Nuclear polarization contribution to the Lamb shift in heavy atoms

Abstract

The energy shift of the 1$s_{1/2}$ state in ${}_{{}_{92}{}^{238}{}_{}{}^{}}{}^{}{}_{}{}^{}\mathrm{U}$ due to virtual excitation of nuclear rotational modes is shown to be a considerable correction for atomic high-precision experiments. In contrast to this, nuclear polarization effects are of minor importance for Lamb-shift studies in ${}_{{}_{82}{}^{208}{}_{}{}^{}}{}^{}{}_{}{}^{}\mathrm{Pb}$.