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A careful investigation of different corrections to binding energies of electrons in almost critical fields is performed. We investigate quantitatively the influence of the nuclear charge parameters, nuclear mass, degree of ionization on the value of the critical charge of the nucleus. Rather qualitative arguments are given to establish the contribution of the quantumelectrodynamic corrections, which are found to be small. Some phenomenological modifications of QED are quantitatively investigated and found to be of negligible influence on the value of the critical field. For heavy ion collisions with Z1+Z2>Zcr the critical separations between ions are given as results of precise solutions of the relativistic two coulomb center problem. Corrections due to electron-electron interaction are considered. We find (with present theoretical accuracy) Zcr=173±2, in the heavy ion collisions Rcr(U-U) = 34.7±2 fm and Rcr (U-Cf)=47.7±2 fm. We shortly consider the possibility of spontaneous muon production in muonic supercritical fields.
We consider the contribution of nuclear polarization to the Lamb shift of K- and L-shell electrons in heavy atoms and quasiatoms. Our formal approach is based on the concept of effective photon propagators with nuclear-polarization insertions treating effects of nuclear polarization on the same footing as usual QED radiative corrections. We explicitly derive the modification of the photon propagator for various collective nuclear excitations and calculate the corresponding effective self-energy shift perturbatively. The energy shift of the 1s1/2 state in 92238U due to virtual excitation of nuclear rotational states is shown to be a considerable correction for atomic high-precision experiments. In contrast to this, nuclear-polarization effects are of minor importance for Lamb-shift studies in 82208Pb.
We investigate the influence of additional nonlinear terms in the Dirac Lagrangian on strongly bound electron states in heavy and superheavy atoms. Upper bounds for the coupling constants are deduced by comparison with precision spectroscopy data in QED. We demonstrate that nonlinear interactions may cause significant modifications of electron binding energies in superheavy quasiatomic systems which would not be visible in ordinary atomic-physics measurements.
We discuss the multiplicity distribution of electron-positron pairs created in the strong electromagnetic fields of ultrarelativistic heavy-ion transits. Based on nonperturbative expressions for the N-pair creation amplitudes, the Poisson distribution is derived by neglecting interference terms. The source of unitarity violation is identified in the vacuum-to-vacuum amplitude, and a perturbative expression for the mean number of pairs is given.
Coupled channel calculations for Coulomb and nuclear excitation of the systems 136Xe-238U and 238U-238U have been performed using the rotation-vibration model. The impact parameter-, energy-and spin-dependence of the excitation probabilities are discussed for the ground state-, β-and γ-band up to Jπ = 36+. It is shown that the energy levels and quadrupole matrix elements are strongly influenced by the rotation-vibration interaction. Analytic expressions for the elastic and coupling potentials are presented.
Conversion processes in light nuclei with transition energies above the e+, e- pair creation threshold are investigated within an analytical framework. In particular, we evaluate the ratio of electron transition probabilities from the negative energy continuum into the atomic K shell and into the positive energy continuum, respectively. The possible role of monoenergetic positron conversion with respect to the striking peak structures observed in e+ spectra from very heavy collision systems is examined.
In view of new high-precision experiments in atomic physics it seems necessary to reexamine nonlinear theories of electrodynamics. The precise calculation of electronic and muonic atomic energies has been used to determine the possible size of the upper limit Emax to the electric field strength, which has been assumed to be a parameter. This is opposed to Born's idea of a purely electromagnetic origin of the electron's mass which determines Emax. We find Emax≥1.7×1020 V/cm.
We present calculations for the impact-parameter dependence of K-shell ionization rates in p¯-Cu and in p¯-Ag collisions at various projectile energies. We show that the effect of the attractive Coulomb potential on the Rutherford trajectory and the antibinding effect caused by the negative charge of the antiproton result in a considerable increase of the ionization probability. Total ionization cross sections for proton and antiproton projectiles are compared with each other and with experimental ionization cross sections for protons.
Ionization, pair creation, and electron excitations in relativistic heavy-ion collisions are investigated in the framework of the coupled-channel formalism. Collisions between heavy projectiles and Pb82+ are considered for various bombarding energies in the region E=500 up to 2000 MeV/u. Useful symmetry relations for the matrix elements are derived and the influence of gauge transformations onto the coupled-channel equations is explored.