The science to be carried out with support from this award is in the field of bound state quantum field theory. The present understanding of atoms is that they consist of negative electrons bound to positively charged nuclei, with the simplest atom being hydrogen, an electron bound to the proton. The underlying theory of hydrogen and more complicated atoms and molecules is called quantum electrodynamics (QED), a field of expertise of the principal investigator. Small but important shifts in atomic energy levels coming from this field theory and other field theories modeled on it,collectively called the Standard Model, will be calculated, with an emphasis on effects from part of the Standard Model to do with a possible electric dipole moment of the electron. This latter violates an incompletely understood symmetry called time reversal symmetry, which is involved in understanding why the universe is made of more matter than antimatter.
The training of at least one graduate student in this field is the first 'broader impact' component of this grant. Secondly, an interdisciplinary aspect is present. The above mentioned proton is also a bound state, consisting of three quarks, but is generally treated with techniques very different from those used in atoms, for example lattice QCD. Building on previous work of the author in collaboration with Dr. Peter Mohr of NIST, atomic techniques will be applied to the calculation of various properties of the proton. Of particular interest is a current controversy about the size of this particle, and it is hoped that use of atomic techniques on the proton will lead to a resolution of this controversy.
