Physical Review Letters · 2010 · 117 citations · 15 references
Natural SciencesPhysicsAtomic PhysicsNuclear PhysicsQuantum MechanicsAb Initio MethodsAtomic StructureFine StructureMany-electron AtomsNuclear StructureStructure DeterminationAtomic Fine StructureAtomic Structure CalculationsFine Structure ConstantsFine Structure TheoryFine-structure SplittingQuantum Electrodynamics Corrections To Hyperfine StructureQuantum Electrodynamics Effects
We report a calculation of the fine-structure splitting in light heliumlike atoms, which accounts for all quantum electrodynamical effects up to order alpha{5} Ry. For the helium atom, we resolve the previously reported disagreement between theory and experiment and determine the fine-structure constant with an accuracy of 31 ppb. The calculational results are extensively checked by comparison with the experimental data for different nuclear charges and by evaluation of the hydrogenic limit of individual corrections.
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