Relativistic calculations of the ground state energies and the critical distances for one-electron homonuclear quasi-molecules

The ground-state energies of one-electron homonuclear quasi-molecules for the nuclear charge number in the range Z=1-100 at the chemical distances R= 2/Z (in a.u.) are calculated. The calculations are performed for both point- and extended-charge nucleus cases using the Dirac-Fock-Sturm approach with the basis functions constructed from the one-center Dirac-Sturm orbitals. The critical distances R_cr, at which the ground-state level reaches the edge of the negative-energy Dirac continuum, are calculated for homonuclear quasi-molecules in the range: Z=85-100. It is found that in case of U_2^{183+} the critical distance R_cr = 38.42 fm for the point-charge nuclei and R_cr = 34.72 fm for extended nuclei.

Model operator approach to the Lamb shift calculations in relativistic many-electron atoms

A model operator approach to calculations of the QED corrections to energy levels in relativistic many-electron atomic systems is developed. The model Lamb shift operator is represented by a sum of local and nonlocal potentials which are defined using the results of ab initio calculations of the diagonal and nondiagonal matrix elements of the one-loop QED operator with H-like wave functions. The model operator can be easily included in any calculations based on the Dirac-Coulomb-Breit Hamiltonian. Efficiency of the method is demonstrated by comparison of the model QED operator results for the Lamb shifts in many-electron atoms and ions with exact QED calculations.

Zeeman effect of the hyperfine structure levels in lithiumlike ions

The fully relativistic theory of the Zeeman splitting of the $(1s)^2 2s$ hyperfine-structure levels in lithiumlike ions with $Z=6 - 32$ is considered for the magnetic field magnitude in the range from 1 to 10 T. The second-order corrections to the Breit -- Rabi formula are calculated and discussed including the one-electron contributions as well as the interelectronic-interaction effects of order 1/Z. The 1/Z corrections are evaluated within a rigorous QED approach. These corrections are combined with other interelectronic-interaction, QED, nuclear recoil, and nuclear size corrections to obtain high-precision theoretical values for the Zeeman splitting in Li-like ions with nonzero nuclear spin. The results can be used for a precise determination of nuclear magnetic moments from $g$-factor experiments.

Backward scattering of low-energy antiprotons by highly charged and neutral uranium: Coulomb glory

Collisions of antiprotons with He-, Ne-, Ni-like, bare, and neutral uranium are studied theoretically for scattering angles close to 180$^{circ}$ and antiproton energies with the interval 100 eV -- 10 keV. We investigate the Coulomb glory effect which is caused by a screening of the Coulomb potential of the nucleus and results in a prominent maximum of the differential cross section in the backward direction at some energies of the incident particle. We found that for larger numbers of electrons in the ion the effect becomes more pronounced and shifts to higher energies of the antiproton. On the other hand, a maximum of the differential cross section in the backward direction can also be found in the scattering of antiprotons on a bare uranium nucleus. The latter case can be regarded as a manifestation of the screening property of the vacuum-polarization potential in non-relativistic collisions of heavy particles.