well as a resonant level). General expressions are derived within second-order time-dependent perturbation theory, and the cascade contribution is identified. When the one-quantum decay rates of the virtual states are included into the complex resonance energies that enter the propagator denominator, it is found that the second-order decay rate contains the one-quantum decay rate of the initial state as a lower-order term. For atomic transitions, this implies that the differential-in-energy two-photon transition rate with complex resonance energies in the propagator denominators can be used to good accuracy even in the vicinity of resonance poles.

physics.atom-ph↗

arXiv2010

Self-Energy Correction to the Bound-Electron g Factor of P States

The radiative self-energy correction to the bound-electron g factor of 2P_1/2 and 2P_3/2 states in one-electron ions is evaluated to order alpha (Z alpha)^2. The contribution of high-energy virtual photons is treated by means of an effective Dirac equation, and the result is verified by an approach based on long-wavelength quantum electrodynamics. The contribution of low-energy virtual photons is calculated both in the velocity and in the length gauge and gauge invariance is verified explicitly. The results compare favorably to recently available numerical data for hydrogenlike systems with low nuclear charge numbers.

physics.atom-ph↗

arXiv2009

QED corrections of order alpha (Zalpha)^2 E_F to the hyperfine splitting of P_1/2 and P_3/2 states in hydrogenlike ions

The hyperfine structure (HFS) of a bound electron is modified by the self-interaction of the electron with its own radiation field. This effect is known as the self-energy correction. In this work, we discuss the evaluation of higher-order self-energy corrections to the HFS of bound P states. These are expressed in a semi-analytic expansion involving powers of Zalpha and ln(Zalpha), where Z is the nuclear charge number and alpha is the fine-structure constant. We find that the correction of relative order alpha (Zalpha)^2 involves only a single logarithm ln(Zalpha) for P_1/2 states [but no term of order alpha (Zalpha)^2 ln^2(Zalpha), whereas for P_3/2 states, even the single logarithm vanishes. By a Foldy-Wouthuysen transformation, we identify a nuclear-spin dependent correction to the electron's transition current, which contributes to the HFS of P states. A comparison of the obtained analytic results to a numerical approach is made.

physics.atom-ph↗

arXiv2009

Correlated two-photon emission by transitions of Dirac-Volkov states in intense laser fields: QED predictions

In an intense laser field, an electron may decay by emitting a pair of photons. The two photons emitted during the process, which can be interpreted as a laser-dressed double Compton scattering, remain entangled in a quantifiable way: namely, the so-called concurrence of the photon polarizations gives a gauge-invariant measure of the correlation of the hard gamma rays. We calculate the differential rate and concurrence for a backscattering setup of the electron and photon beam, employing Volkov states and propagators for the electron lines, thus accounting nonperturbatively for the electron-laser interaction. The nonperturbative results are shown to differ significantly compared to those obtained from the usual double Compton scattering.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2009

Nonperturbative treatment of double Compton backscattering in intense laser fields

The emission of a pair of entangled photons by an electron in an intense laser field can be described by two-photon transitions of laser-dressed, relativistic Dirac--Volkov states. In the limit of a small laser field intensity, the two-photon transition amplitude approaches the result predicted by double Compton scattering theory. Multi-exchange processes with the laser field, including a large number of exchanged laser photons, cannot be described without the fully relativistic Dirac--Volkov propagator. The nonperturbative treatment significantly alters theoretical predictions for future experiments of this kind. We quantify the degree of polarization correlation of the photons in the final state by employing the well-established concurrence as a measure of the entanglement.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2009

Relativistic (Z alpha)^2-Corrections and Leading Quantum Electrodynamic Corrections to the Two-Photon Decay Rate of Ionic States

We calculate the relativistic corrections of relative order (Z alpha)^2$ to the two-photon decay rate of higher excited S and D states in ionic atomic systems, and we also evaluate the leading radiative corrections of relative order alpha (Z alpha)^2 ln[(Z alpha)^(-2)]. We thus complete the theory of the two-photon decay rates up to relative order alpha^3 ln(alpha). An approach inspired by nonrelativistic quantum electrodynamics is used. We find that the corrections of relative order (Z alpha)^2 to the two-photon decay are given by the zitterbewegung, the spin-orbit coupling and by relativistic corrections to the electron mass, and by quadrupole interactions. We show that all corrections are separately gauge-invariant with respect to a "hybrid" transformation from velocity to length gauge, where the gauge transformation of the wave function is neglected. The corrections are evaluated for the two-photon decay from 2S, 3S, 3D, and 4S states in one-electron (hydrogenlike) systems, with 1S and 2S final states.

physics.atom-ph↗

arXiv2009

Nuclear form factor, validity of the equivalent photon approximation and Coulomb corrections to muon pair production in photon-nucleus and nucleus-nucleus collisions

We study in detail the influence of the nuclear form factor both on the Born cross section and on the Coulomb corrections to the photo-production of muon pairs off heavy nuclei (gamma Z -> mu+ mu- Z$) and in heavy-ion collisions (ZZ -> ZZ mu+ mu-). Our findings indicate a number of issues which have not been sufficiently described as yet in the literature: (i) the use of a realistic form factor, based on the Fermi charge distribution for the nucleus, is absolutely indispensable for reliable theoretical predictions; (ii) we checked quantitatively that the equivalent photon approximation has a very good accuracy for the discussed processes; and (iii) we present a leading logarithmic calculation of the Coulomb corrections which correspond to multi-photon exchange of the produced mu+/- with the nuclei. These corrections are found to be small (on the percent level). Our result justifies using the Born approximation for numerical simulations of the discussed process at the RHIC and LHC colliders. Finally, we calculate the total cross section for muon pair production at RHIC and LHC.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2009

Binding two-loop vacuum-polarization corrections to the bound-electron g factor

We commence the evaluation of the one- and two-loop binding corrections to the $g factor for an electron in a hydrogenlike system of order alpha^2 (Z alpha)^5 and consider diagrams with closed fermion loops. The one-loop vacuum-polarization correction is rederived and confirmed. For the two-loop vacuum-polarization correction, due to a specific gauge-invariant set of diagrams with closed fermion loops, we find a correction delta g = 7.442 (alpha/pi)^2 (Z alpha)^5. Based on the numerical trend of the coefficients inferred from the gauge-invariant subset, we obtain a numerically large tentative estimate for the complete two-loop binding correction to the g factor (sum of self-energy and vacuum polarization).

hep-ph↗

arXiv2009

Fundamental constants and tests of theory in Rydberg states of hydrogen-like ions

Comparison of precision frequency measurements to quantum electrodynamics (QED) predictions for Rydberg states of hydrogen-like ions can yield information on values of fundamental constants and test theory. With the results of a calculation of a key QED contribution reported here, the uncertainty in the theory of the energy levels is reduced to a level where such a comparison can yield an improved value of the Rydberg constant.

physics.atom-ph↗

arXiv2009

Unified Treatment of Even and Odd Anharmonic Oscillators of Arbitrary Degree

We present a unified treatment, including higher-order corrections, of anharmonic oscillators of arbitrary even and odd degree. Our approach is based on a dispersion relation which takes advantage of the PT-symmetry of odd potentials for imaginary coupling parameter, and of generalized quantization conditions which take into account instanton contributions. We find a number of explicit new results, including the general behaviour of large-order perturbation theory for arbitrary levels of odd anharmonic oscillators, and subleading corrections to the decay width of excited states for odd potentials, which are numerically significant.

math-ph↗

arXiv2009

Emission of Low-Energy Photons by Electrons at Electron-Positron and Electron-Ion Colliders with Dense Bunches

Usually, the emission of low-energy photons in electron-positron (or electron-ion) bunch collisions is calculated with the same approach as for synchrotron radiation (beamstrahlung). However, for soft photons (E_gamma < E_c where E_c is a critical photon energy), when the coherence length of the radiation becomes comparable to the bunch length, the beamstrahlung approximation becomes invalid. In this paper, we present results of our calculation for this region based on approximation of classical currents. We consider several colliders with dense bunches. The number of low-energy photons dN_gamma emitted by N_e electrons per bunch crossing in the energy interval dE_gamma is dN_gamma = alpha g N_e dE_gamma/E_gamma, where alpha is the fine-structure constant, and the function g, which depends on the bunch parameters, typically is of order unity for modern colliders. In particular, for the ILC, we find that E_c = 83 keV and g=5.5 at a vanishing beam axis displacement, and g=0.88, E_c=0.24 keV for KEKB. We also calculate the specific dependence of dN_gamma on the impact parameter between the two beam axes. In principle, the latter aspect allows for online monitoring of the beam axis displacement.

physics.acc-ph↗

arXiv2008

Reexamining Black-Body Shifts for Hydrogenlike Ions

We investigate black-body induced energy shifts for low-lying levels of atomic systems, with a special emphasis on transitions used in current and planned high-precision experiments on atomic hydrogen and ionized helium. Fine-structure and Lamb-shift induced black-body shifts are found to increase with the square of the nuclear charge number, whereas black-body shifts due to virtual transitions decrease with increasing nuclear charge as the fourth power of the nuclear charge. We also investigate the decay width acquired by the ground state of atomic hydrogen, due to interaction with black-body photons. The corresponding width is due to an instability against excitation to higher excited atomic levels, and due to black-body induced ionization. These effects limit the lifetime of even the most fundamental, a priori absolutely stable, "asymptotic" state of atomic theory, namely the ground state of atomic hydrogen.

physics.atom-ph↗

arXiv2008

Revisiting unitarity corrections for electromagnetic processes in collisions of relativistic nuclei

Unitarity corrections to several electromagnetic processes in collisions of relativistic heavy nuclei are considered. They are due to the unitarity requirement for the S-matrix and correspond to the exchange of light-by-light scattering block between colliding nuclei. We obtain improved results for the corrections to e+e- and mu+mu- pair production, as well as new results for unitarity corrections to the production of photons via virtual Compton and virtual Delbruck scattering. These corrections can be numerically large; e.g., the mu+mu- pair production cross section is reduced by about 50% and the nuclear bremsstrahlung by about 15 to 20%.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2008

Electron self-energy in the presence of magnetic field: hyperfine splitting and g factor

A high-precision numerical calculation is reported for the self-energy correction to the hyperfine splitting and to the bound-electron g factor in hydrogenlike ions with low nuclear charge numbers. The binding nuclear Coulomb field is treated to all orders, and the nonperturbative remainder beyond the known $Zα$-expansion coefficients is determined. For the $^3{\rm He}^+$ ion, the nonperturbative remainder yields a contribution of -450 Hz to the normalized difference of the 1S and 2S hyperfine-structure intervals, to be compared with the experimental uncertainty of 71 Hz and with the theoretical error of 50 Hz due to other contributions. In the case of the g factor, the calculation provides the most stringent test of equivalence of the perturbative and nonperturbative approaches reported so far in the bound-state QED calculations.

physics.atom-ph↗

arXiv2008

Structure, Time Propagation and Dissipative Terms for Resonances

For odd anharmonic oscillators, it is well known that complex scaling can be used to determine resonance energy eigenvalues and the corresponding eigenvectors in complex rotated space. We briefly review and discuss various methods for the numerical determination of such eigenvalues, and also discuss the connection to the case of purely imaginary coupling, which is PT-symmetric. Moreover, we show that a suitable generalization of the complex scaling method leads to an algorithm for the time propagation of wave packets in potentials which give rise to unstable resonances. This leads to a certain unification of the structure and the dynamics. Our time propagation results agree with known quantum dynamics solvers and allow for a natural incorporation of structural perturbations (e.g., due to dissipative processes) into the quantum dynamics.

math-ph↗

arXiv2008

Quasiclassical description of bremsstrahlung accompanying alpha decay including quadrupole radiation

We present a quasiclassical theory of alpha decay accompanied by bremsstrahlung with a special emphasis on the case of 210Po, with the aim of finding a unified description that incorporates both the radiation during the tunneling through the Coulomb wall and the finite energy E_gamma of the radiated photon up to E_gamma on the order of Q_alpha/sqrt(eta), where Q_alpha is the alpha-decay Q-value and eta is the Sommerfeld parameter. The corrections with respect to previous quasiclassical investigations are found to be substantial, and excellent agreement with a full quantum mechanical treatment is achieved. Furthermore, we find that a dipole-quadrupole interference significantly changes the alpha-gamma angular correlation. We obtain good agreement between our theoretical predictions and experimental results.

nucl-th↗

arXiv2008

Isotope shift in the dielectronic recombination of three-electron ^{A}Nd^{57+}

Isotope shifts in dielectronic recombination spectra were studied for Li-like ^{A}Nd^{57+} ions with A=142 and A=150. From the displacement of resonance positions energy shifts δE^{142,150}(2s-2p_1/2)= 40.2(3)(6) meV (stat)(sys)) and δE^{142,150}(2s-2p_3/2) = 42.3(12)(20) meV of 2s-2p_j transitions were deduced. An evaluation of these values within a full QED treatment yields a change in the mean-square charge radius of ^{142,150}δ = -1.36(1)(3) fm^2. The approach is conceptually new and combines the advantage of a simple atomic structure with high sensitivity to nuclear size.

physics.atom-ph↗