Test of electron screening and vacuum polarization in heavy muonic atoms

Abstract

Energies of higherΜ X-rays have been measured in103Rh,natHg and203Tl to test the vacuum polarization correction and the electron screening effect in heavy muonic atoms. For tests of the energy calibration delayed nuclearγ-rays from theΜ-capture reaction were used. The experimental data agree to better than 4% with self-consistent Hartree-Fock calculations of the electron screening. Transitions which are sensitive to the vacuum polarization correction mainly, verify the calculations to better than 1.5%. Comparing all at present existing experiments with latest calculations no significant deviation of more than 0.7% of the vacuum polarization correction can be deduced.