Quantum Electrodynamics and Fundamental Constants
Physical Measurement Laboratory, Quantum Measurement Division
NIST only participates in the February and August reviews.
Research is being done on the precision theoretical physics of simple atomic systems. The goal of this work is to make accurate predictions that can be compared to experiments in order to test quantum electrodynamics (QED) theory and derive improved values of fundamental constants, such as the Rydberg constant, the fine-structure constant, the mass of the electron, or the proton radius. Recent and ongoing work includes studies of the precise theory of Rydberg states in hydrogen-like atoms, black-body radiation effects on precision measurements, accurate prediction of QED corrections in the spectra of hydrogen, deuterium, and hydrogen-like atoms. We are also interested in the investigation of properties of photon wave functions. Studies are underway on the theory of muonic hydrogen in order to identify possible effects that could lead to a resolution of the recently observed discrepancy in the value of the radius of the proton observed in these atoms and the value obtained from precision spectroscopy of ordinary hydrogen and deuterium. Calculations of various effects are being carried out and suitable methods of numerical analysis are developed where necessary. Other topics along these lines are also of interest.