Photodetachment energy of negative hydrogen ions

TL;DR

This paper presents a highly precise theoretical calculation of the photodetachment energy of the hydrogen anion, significantly surpassing experimental accuracy and aiding antihydrogen research.

Contribution

The authors provide the most accurate theoretical photodetachment energies for H-, D-, and T- ions, incorporating advanced corrections and an exact three-body approach.

Findings

Photodetachment energy of H- is 6083.06447(68) cm^{-1}.

Results are 220 times more precise than previous experiments.

Provides critical data for antihydrogen production and precision measurements.

Abstract

We report a high-precision calculation of the photodetachment energy of the hydrogen anion \mathrm{H}^{-}. The nonrelativistic bound-state energy is obtained using an exact three-body approach, and supplemented by leading relativistic, quantum-electrodynamic, finite-nuclear-size, and hyperfine corrections. Our result is 6083$.$06447(68)\mathrm{cm}^{-1} for the detachment to the hydrogen ground-state hyperfine level \mathit{(F=0)}, which is 220 times more precise than the best experimental determination to date, 6082$.$99(15)\mathrm{cm}^{-1}, as reported by Lykke \mathit{et al.} Beyond their intrinsic interest, these results provide critical input for antihydrogen physics, where controlled photodetachment of \bar{\mathrm{H}}^{+} offers a path to producing ultracold antihydrogen (and its isotopes) for precision experiments. Corresponding calculations for the negative deuterium and tritium ions yield 6086$.$70676(68)\mathrm{cm}^{-1} for ^{2}\mathrm{H}^{-}(F=1/2) and 6087$.$87924(68)\mathrm{cm}^{-1} for ^{3}\mathrm{H}(F=0).