Prof. Dr. S. Schael (Dean Faculty of Mathematics, Computer Science and Natural Sciences)
The hydrogen molecule is the smallest neutral chemical entity and a benchmark system of quantum physics and chemistry. The comparison between highly accurate measurements of transition frequencies and level energies with quantum calculations including all known phenomena (relativistic, vacuum polarization and self energy) provides a tool to search for physical phenomena in the realm of the...
The precise knowledge of the atomic masses of various light nuclei, e.g. of the proton, deuteron, helion and triton are of utmost importance for several tests of fundamental physics. For example, the mass of the proton itself and the mass ratio of the electron and the proton are important input parameters for experiments in atomic physics. Furthermore, an essential consistency check of the...
Laser spectroscopy of muonic hydrogen [1,2] yielded a proton rms charge radius which is 4% (or ~6 sigmas) smaller than the CODATA value [3]. This discrepancy is now called the "proton radius puzzle" [4]. Also the deuteron charge radius from muonic deuterium [5] is 6 sigmas smaller than the CODATA value, but consistent with the smaller proton inside the deuteron.
These smaller charge radii,...
