Quantum electrodynamics corrections to energies, transition amplitudes and parity nonconservation in Rb, Cs, Ba$^+$, Tl, Fr and Ra$^+$

TL;DR

This paper calculates quantum electrodynamics (QED) corrections to atomic energies and transition amplitudes, showing their significant impact on parity non-conservation measurements in various heavy atoms, using the radiative potential method.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive calculation of QED corrections to energies and transition amplitudes in atoms relevant for PNC studies, complementing previous work on weak matrix elements.

Findings

QED corrections significantly affect PNC amplitudes.

Energy and dipole transition corrections are comparable to weak matrix element corrections.

The radiative potential method effectively quantifies QED effects in heavy atoms.

Abstract

We use previously developed radiative potential method to calculate quantum electrodynamic (QED) corrections to energy levels and electric dipole transition amplitudes for atoms which are used for the study of the parity non-conservation (PNC) in atoms. The QED shift in energies and dipole amplitudes leads to noticeable change in the PNC amplitudes. This study compliments the previously considered QED corrections to the weak matrix elements. We demonstrate that the QED corrections due to the change in energies and dipole matrix elements are comparable in value to those due to change in weak matrix elements.