Estimate of the(Zα)2α2Vacuum Polarization Term in Muonic Pb

Abstract

We have calculated the static monopole contributions to the ${\left(Z\alpha \right)}^2{\alpha }^2$ vacuum polarization correction for the $4f_{\frac{5}{2}}$ state in muonic Pb. We find an energy shift of -1 ± 0.1 eV (increased binding). We argue that neglected higher multipole contributions have the same sign and similarly small magnitude, thus increasing by a slight amount the current discrepancy between muonic atom theory and experiment.