A modification of a previous semiclassical explanation of the Lamb shift is shown to be applicable to all levels in hydrogenic ions. The phenomenon responsible for the level shifts has not been considered explicitly in other quantum electrodynamic or semiclassical theories, but it is shown that it should be a source of observable energy changes. An approximate calculation for hydrogen s states gives ΔE1s=0.25748 cm−1 (experimental ΔE1s=0.2722 cm−1), ΔE2s=0.03755 cm−1 =1125.7 MHz (experimental ΔE2s=0.03528 cm−1), and ΔE3s=0.01166 cm−1 (experimental ΔE3s =0.0088 cm−1), but more important is the demonstration of an effect which should apparently be involved in any theory of the Lamb shift.
REFERENCES
1.
2.
J. H. Eberly, “Unified View of Spontaneous Emission,” in Foundations of Radiation Theory and Quantum Electrodynamics, edited by A. O. Barut (Plenum, New York, 1980), p. 31.
3.
J. T. F. Barwick, Ph.D. dissertation (Univ. of Tennessee, 1979) (unpublished).
4.
5.
A11 equations are written with whatever combination of the constants and is necessary to make them compatible with all systems of electromagnetic units. For SI, Gaussian, Heavyside‐Lorentz, esu, emu,
6.
T. W.
Hansch
, A. L.
Schawlow
, and G. W.
Series
, Sci. Am.
240
(3
), 94
(1979
).7.
8.
S.
Triebwasser
, E. S.
Dayhoff
, and W. E.
Lamb
, Phys. Rev.
89
, 98
(1953
).9.
P. J. Mohr, “Lamb Shift in Hydrogenlike Ions,” in Beam Foil Spectroscopy, edited by I. Sellin and D. Pegg (Plenum, New York, 1976), Vol. 1, p. 89.
10.
J. D. Jackson, Classical Electrodynamics, 1st ed. (Wiley, New York, 1962), Chap. 1.
11.
D. I. Blokhintsev, Principles of Quantum Mechanics (Allyn and Bacon, Boston, 1964), p. 246.
12.
Note the necessity of using all components (χ) of the electron spinor to get any at all.
13.
Mohr, Ref. 9, p. 90.
14.
R. B. Leighton, Principles of Modern Physics (McGraw‐Hill, New York, 1959), p. 277.
This content is only available via PDF.
© 1983 American Institute of Physics.
1983
American Institute of Physics
You do not currently have access to this content.
