Advanced Computational Physics in Atomic and Laser Science

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Quantum electrodynamics is a cornerstone of our current understanding of nature, as it describes the best understood of the four fundamental forces, the electromagnetic force, including relativistic and quantum effects which modify this force at very short distances. Almost all of 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 currently influence one of the most pressing problems in theoretical physics, namely, the resolution of the muonic hydrogen conundrum, where theory and experiment are not in agreement. 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 applications in the nanoworld, and the determination of fundamental constants, as well as investigations regarding their conceivable variation with time. 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 proposed research endeavour.