Quantum Electrodynamics in Fundamental Physics and Applications

该奖项是根据2009年美国复苏和再投资法案（公法111-5）资助的。量子电动力学是物理学中最精确测试的理论，它是我们目前对自然理解的基石。最精确的已知基本常数是使用该理论确定的，该领域的理论计算需要一些迄今为止在理论物理学中设计的最先进的计算方法。计划阐明各种高阶校正项的性质，这些项代表了进一步理解基本常数的障碍，特别是里德伯常数。此外，原子的长程（非接触）相互作用的描述需要复杂的形式主义。这些相互作用实际上通过所谓的量子场的虚激发进行。各种相关的相互作用，包括由于非接触摩擦引起的能量损失，在微观世界中尚未得到充分理解，但仍然很重要，例如，这项工作的更广泛影响将包括基于可计算的原子跃迁的潜在的新的基本可计算时间标准，这对各种工业应用是必要的，也使科学家能够找到各种基本常数之间的关系。另一个影响是对数值算法的所谓的特殊功能描述的物理和技术过程，并为对角化的矩阵，其中工业应用也可以设想。研究生教育是研究工作的一个组成部分。

This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5).Quantum electrodynamics is the most accurately tested theory in physics, and it is a cornerstone of our current understanding of nature. The most accurately known fundamental constants are determined using the theory, and theoretical calculations in this field require some of the most advanced computational methods devised so far in theoretical physics. It is planned to illuminate the nature of various higher-order correction terms that represent obstacles to a further understanding of fundamental constants, notably, the Rydberg constant. Also, the description of long-range (non-contact) interactions of atoms requires a sophisticated formalism. These interactions actually proceed via so-called virtual excitations of quantum fields. Various related interactions, including the loss of energy due to non-contact friction, have not been sufficiently understood in the microscopic world and yet are important, e.g., for the design of nanostructured devices (nanotechnology).The broader impact of the work will include potential new fundamental calculable standards of time, based on calculable atomic transitions, which are necessary for a variety of industrial applications and also enable scientists to find relations among various fundamental constants. Another impact is on numerical algorithms for so-called special functions describing physical and technical processes, and for the diagonalization of matrices where industrial applications can also be envisaged. The education of a graduate student forms an integral part of the research endeavour.