DOI

The thermal two-photon level broadening of the excited energy levels in the hydrogen and H-like helium is evaluated via the imaginary part of thermal two-loop self-energy correction for bound electrons. All the derivations are presented in the framework of rigorous quantum electrodynamic theory at finite temperatures and are applicable for the H-like ions. On this basis, we found a contribution to the level broadening induced by the blackbody radiation which is fundamentally different from the usual line broadening caused by the stimulated two-photon decay and the Raman scattering of thermal photons. Numerical calculations of the two-loop thermal correction to the two-photon width for the 2s state in hydrogen and singly ionized helium atoms show that the effect could significantly exceed the higher-order relativistic and radiative QED corrections commonly included in the calculations. In addition, the thermal two-loop self-energy correction significantly exceeds the "ordinary"stimulated one-photon depopulation rate at the relevant laboratory temperatures. In this work, detailed analysis and the corresponding comparison of the effect with the existing laboratory measurements in H-like ions are carried out.

Язык оригиналаанглийский
Номер статьи032204
ЖурналPhysical Review A
Том102
Номер выпуска3
DOI
СостояниеОпубликовано - сен 2020

    Предметные области Scopus

  • Атомная и молекулярная физика и оптика

ID: 84993892