Comprehensive theory of the Lamb shift in light muonic atoms

TL;DR

This paper develops a comprehensive quantum electrodynamic theory of the Lamb shift in light muonic atoms, accounting for nuclear structure effects, to improve fundamental constant determination and nuclear radius measurements.

Contribution

It provides a detailed theoretical framework including all relevant QED corrections for light muonic atoms, aiding precision tests of fundamental physics.

Findings

The theory achieves high-precision predictions of the Lamb shift in light muonic atoms.

It enables improved extraction of nuclear charge radii from spectroscopic data.

The framework supports future tests of electromagnetic interactions in light nuclei.

Abstract

A comprehensive theory of the Lamb shift in light muonic atoms such as $\mu$H, $\mu$D, $\mu^3$He$^+$, and $\mu^4$He$^+$ is presented, with all quantum electrodynamic corrections included at the precision level constrained by the uncertainty of nuclear structure effects. This analysis can be used in the global adjustment of fundamental constants and in the determination of nuclear charge radii. Further improvements in the understanding of electromagnetic interactions of light nuclei will allow for a promising test of fundamental interactions by comparison with ``normal" atomic spectroscopy, in particular, with H-D and $^3$He-$^4$He isotope shifts.