Test of many-electron QED effects in the hyperfine splitting of heavy high-Z ions

Phys Rev Lett. 2012 Feb 17;108(7):073001. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.108.073001. Epub 2012 Feb 14.

Abstract

A rigorous evaluation of the two-photon exchange corrections to the hyperfine structure in lithiumlike heavy ions is presented. As a result, the theoretical accuracy of the specific difference between the hyperfine splitting values of H- and Li-like Bi ions is significantly improved. This opens a possibility for the stringent test of the many-electron QED effects on a few percent level in the strongest electromagnetic field presently available in experiments.