Pure bound field corrections to the atomic energy levels and the proton size puzzle

TL;DR

This paper proposes a correction to atomic physics equations considering the bound electromagnetic field, which helps resolve the proton size puzzle and aligns theoretical predictions with experimental results for hydrogen and muonic hydrogen.

Contribution

It introduces a novel correction method based on total momentum conservation, addressing inconsistencies in atomic physics equations and providing a unified estimate for proton size across different atomic systems.

Findings

The correction yields a proton radius of approximately 0.841 fm.

It explains discrepancies in Lamb shift measurements for hydrogen and muonic hydrogen.

Predictions differ from standard calculations in high-Z meso-atoms, supported by some experimental data.

Abstract

Reinforcement of the puzzle about the proton charge radius r, stimulated by the recent experiments with muonic hydrogen induced news discussions on the subject, and now some physicists are ready to adopt the exotic properties of muon, lying beyond the Standard Model, in order to explain the difference between the results of muonic hydrogen experiments (r=0.84087(39) fm) and CODATA-2010 value r=0.8775(51) fm based on electron-proton scattering and H spectroscopy. In the present contribution we suggest a way to achieve a progress in the entire problem via paying attention on a logical inconsistency of fundamental equations of atomic physics, constructed by analogy with corresponding classical equations without, however, taking into account a purely bound nature of electromagnetic field generated by electrically bound particles in the stationary energy states. We suggest eliminating this inconsistency via introducing some appropriate correcting factors into these equations, which involve the requirement of total momentum conservation in the system of bound particles in the absence of electromagnetic radiation. We further show that this approach allows not only eliminating long-standing discrepancies between theory and experiment in physics of simple atoms, but also yields the same estimation for the proton size in the classic 2S-2P Lamb shift in hydrogen, 1S Lamb shift in hydrogen, and 2S-2P Lamb shift in muonic hydrogen, with the mean value r=0.841 fm. Finally, we suggest the crucial experiment for verification of the validity of pure bound field corrections: the measurement of lifetime of bound moun in meso-atoms with large Z, where the standard calculations and our predictions essentially deviate from each other, and some of the available experimental results (Yovanovitch, Phys. Rev. 117 (1960) 1580) strongly support our approach.