The effect of finite mass in cavity QED calculations

TL;DR

This paper investigates how finite nuclear mass influences the behavior of coupled light-matter systems in cavity QED, revealing small but significant effects on binding energies and light coupling probabilities.

Contribution

It introduces a detailed analysis of finite nuclear mass effects in cavity QED systems using the Pauli-Fierz Hamiltonian, across multiple atomic and molecular systems.

Findings

Finite nuclear mass causes noticeable changes in binding energies.

Small light-matter coupling can significantly affect system energies.

Differences observed across He atom, H$^-$, and H$_2^+$ systems.

Abstract

The effect of finite nuclear mass is investigated in coupled light matter systems in cavity quantum electrodynamics (cavity QED) using the Pauli-Fierz Hamiltonian. Three different systems, the He atom, the H$^-$ ion and the H$_2^+$ ion is investigated. There are small, but significant differences in the behavior of the binding energies as the function of the coupling strength. The probability of coupling to light is found to be very small but even this small coupling has a very strong effect on the energies of the systems.