# Effects of the fermionic vacuum polarization in QED

## TL;DR

This paper investigates unique effects of vacuum polarization in QED caused by field sources, including exact calculations of interaction energies and their influence on atomic and string configurations, highlighting phenomena absent in classical Maxwell theory.

## Contribution

It provides exact Meijer-G function expressions for Uehling interaction energy and explores vacuum polarization effects on hydrogen atoms and Dirac strings, revealing novel quantum phenomena.

## Key findings

- Exact Meijer-G function expression for Uehling energy
- Vacuum polarization effects on hydrogen atom energy levels
- Interaction between Dirac strings and quantum particles

## Abstract

Some effects of vacuum polarization in QED due to the presence of field sources are investigated. We focus on effects with no counter-part in Maxwell electrodynamics. The the Uehling interaction energy between two stationary point-like charges is calculated exactly in terms of Meijer-G functions. Effects induced on a hydrogen atom by the vacuum polarization in the vicinity of a Dirac string are considered. We also calculate the interaction between two parallel Dirac strings and corrections to the energy levels of a quantum particle constrained to move on a ring circumventing a solenoid.