Item

Abstract

In this Thesis, the shift in atomic energy levels due to hadronic vacuum polarization is assessed using a semiempirical approach for hydrogen-like ions and muonic atoms as well. A parametric hadronic polarization function, derived from experimental data on electron-positron annihilation into hadrons, is used to develop an effective relativistic uehling potential. Energy corrections from hadronic vacuum polarization are computed for low-lying levels using analytical Dirac-Coulomb wave functions, along with wave functions that account for the finite size of the nucleus. The study also derives explicit formulas for the hadronic Uehling potential in the case of an extended nucleus and for the relativistic energy shift in the case of a pointlike nucleus. These results are subsequently compared with existing analytical formulas derived from nonrelativistic theory.