Advanced Computational Physics in Atomic and Laser Science

量子电动力学是我们目前对自然理解的基石，因为它描述了对四种基本力的最好理解，电磁力，包括相对论和量子效应，它们在很短的距离内改变了这种力。几乎所有已知的最精确的基本常数都是用这个理论确定的，这个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。计划阐明目前影响理论物理中最紧迫问题之一的各种高阶校正项的性质，即解决介子氢难题，其中理论和实验不一致。各种相关的相互作用，包括由于非接触摩擦造成的能量损失，在微观世界中还没有得到充分的理解，但对于纳米结构器件的设计（纳米技术）来说却很重要。这项工作的广泛影响将包括纳米世界的潜在应用，基本常数的确定，以及对它们随时间变化的研究。另一个影响是用于描述物理和技术过程的所谓特殊函数的数值算法，以及用于也可设想工业应用的矩阵对角化的数值算法。研究生的教育是拟议研究工作的一个组成部分。

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.