arXiv subjects

Vladimir A. Yerokhin

Publications and source records attributed to Vladimir A. Yerokhin.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Parts-per-million-accurate determination of the K$α$ photoionization resonance of Be-like oxygen with resolution of its $^{16}$O-$^{18}$O isotopic shift

We determine with high accuracy the energy of the inner-shell transition $1s^2 2s^2~{}^1\mathrm{S}_0 \rightarrow 1s~2s^2~2p_{3/2}~{}^1\mathrm{P}_1$ ${}^{16}\mathrm{O}_{Kα}^{4+}$ at $554.372(3)~\mathrm{eV}$ ($λ$ = $22.36480(12)~\unicode{x212B}$) as well as its small shift of $2.2 \pm 1.3~\mathrm{meV}$ ($Δλ$ = $0.089(52)~\mathrm{m}\unicode{x212B}$) for the ${}^{18}\mathrm{O}$ isotope. This transition blends with a $K_α$ line of $\mathrm{O}^{5+}$ used in astrophysical diagnostics, potentially affecting its reliability. In contrast to our experimental uncertainty of $\pm 3~\mathrm{meV}$, advanced electronic structure predictions for this four-electron system, including quantum electrodynamic (QED) corrections on the order of $100~\mathrm{meV}$, still scatter by more than $\pm 250~\mathrm{meV}$. Ions generated and stored in an electron beam ion trap were excited at the ELETTRA synchrotron facility with monochromatic soft x rays, with photon energies corrected by an additional spectrometer. Upon resonant excitation of $\mathrm{O}^{4+}$ and subsequent autoionization, we separate the photoions of each isotope by a time-of-flight measurement. This way, we resolve soft x-ray isotopic shifts of a few meV, obtain very accurate data on an essential astrophysical ion, and test calculations down to the level of QED contributions.

physics.atom-ph↗

arXiv2026

Energy levels of multiscale bound states from QED energy-momentum trace

Energy levels of QED bound states, which depend on a number of independent mass parameters, can be calculated as matrix elements of the QED energy-momentum tensor trace. As an example of such system we consider muonic hydrogen. The leading one-loop corrections to its energy levels depend on the electron and muon masses. These corrections are calculated as matrix elements of the energy-momentum tensor trace. Respective one-loop trace diagrams are different from the standard Lamb shift diagrams. We explain analytically and diagrammatically why two different sets of diagrams lead to the same results. Similar relationships should also hold beyond the one-loop approximation.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2026

Two-body $P$-state energies at $α^6$ order

We present an analytical calculation of the complete $α^6$ correction to energies of $nP$-levels of two-body systems consisting of the spin-$0$ or $1/2$ extended-size particles with arbitrary masses and magnetic moments. The obtained results apply to a wide class of two-body systems such as hydrogen, positronium, muonium, and pionic or aniprotonic helium ion. We found an additional $α^6$ correction for $nP$-levels of positronium, which was previously overlooked. Our results are also relevant for light muonic atoms, whose accurate theoretical predictions are required for extracting the nuclear charge radii.

physics.atom-ph↗

arXiv2025

QED nuclear recoil effect in helium isotope shift

We present a detailed investigation of the leading-order $mα^5$ QED correction with inclusion of the finite-nuclear-mass effects. Previously, this correction had been calculated within an expansion in the electron-nucleus mass ratio $m/M$ up to the first order. In this work, we derive formulas for the $mα^5$ QED contribution that are valid up to the second order in $m/M$, and perform its calculation for the $^3$He$-$$^4$He isotope shift, leading to an improved determination of the nuclear charge-radius difference.

physics.atom-ph↗

arXiv2025

Testing inter-electronic interaction in lithium-like tin

Magnetic moments of bound-electron systems are a sensitive tool for testing fundamental interactions. $g$ factors of lithium-like ions have been rigorously studied in recent years, enabling insights into the relativistic inter-electronic effects. Here, we present the $g$-factor measurement of lithium-like tin, accurate to 0.5 parts per billion, as well as \textit{ab initio} theoretical calculations that include an advanced treatment of the inter-electronic interaction. We further improve the prediction by using the experimental result for the hydrogen-like tin $g$ factor, inferring from it the unknown higher-order QED effects. The observed agreement independently confirms the revised theory at a previously inaccessible high nuclear charge $Z$ of 50, where QED effects are significantly larger.

physics.atom-ph↗

arXiv2025

Recoil corrections with finite nuclear size in hydrogenic systems

Formulas for the combined nuclear-recoil and finite-nuclear-size effects of order $(Z\,α)^5$ and $(Z\,α)^6$ 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 $(Z\,α)^5$. 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.

physics.atom-ph↗

arXiv2024

Second-order hyperfine correction to H, D, and $^3$He energy levels

The complete second-order hyperfine-interaction correction is calculated for centroid energy levels of H, D, and $^3$He atoms. For $^3$He, the corrections of $-2.075$~kHz and $-0.305$~kHz beyond the leading hyperfine-mixing contribution are obtained for the $2^1S$ and $2^3S$ states, respectively. These results shift the nuclear charge radii difference derived from the $^3$He -$^4$He isotope shift and largely resolve the previously reported disagreement between the muonic and electronic helium determinations [van der Werf et al., arXiv:2306.02333 (2023); Schuhmann et al., arXiv:2305.11679 (2023)].

physics.atom-ph↗

arXiv2024

Improved bound-electron g-factor theory through complete two-loop QED calculations

The two-loop self-energy correction to the bound-electron $g$-factor in hydrogenlike ions is investigated, taking into account the electron-nucleus interaction exactly. This all-order calculation is required to improve the total theoretical uncertainty of the $g$-factor, which is limited by the fact that two-loop self-energy corrections have only been calculated so far in the form of an expansion in $Zα$. Here, $Z$ is the nuclear charge number and $α$ is the fine-structure constant. In this work, we report calculations of the last missing parts of the total two-loop self-energy correction, exactly in $Zα$. We apply our theory to the recently measured $g$-factor of the hydrogenlike $^{118}$Sn$^{49+}$ ion [J. Morgner et al., Nature 622, 53 (2023)] and, with a factor of 8, improve the accuracy of its state-of-the-art theoretical value by almost one order of magnitude, enabling more detailed tests of quantum electrodynamics and new physics in strong fields.

physics.atom-ph↗

arXiv2024

Precision spectroscopy on $^9$Be overcomes limitations from nuclear structure

Many powerful tests of the Standard Model of particle physics and searches for new physics with precision atomic spectroscopy are plagued by our lack of knowledge of nuclear properties. Ideally, such properties may be derived from precise measurements of the most sensitive and theoretically best-understood observables, often found in hydrogen-like systems. While these measurements are abundant for the electric properties of nuclei, they are scarce for the magnetic properties, and precise experimental results are limited to the lightest of nuclei. Here, we focus on $^9$Be which offers the unique possibility to utilize comparisons between different charge states available for high-precision spectroscopy in Penning traps to test theoretical calculations typically obscured by nuclear structure. In particular, we perform the first high-precision spectroscopy of the $1s$ hyperfine and Zeeman structure in hydrogen-like $^9$Be$^{3+}$. We determine its effective Zemach radius with an uncertainty of $500$ ppm, and its bare nuclear magnetic moment with an uncertainty of $0.6$ parts-per-billion (ppb) - uncertainties unmatched beyond hydrogen. Moreover, we compare to measurements conducted on the three-electron charge state $^9$Be$^{+}$, which, for the first time, enables testing the calculation of multi-electron diamagnetic shielding effects of the nuclear magnetic moment at the ppb level. In addition, we test quantum electrodynamics (QED) methods used for the calculation of the hyperfine splitting. Our results serve as a crucial benchmark essential for transferring high-precision results of nuclear magnetic properties across different electronic configurations.

physics.atom-ph↗

arXiv2024

Heavy-particle quantum electrodynamics

The quantum electrodynamic formalism is presented for the systematic and exact in $Z\,α$ derivation of nuclear recoil corrections in hydrogenic systems.

physics.atom-ph↗

arXiv2024

Nuclear magnetic shielding in heliumlike ions

Ab initio QED calculations of the nuclear magnetic shielding constant in helium-like ions are presented. We combine the nonrelativistic QED approach based on an expansion in powers of the fine-structure constant $α$ and the so-called ``all-order'' QED approach which includes all orders in the parameter $Zα$ but uses a perturbation expansion in the parameter $1/Z$ (where $Z$ is the nuclear charge number). The combination of the two complementary methods makes our treatment applicable both to low-$Z$ and high-$Z$ ions. Our calculations confirm the presence of a rare antiscreening effect for the relativistic shielding correction and demonstrate the importance of the inclusion of the negative-energy part of the Dirac spectrum.

physics.atom-ph↗

arXiv2023

Hyperfine splitting in $^{6,7}$Li$^+$

We present a detailed derivation of the QED effects of order $α^7\,m$ to the hyperfine structure (hfs) of the $^3S$ states of helium-like ions and perform numerical calculations for $^6$Li$^+$ and $^7$Li$^+$. By comparing the theoretical point-nucleus results with the measured hfs of Li$^+$, we determine the nuclear-structure contribution parameterized in terms of the effective Zemach radius. Using the experimental hfs results for Li$^+$, we obtain accurate predictions for the hfs of $^6$Li$^{2+}$ and $^7$Li$^{2+}$, for which no experimental data is available so far. By examining the normalized differences of the hfs of Li$^{+}$ and Li and of the corresponding isotope-shift differences, we test the consistency of the hfs measurements in $^{6,7}$Li$^{+}$ and $^{6,7}$Li.

physics.atom-ph↗

arXiv2023

Higher-order QED corrections to the hyperfine splitting in $^3$He

We present a calculation of the hyperfine splitting of the $2^3S$ state in the $^3$He atom with inclusion of all QED effects up to $α^3E_F$, where $E_F$ is the Fermi splitting. Using the experimental value of the $1S$ hyperfine splitting in $^3$He$^+$, we obtain the theoretical prediction for $^3$He of $ν_\mathrm{hfs}= -6\,739\,701\,181(41)$ Hz, which is in perfect agreement with the experimental value $-6\,739\,701\,177(16)$ Hz [S. D. Rosner and F. M. Pipkin, Phys. Rev. A ${\bf 1}$, 571 (1970)]. This result constitutes a 40-fold improvement in precision as compared to the previous value and is the most accurate theoretical prediction ever obtained for a non-hydrogenic system.

physics.atom-ph↗

arXiv2023

QED calculations of the nuclear recoil effect in muonic atoms

The nuclear recoil effect, known also as the mass shift, is one of theoretical contributions to the energy levels in muonic atoms. Accurate theoretical predictions are therefore needed for extracting e.g. the nuclear charge radii from experimental spectra. We report rigorous QED calculations of the nuclear recoil correction in muonic atoms, carried out to all orders in the nuclear binding strength parameter $Zα$ (where $Z$ is the nuclear charge number and $α$ is the fine structure constant). The calculations show differences with the previous approximate treatment of this effect, most pronounced for the lowest-lying bound states. The calculated recoil correction was found to be sensitive to the nuclear charge radius, which needs to be accounted for when extracting nuclear parameters from the measured spectra.

physics.atom-ph↗

arXiv2023

Accurate determination of $^{6,7}$Li nuclear magnetic moments

We report an accurate determination of the nuclear magnetic dipole moments of $^{6,7}$Li from the measured ratio of the nuclear and the electron $g$-factors in atomic Li. The obtained results significantly improve upon the literature values and stress the importance of reliable theoretical calculations of the nuclear shielding corrections.

physics.atom-ph↗

arXiv2023

An Optical Atomic Clock Based on a Highly Charged Ion

Optical atomic clocks are the most accurate measurement devices ever constructed and have found many applications in fundamental science and technology. The use of highly charged ions (HCI) as a new class of references for highest accuracy clocks and precision tests of fundamental physics has long been motivated by their extreme atomic properties and reduced sensitivity to perturbations from external electric and magnetic fields compared to singly charged ions or neutral atoms. Here we present the first realisation of this new class of clocks, based on an optical magnetic-dipole transition in Ar$^{13+}$. Its comprehensively evaluated systematic frequency uncertainty of $2.2\times10^{-17}$ is comparable to that of many optical clocks in operation. From clock comparisons we improve by eight and nine orders of magnitude upon the uncertainties for the absolute transition frequency and isotope shift ($^{40}$Ar vs. $^{36}$Ar), respectively. These measurements allow us to probe the largely unexplored quantum electrodynamic nuclear recoil, presented as part of improved calculations of the isotope shift which reduce the uncertainty of previous theory by a factor of three. This work establishes forbidden optical transitions in HCI as references for cutting-edge optical clocks and future high-sensitivity searches for physics beyond the standard model.

physics.atom-ph↗

arXiv2023

Calculation of isotope shifts and King plot nonlinearities in Ca$^+$

Many-body perturbation theory is implemented in order to calculate the isotope shifts of $4s$, $4p_{1/2}$, $4p_{3/2}$, $3d_{3/2}$, and $3d_{5/2}$ energy levels of Ca$^+$, for even isotopes $A=$40, 42, 44, 46, 48. The results are presented for mass shift and field shift, as well as for higher-order field shifts, quadratic mass shift, nuclear polarization correction, and the cross term between field and mass shifts. Additionally, we examine King-plot nonlinearities introduced by the higher-order isotope-shift corrections to the combinations of $3d_{3/2}\rightarrow 4s$, $3d_{5/2}\rightarrow 4s$, and $4p_{1/2}\rightarrow 4s$ transitions. For these transitions, second-order mass shift and nuclear polarization correction are identified as the dominant sources of King plot nonlinearity.

physics.atom-ph↗

arXiv2023

Nuclear polarizability effects in $^3$He$^+$ hyperfine splitting

The nuclear polarizability effects in hyperfine splitting of light atomic systems are not well known. The only system for which they were previously calculated is the hydrogen atom, where these effects were shown to contribute about 5\% of the total nuclear correction. One generally expects the polarizability effects to become more pronounced for composite nuclei. In the present work we determine the nuclear polarizability correction to the hyperfine splitting in He$^+$ by comparing the effective Zemach radius deduced from the experimental hyperfine splitting with the Zemach radius obtained from the electron scattering. We obtain a surprising result that the nuclear polarizability of the helion yields just 3\% of the total nuclear correction, which is smaller than for the proton.

physics.atom-ph↗