Abstract
Recently calculated radiative recoil and pure recoil contributions to the hydrogen Lamb shift are reviewed. The former arise from lowest order radiative corrections on the electron line, treating the proton mass as finite, and result in contributions of order α(Zα)5m2/M(−2.5kHz). The latter recoil corrections which come from double Coulomb, single transverse, and double transverse exchange processes lead to terms of order (Zα)6m2/M(−3.3kHz). An additional recoil correction, of order (Zα)4m3/M2(−2.2kHz), is also discussed.This recent work reduces the Lamb shift theory by 8kHz but the theoretical value is uncertain because of a discrepancy in the proton charge radius. For (r2p)1/2=0.805(11)fm we obtain 1,057,849(11) kHz while for (r2p)1/2=0.862(12)fm we find, 1,057,867(11)kHz for the n=2 splitting. This is to be compared to the measured values 1,057,849(9) kHz (Lundeen and Pipkin) and 1,057,851(2) kHz (Pal’chikov, et al.). Although the above numbers appear to support the smaller charge radius this conclusion is premature since there are still other theoretical contributions which have not been evaluated. These will be discussed.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
