Model independent analysis of proton structure for hydrogenic bound states

TL;DR

This paper uses nonrelativistic QED effective field theory to analyze how proton structure affects hydrogenic bound states, highlighting model dependencies and sensitivities relevant to the Lamb shift in muonic hydrogen.

Contribution

It isolates model-dependent assumptions in proton structure analysis and identifies sensitivities to hadronic uncertainties in two-photon exchange effects.

Findings

Proton structure impacts hydrogenic energy levels.

Model assumptions influence Lamb shift calculations.

Sensitivity to hadronic uncertainties is significant.

Abstract

Proton structure effects in hydrogenic bound states are analyzed using nonrelativistic QED effective field theory. Implications for the Lamb shift in muonic hydrogen are discussed. Model-dependent assumptions in previous analyses are isolated, and sensitivity to poorly constrained hadronic structure in the two-photon exchange contribution is identified.