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Calculations of the two-loop electron self-energy for the $1S$ Lamb shift are reported, performed to all orders in the nuclear binding strength parameter $Z\alpha$ (where $Z$ is the nuclear charge number and $\alpha$ is the fine structure constant). Our approach allows calculations to be extended to nuclear charges lower than previously possible and improves the numerical accuracy by more than an order of magnitude. Extrapolation of our all-order results to hydrogen yields a result twice as precise as the previously accepted value [E. Tiesinga et al. Rev. Mod. Phys. 93, 025010 (2021)], differing from it by 2.8 standard deviations. The resulting shift in the theoretical prediction for the $1S$-$2S$ transition frequency in hydrogen decreases the value of the Rydberg constant by one standard deviation.

We calculated QED corrections to the $E1$ transition amplitudes in Ne-like iron and nickel. For the $2p \to 3d$ transitions the dominant effect came from the many-electron mixing, or electronic correlations. For the $2p \to 3s$ transitions the correlation and one-electron effects were comparable and tended to compensate each other. Our ab initio calculations showed that vertex corrections were negligible for both types of transitions. Other QED corrections were accurately reproduced by including effective QEDMOD operator in the many-electron relativistic configuration interaction calculation., Comment: 7 pages, no figures

Self-energy and vacuum polarization effects in quantum electrodynamics (QED) are calculated for the supercritical Coulomb field, where Dirac energy levels become embedded in the negative-energy continuum. In this regime, the quantum vacuum becomes unstable, resulting in spontaneous electron-positron pair creation. By calculating the imaginary part of the QED correction, we gain access to an unexplored channel of vacuum instability: radiative spontaneous pair creation. Our results show that this radiative channel is greatly enhanced in the vicinity of the threshold of the supercritical regime, providing evidence for nonperturbative effects with respect to the fine-structure constant $\alpha$. We therefore conjecture that the total probability of spontaneous pair creation could differ significantly from the predictions of Dirac theory, especially near the supercritical threshold., Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures

We present a theoretical method to calculate Delbr\"uck scattering amplitudes for photon energies above the electron-positron pair production threshold. The method is based on the application of the relativistic Dirac-Coulomb Green function and describes the interaction of the virtual $e^+e^-$ pair with the Coulomb field of a target to all orders in the coupling strength parameter $\alpha Z$. To illustrate the application of the developed approach, detailed calculations have been performed for the scattering of 2.754~MeV photons off bare ions with a wide range of nuclear charge numbers. Results of these calculations clearly indicate that the higher-order terms beyond the Born approximation lead to a strong enhancement of the imaginary part of the Delbr\"uck amplitude and have to be taken into account for the analysis and guidance of gamma-ray scattering experiments.

We present a theoretical study of elastic photon scattering by atomic targets. This process is of special interest since various channels from atomic and nuclear physics as well as quantum elctrodynamics (QED) contribute to it. In this work, we focus on Delbr\"uck scattering which proceeds via production of virtual $e^+e^-$ pairs. In particular, we explore whether and how the Delbr\"uck channel can be "seen" in present synchrotron experiments which employ strongly linearly polarized light in the energy range of a few hundred keV. In order to answer this question, detailed calculations have been performed for the scattering of 300 keV and 889.2 keV photons off helium-like tin ions. Based on these calculations, we argue that the Delbr\"uck scattering for the energies below the threshold for $e^+e^-$ pair creation leads to a shift in the angular distribution and the polarization of the scattered photons which can be observed by state-of-the-art solid-state detectors.

Inner-shell electrons naturally sense the electric field close to the nucleus, which can reach extreme values beyond $10^{15}\,\text{V}/\text{cm}$ for the innermost electrons. Especially in few-electron highly charged ions, the interaction with the electromagnetic fields can be accurately calculated within quantum electrodynamics (QED), rendering these ions good candidates to test the validity of QED in strong fields. Consequently, their Lamb shifts were intensively studied in the last decades. Another approach is the measurement of $g$ factors in highly charged ions. However, so far, either experimental accuracy or small field strength in low-$Z$ ions limited the stringency of these QED tests. Here, we report on our high-precision, high-field test of QED in hydrogenlike $^{118}$Sn$^{49+}$. The highly charged ions were produced with the Heidelberg-EBIT (electron beam ion trap) and injected into the ALPHATRAP Penning-trap setup, where the bound-electron $g$ factor was measured with a precision of 0.5 parts-per-billion. For comparison, we present state-of-the-art theory calculations, which together test the underlying QED to about $0.012\,\%$, yielding a stringent test in the strong-field regime. With this measurement, we challenge the best tests via the Lamb shift and, with anticipated advances in the $g$-factor theory, surpass them by more than an order of magnitude.

We report calculations of Delbr\"uck scattering that include all-order Coulomb corrections for photon energies above the threshold of electron-positron pair creation. Our approach is based on the application of the Dirac-Coulomb Green function and accounts for the interaction between the virtual electron-positron pair and the nucleus to all orders in the nuclear binding strength parameter $\alpha Z$. Practical calculations are performed for the scattering of 2.754 MeV photons off plutonium atoms. We find that including the Coulomb corrections enhances the scattering cross section by up to 50% in this case. The obtained results resolve the long-standing discrepancy between experimental data and theoretical predictions and demonstrate that an accurate treatment of the Coulomb corrections is crucial for the interpretation of existing and guidance of future Delbr\"uck scattering experiments on heavy atoms.

The magnetic hyperfine structure constants have been calculated for low-lying levels in neutral potassium atom taking into account the Bohr--Weisskopf (BW) and Breit--Rosenthal (BR) effects. According to our results the $4p_{1/2}$ state of K~I is free from both BR and BW corrections on the level of the current theoretical uncertainties. Using this finding and the measured values of the $A(4p_{1/2})$ constants, we corrected the nuclear magnetic moments for several short-lived potassium isotopes. The BW correction is represented as a product of atomic and nuclear factors. We calculated the atomic factor for the ground state of K I, which allowed us to extract nuclear factors for potassium $I^\pi = 3/2^+$ isotopes from the experimental data. In this way the application range of the single-particle nuclear model for nuclear-factor calculation in these isotopes has been clarified.

The model-QED-operator approach [Phys. Rev. A 88, 012513 (2013)] to calculations of the radiative corrections to binding and transition energies in atomic systems is extended to the range of nuclear charges $110 \leqslant Z \leqslant 170$. The self-energy part of the model operator is represented by a nonlocal potential based on diagonal and off-diagonal matrix elements of the ab initio self-energy operator with the Dirac-Coulomb wave functions. The vacuum-polarization part consists of the Uehling contribution which is readily computed for an arbitrary nuclear-charge distribution and the Wichmann-Kroll contribution represented in terms of matrix elements similarly to the self-energy part. Performance of the method is studied by comparing the model-QED-operator predictions with the results of ab initio calculations. The model-QED operator can be conveniently incorporated in any numerical approach based on the Dirac-Coulomb-Breit Hamiltonian to account for the QED effects in a wide variety of superheavy elements., Comment: 14 pages, 2 figures, 15 tables

We present a theoretical approach for ab initio calculations of the one-loop QED corrections to energy levels of heavy diatomic quasimolecules. This approach is based on the partial-wave expansion of the molecular wave and Green functions in the basis of monopole solutions, written in spherical coordinates. By using so generated molecular functions we employed the existing atomic-physics techniques to evaluate the self-energy and vacuum-polarization corrections. In order to illustrate the application of our method, we perform detailed calculations of the Dirac energy and QED corrections for the 1$\sigma_g$ ground state of homonuclear U$_2^{183+}$ as well as heteronuclear U-Pb$^{173+}$ and Bi-Au$^{161+}$ quasimolecules.

The two-photon annihilation of a positron with an electron bound in the 1s state of a H-like ion is calculated within the fully relativistic QED framework. The interaction with the nucleus is treated nonperturbatively, thus allowing the calculations to be carried out for the annihilation with strongly-bound inner shells of heavy ions. Infrared divergences, appearing when one of the emitted photons approaches the low-frequency limit, are accurately eliminated from final expressions. The total cross section of the two-photon and one-photon annihilation processes are compared for a wide range of collision energies and nuclear charge numbers. It is demonstrated that the two-photon annihilation channel dominates over the one-photon channel for the low and medium-Z ions, whereas for the high-Z ions the situation reverses., Comment: 18 pages, 5 figures

We present a theoretical method to calculate Delbr\"uck scattering amplitudes. Our formalism is based on the exact analytical Dirac-Coulomb Green's function and, therefore, accounts for the interaction of the virtual electron-positron pair with the nucleus to all orders, including the Coulomb corrections. The numerical convergence of our calculations is accelerated by solving the radial integrals that are involved analytically in the asymptotic region. Numerical results for the collision of photons with energies 102.2 keV and 255.5 keV with bare neon and lead nuclei are compared with the predictions of the lowest-order Born approximation. We find that our method can produce accurate results within a reasonable computation time and that the Coulomb corrections enhance the absolute value of the Delbr\"uck amplitude by a few percent for the studied photon energies.

A fully relativistic approach is presented for the calculation of the bremsstrahlung emitted by an electron scattered off an ionic target. The ionic target is described as a combination of an effective Coulomb potential and a finite-range potential induced by the electronic cloud of the ion. The approach allows us to investigate the influence of the electronic structure of the target on the properties of the emitted radiation. We calculate the double differential cross-section and Stokes parameters of the bremsstrahlung of an electron scattered off uranium ions in different charge states, ranging from bare to neutral uranium. Results on the high-energy endpoint of the electron bremsstrahlung from Li-like uranium ions ${\rm U}^{89+}$ are compared to the recent experimental data. For this process, it is found that taking into account the electronic structure of the target results in modification of the cross-section on the level of 14%, which can, in principle, be seen in present-day experiments., Comment: 20 pages, 6 figures

We report calculations of QED corrections to the $g$ factor of Li-like ions induced by the exchange of two virtual photons between the electrons. The calculations are performed within QED theory to all orders in the nuclear binding strength parameter $Z\alpha$, where $Z$ is the nuclear charge number and $\alpha$ is the fine-structure constant. In the region of low nuclear charges we compare results from three different methods: QED, relativistic many-body perturbation theory, and nonrelativistic QED. All three methods are shown to yield consistent results. With our calculations we improve the accuracy of the theoretical predictions of the $g$ factor of the ground state of Li-like carbon and oxygen by about an order of magnitude. Our theoretical results agree with those from previous calculations but differ by 3-4 standard deviations from the experimental results available for silicon and calcium.

A critical set of two-loop QED corrections to the $g$ factor of hydrogenlike ions is calculated without expansion in the nuclear binding field. These corrections are due to the polarization of the external magnetic field by the quantum vacuum, which is dressed by the binding field. The result obtained for the self-energy--magnetic-loop diagrams is compared with the current state-of-the-art result, derived through a perturbative expansion in the binding strength parameter $Z\alpha$, with $Z$ the atomic number and $\alpha$ the fine-structure constant. Agreement is found in the $Z\rightarrow0$ limit. However, even for very light ions, the perturbative result fails to approximate the magnitude of the corresponding correction to the $g$ factor. The total correction to the $g$ factor coming from all diagrams considered in this work is found to be highly relevant for upcoming experimental tests of fundamental physics with highly charged ions.

A means to extract the fine-structure constant $\alpha$ from precision spectroscopic data on one-electron ions is presented. We show that in an appropriately weighted difference of the bound-electron $g$ factor and the ground state energy, nuclear structural effects can be effectively suppressed. This method is anticipated to deliver an independent value of $\alpha$ via existing or near-future combined Penning trap and x-ray spectroscopic technology, and enables decreasing the uncertainty of $\alpha$ by orders of magnitude.

We report an investigation of the self-energy screening effects for the $g$ factor of the ground state of Li-like ions. The leading screening contribution of the relative order $1/Z$ is calculated to all orders in the binding nuclear strength parameter $Z\alpha$ (where $Z$ is the nuclear charge number and $\alpha$ is the fine-structure constant). We also extend the known results for the $Z\alpha$ expansion of the QED screening correction by deriving the leading logarithmic contribution of order $\alpha^5\ln\alpha$ and obtaining approximate results for the $\alpha^5$ and $\alpha^6$ contributions. The comparison of the two approaches yields a stringent check of consistency of the two calculations and allows us to obtain improved estimations of the higher-order screening effects., Comment: Several misprints are corrected in ver.3; Sec. VI is updated in ver.2

QED corrections to the $g$ factor of Li-like and B-like ions in a wide range of nuclear charges are presented. Many-electron contributions as well as radiative effects on the one-loop level are calculated. Contributions resulting from the interelectronic interaction, the self-energy effect, and most of the terms of the vacuum-polarization effect are evaluated to all orders in the nuclear coupling strength $Z\alpha$. Uncertainties resulting from nuclear size effects, numerical computations, and uncalculated effects are discussed.

We demonstrate a widely applicable technique to absolutely calibrate the energy scale of x-ray spectra with experimentally well-known and accurately calculable transitions of highly charged ions, allowing us to measure the K-shell Rydberg spectrum of molecular O$_2$ with 8 meV uncertainty. We reveal a systematic $\sim$450 meV shift from previous literature values, and settle an extraordinary discrepancy between astrophysical and laboratory measurements of neutral atomic oxygen, the latter being calibrated against the aforementioned O$_2$ literature values. Because of the widespread use of such, now deprecated, references, our method impacts on many branches of x-ray absorption spectroscopy. Moreover, it potentially reduces absolute uncertainties there to below the meV level., Comment: Accepted by PRL. Main article: 7 pages, 3 figures. Supplemental Material: 3 pages, 5 figures

We present a fully relativistic calculation of the bremsstrahlung emitted by twisted electrons propagating in the field of bare heavy nuclei. The electron-nucleus interaction is accounted for to all orders in the nuclear binding strength parameter $\alpha Z$, thus allowing us to investigate the bremsstrahlung in a strong field, where the effects of the "twistedness" are expected to be most pronounced. To explore these effects, we study the angular and polarization properties of the photons emitted in course of the inelastic twisted electrons scattering by the gold target. The influence of the kinematic parameters of the incident electrons on the double-differential cross section and the degree of the linear polarization is also discussed., Comment: 12 pages, 4 figures

Violation of linearity of the King plot is investigated for a chain of partially stripped argon isotopes. The nonlinearity originates within the Standard Model from subtle contributions to the isotope shifts from next-to-leading order effects, which have never been systematically studied so far. In light atoms these nonlinear effects are dominated by the quadratic nuclear recoil ($\propto 1/M^2$ where $M$ is the nuclear mass). Large-scale relativistic calculations of the linear and quadratic mass shift and the field shift are performed for the $2P$ fine-structure transitions in Be-like, B-like, and C-like argon ions. Nonlinearities of the King plots from 5 to 30 kHz are found, which is four orders of magnitude larger than previous estimates in comparable systems. Accurate calculations of these effects are vital for identification of possible nonlinearities originating from physics beyond the Standard Model.

Energy levels of the $1sns$ and $1snp$ states of ions along the helium isoelectronic sequence from carbon to uranium are calculated, with $n=3$-$7$. The computation is performed within the relativistic configuration-interaction method, including the relativistic nuclear recoil effect, the leading QED effects, and the frequency dependence of the Breit interaction. All theoretical energies are supplied with uncertainty estimates.

We have measured the ground-state $g$-factor of boronlike argon $^{40}\textrm{Ar}^{13+}$ with a fractional uncertainty of \SI{1.4e-9}{} with a single ion in the newly developed ALPHATRAP double Penning-trap setup. The here obtained value of $g=0.663\,648\,455\,32(93)$ is in agreement with our theoretical prediction of $0.663\,648\,12(58)$. The latter is obtained accounting for quantum electrodynamics, electron correlation, and nuclear effects within the state-of-the-art theoretical methods. Our experimental result distinguishes between existing predictions that are in disagreement, and lays the foundations for an independent determination of the fine-structure constant., Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures, 2 tables

The synchrotron radiation is commonly known to be completely linearly polarized when observed in the orbital plane of the synchrotron motion. Under actual experimental conditions, however, the degree of polarization of the synchrotron radiation may be lower than the ideal 100%. We demonstrate that even tiny impurities of polarization of the incident radiation can drastically affect the polarization of the elastically scattered light. We propose to use this effect as a precision tool for the diagnostics of the polarization purity of the synchrotron radiation. Two variants of the diagnostics method are proposed. The first one is based on the polarization measurements of the scattered radiation and relies on theoretical calculations of the transition amplitudes. The second one involves simultaneous measurements of the polarization and the cross sections of the scattered radiation and is independent of theoretical amplitudes.

Energy levels and fine-structure intervals of the $1s2l2l'$ core-excited states are calculated for ions along the Li isoelectronic sequence from argon to uranium. The calculation is performed by the relativistic configuration-interaction method adapted for treatment of autoionizing core-excited states. The calculational approach includes the relativistic treatment of the nuclear recoil effect, the leading QED shifts as delivered by the model QED operator, and the frequency dependence of the Breit interaction. The $1s2l2l'-1s^22l$ transition energies are obtained by combining the present results for the $1s2l2l'$ states with energies of the $1s^22l$ states compiled from previous calculations. All theoretical energies are supplied with uncertainty estimates. Our theoretical predictions for the $1s2l2l'-1s^22l$ transitions are significantly more accurate than the best experimental results available today and can be used for calibrating experimental X-ray spectra., Comment: Online Supplementary Material included into the main body of the paper

Two-loop self-energy corrections to the bound-electron $g$ factor are investigated theoretically to all orders in the nuclear binding strength parameter $Z\alpha$. The separation of divergences is performed by dimensional regularization, and the contributing diagrams are regrouped into specific categories to yield finite results. We evaluate numerically the loop-after-loop terms, and the remaining diagrams by treating the Coulomb interaction in the electron propagators up to first order. The results show that such two-loop terms are mandatory to take into account for projected near-future stringent tests of quantum electrodynamics and for the determination of fundamental constants through the $g$ factor.

The two-loop self-energy correction to the Lamb shift of hydrogen-like ions is calculated for the $1s$, $2s$, and $2p_{1/2}$ states and nuclear charge numbers $Z = 30$-$100$. The calculation is performed to all orders in the nuclear binding strength parameter $Z\alpha$. As compared to previous calculations of this correction, numerical accuracy is improved by an order of magnitude and the region of the nuclear charges is extended. An analysis of the $Z$-dependence of the obtained results demonstrates their consistency with the known $Z\alpha$-expansion coefficients., Comment: 18 pages, 6 figures

A theoretical description of the $g$ factor of a muon bound in a nuclear potential is presented. One-loop self-energy and multi-loop vacuum polarization corrections are calculated, taking into account the interaction with the binding potential exactly. Nuclear effects on the bound-muon $g$ factor are also evaluated. We put forward the measurement of the bound-muon $g$ factor via the continuous Stern-Gerlach effect as an independent means to determine the free muons magnetic moment anomaly and mass. The scheme presented enables to increase the accuracy of the mass by more than an order of magnitude.

We present systematic calculations of energy levels of the $1s^22l$ and $1s2l2l'$ states of ions along the lithium isoelectronic sequence from carbon till chlorine. The calculations are performed by using the relativistic-configuration-interaction method adapted to the treatment of autoionizing core-excited states. The relativistic energies are supplemented with the QED energy shifts calculated within the model QED operator approach. A systematic estimation of the theoretical uncertainties is performed for every electronic state and every nuclear charge. The results are in agreement with existing high-precision theoretical and experimental data for the ground and first excited states. For the core-excited states, our theory is much more accurate than the presently available measurements., Comment: Table IV is corrected according to erratum [Phys. Rev. A 96, 069901(E) (2017)]

We investigate electron-correlation effects in the $g$-factor of the ground state of Li-like ions. Our calculations are performed within the nonrelativistic quantum electrodynamics (NRQED) expansion up to two leading orders in the fine-structure constant $\alpha$, $\alpha^2$ and $\alpha^3$. The dependence of the NRQED results on the nuclear charge number $Z$ is studied and the individual $1/Z$-expansion contributions are identified. Combining the obtained data with the results of the all-order (in $Z\alpha$) calculations performed within the $1/Z$ expansion, we derive the unified theoretical predictions for the $g$-factor of light Li-like ions., Comment: 9 pages, 4 tables

We report calculations of the one-loop self-energy correction to the bound-electron $g$ factor of the $1s$ and $2s$ states of light hydrogen-like ions with the nuclear charge number $Z \le 20$. The calculation is carried out to all orders in the binding nuclear strength. We find good agreement with previous calculations and improve their accuracy by about two orders of magnitude., Comment: Extrapolated results for Z=0, 1, and 2 are updated

We investigate the finite nuclear mass corrections in the helium atom in order to resolve a significant disagreement between the $2^3S - 2^3P$ and $2^3S - 2^1S$ transition isotope shifts. These two transitions lead to discrepant results for the nuclear charge radii difference between $^4$He and $^3$He. The accurate treatment of the finite nuclear mass effects is quite complicated and requires the use of the quantum field theoretical approach. We derive $\alpha^6 m^2/M$ correction with the help of nonrelativistic QED and dimensional regularization of the three body Coulombic system, and present accurate numerical results for low lying states. The previously reported $4 \sigma$ discrepancy in the nuclear charge radius difference between $^3$He and $^4$He from two different atomic isotope shift transitions is confirmed, which calls for verification of experimental transition frequencies., Comment: 29 pages. arXiv admin note: substantial text overlap with arXiv:1610.04060

Nuclear recoil corrections of order $\alpha^6\,m^2/M$ are calculated for the lowest-lying triplet states of the helium atom. It improves the theoretical prediction for the isotope shift of the $2^3S-2^3P$ transition energy and influences the determination of the ${}^3\textrm{He}-{}^4\textrm{He}$ nuclear charge radii difference. This calculation is a step forward on the way towards the direct determination of the charge radius of the helium nucleus from spectroscopic measurements., Comment: 45 pages

The muonic vacuum polarization contribution to the $g$-factor of the electron bound in a nuclear potential is investigated theoretically. The electric as well as the magnetic loop contributions are evaluated. We found these muonic effects to be observable in planned trapped-ion experiments with light and medium-heavy highly charged ions. The enhancement due to the strong Coulomb field boosts these contributions much above the corresponding terms in the free-electron $g$-factor. Due to their magnitude, muonic vacuum polarization terms are also significant in planned determinations of the fine-structure constant from the bound-electron $g$-factor.

Perfect cloning of a known set of states with arbitrary prior probabilities is possible if we allow the cloner to sometimes fail completely. In the optimal case the probability of failure is at its minimum allowed by the laws of quantum mechanics. Here we show that it is possible to lower the failure rate below that of the perfect probabilistic cloner but the price to pay is that the clones are not perfect; the global fidelity is less than one. We determine the optimal fidelity of a cloner with a Fixed Failure Rate (FFR cloner) in the case of a pair of known states. Optimality is shown to be attainable by a measure-and-prepare protocol in the limit of infinitely many clones. The optimal protocol consists of discrimination with a fixed rate of inconclusive outcome followed by preparation of the appropriate clones. The convergence shows a symmetry-breaking second-order phase transition in the fidelity of the approximate infinite clones., Comment: 7 pages, 3 figures

We measured the isotope shift in the $^2$S$_{1/2}$-$^2$P$_{3/2}$ (D2) transition in singly-ionized calcium ions using photon recoil spectroscopy. The high accuracy of the technique enables us to resolve the difference between the isotope shifts of this transition to the previously measured isotopic shifts of the $^2$S$_{1/2}$-$^2$P$_{1/2}$ (D1) line. This so-called splitting isotope shift is extracted and exhibits a clear signature of field shift contributions. From the data we were able to extract the small difference of the field shift coefficient and mass shifts between the two transitions with high accuracy. This J-dependence is of relativistic origin and can be used to benchmark atomic structure calculations. As a first step, we use several ab initio atomic structure calculation methods to provide more accurate values for the field shift constants and their ratio. Remarkably, the high-accuracy value for the ratio of the field shift constants extracted from the experimental data is larger than all available theoretical predictions., Comment: 10 pages, 6 figures, 7 tables

Calculations of the static electric-dipole scalar and tensor polarizabilities are presented for two alkali atoms, Rb and Cs, for the $nS$, $nP_{1/2, 3/2}$, and $nD_{3/2, 5/2}$ states with large principal quantum numbers up to $n = 50$. The calculations are performed within an effective one-electron approximation, based on the Dirac-Fock Hamiltonian with a semi-empirical core-polarization potential. The obtained results are compared with those from a simpler semi-empirical approach and with available experimental data., Comment: 4 Tables in Supplementary Material

Accurate calculations of the nuclear recoil effect to the Lamb shift of hydrogen-like atoms are presented. Numerical results are reported for the $ns$ states with $n \leq 5$ and for the $2p_{1/2}$ and $2p_{3/2}$ states. The calculations are performed to the first order in the electron-nucleus mass ratio and to all orders in the nuclear binding strength parameter $Z\alpha$ (where $Z$ is the nuclear charge number and $\alpha$ is the fine structure constant). The obtained results provide accurate predictions for the higher-order remainder beyond the known $Z\alpha$-expansion terms. In the case of hydrogen, the remainder was found to be much larger than anticipated. This result resolves the previously reported disagreement between the numerical all-order and the analytical $Z\alpha$-expansion approaches for the nuclear recoil effect in the hydrogen Lamb shift., Comment: arXiv admin note: substantial text overlap with arXiv:1511.04394

A weighted difference of the $g$-factors of the Li- and H-like ion of the same element is studied and optimized in order to maximize the cancellation of nuclear effects. To this end, a detailed theoretical investigation is performed for the finite nuclear size correction to the one-electron $g$-factor, the one- and two-photon exchange effects, and the QED effects. The coefficients of the $Z\alpha$ expansion of these corrections are determined, which allows us to set up the optimal definition of the weighted difference. It is demonstrated that, for moderately light elements, such weighted difference is nearly free from uncertainties associated with nuclear effects and can be utilized to extract the fine-structure constant from bound-electron $g$-factor experiments with an accuracy competitive with or better than its current literature value., Comment: 11 pages, 3 figures, 6 tables. arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:1509.08260

The Rayleigh scattering of x-rays by many-electron highly charged ions is studied theoretically. The many-electron perturbation theory, based on a rigorous quantum electrodynamics approach, is developed and implemented for the case of the elastic scattering of (high-energetic) photons by helium-like ion. Using this elaborate approach, we here investigate the many-electron effects beyond the independent-particle approximation (IPA) as conventionally employed for describing the Rayleigh scattering. The total and angle-differential cross sections are evaluated for the x-ray scattering by helium-like Ni$^{26+}$, Xe$^{52+}$, and Au$^{77+}$ ions in their ground state. The obtained results show that, for high-energetic photons, the effects beyond the IPA do not exceed 2% for the scattering by a closed $K$-shell., Comment: 15 pages, 11 figures

We report high-precision calculations of the nuclear recoil effect to the Lamb shift of hydrogen-like atoms to the first order in the electron-nucleus mass ratio and to all orders in the nuclear binding strength parameter $Z\alpha$. The results are in excellent agreement with the known terms of the $Z\alpha$ expansion and allow an accurate identification of the nonperturbative higher-order remainder. For hydrogen, the higher-order remainder was found to be much larger than anticipated. This result resolves the long-standing disagreement between the numerical all-order and the analytical $Z\alpha$-expansion approaches to the recoil effect and completely removes the second-largest theoretical uncertainty in the hydrogen Lamb shift of the $1S$ and $2S$ states., Comment: with proof corrections

The process of recombination of a quasi-free electron into a bound state of an initially bare nucleus with the simultaneous creation of a bound-electron--free-positron pair is investigated. This process is called the negative-continuum assisted dielectronic recombination (NCDR). In a typical experimental setup, the initial electron is not free but bound in a light atomic target. In the present work, we study the effects of the atomic target on the single and double-differential cross sections of the positron production in the NCDR process. The calculations are performed within the relativistic framework based on QED theory, with accounting for the electron-electron interaction to first order in perturbation theory. We demonstrate how the momentum distribution of the target electrons removes the non-physical singularity of the differential cross section which occurs for the initially free and monochromatic electrons.

A weighted difference of the $g$-factors of the H- and Li-like ions of the same element is theoretically studied and optimized in order to maximize the cancelation of nuclear effects between the two charge states. We show that this weighted difference and its combination for two different elements can be used to extract a value for the fine-structure constant from near-future bound-electron $g$-factor experiments with an accuracy competitive with or better than the present literature value.

Theoretical energy levels of the $n = 1$ and $n = 2$ states of hydrogenlike atoms with the nuclear charge numbers $1 \le Z \le 110$ are tabulated. The tabulation is based on ab initio quantum electrodynamical calculations performed to all orders in the nuclear binding strength parameter $Z\alpha$, where $\alpha$ is the fine structure constant. Theoretical errors due to various effects are critically examined and estimated.

Fully relativistic calculations are presented for the double $K$-shell photoionization cross section for several neutral medium-$Z$ atoms, from magnesium ($Z = 10$) up to silver ($Z = 47$). The calculations take into account all multipoles of the absorbed photon as well as the retardation of the electron-electron interaction. The approach is based on the partial-wave representation of the Dirac continuum states and uses the Green-function technique to represent the full Dirac spectrum of intermediate states. The method is strictly gauge invariant, which is used as an independent cross check of the computational procedure. The calculated ratios of the double-to-single $K$-shell ionization cross sections are compared with the experimental data and with previous computations.

Relativistic configuration-interaction calculations have been performed for the energy levels of the low-lying and core-excited states of beryllium-like argon, Ar$^{14+}$. These calculations include the one-loop QED effects as obtained by two different methods, the screening-potential approach as well as the model QED operator approach. The calculations are supplemented by a systematic estimation of uncertainties of theoretical predictions., Comment: Proceedings of ICAMDATA 2014. arXiv admin note: substantial text overlap with arXiv:1408.3949

We perform relativistic configuration-interaction calculations of the energy levels of the low-lying and core-excited states of beryllium-like iron, Fe$^{22+}$. The results include the QED contributions calculated by two different methods, the model QED operator approach and the screening-potential approach. The uncertainties of theoretical energies are estimated systematically. The predicted wavelengths of the K\alpha transitions in beryllium-like iron improve previous theoretical results and compare favorably with the experimental data.

The finite nuclear-size effect on the leading bound-electron g factor and the one-loop QED corrections to the bound-electron g factor is investigated for the ground state of hydrogen-like ions. The calculation is performed to all orders in the nuclear binding strength parameter Z\alpha\ (where Z is the nuclear charge and \alpha\ is the fine structure constant) and for the Fermi model of the nuclear charge distribution. In the result, theoretical predictions for the isotope shift of the 1s bound-electron g factor are obtained, which can be used for the determination of the difference of nuclear charge radii from experimental values of the bound-electron g factors for different isotopes.