Kirjahaku

In the new edition only minor modifications have been made. Some print­ ing errors have been corrected and a few clarifications have been made. In recent years the activity in relativistic many-body theory has increased con­ siderably, but this field falls outside the scope of this book. A brief summary of the recent developments, however, has been included in the section on "relativistic effects" in Chap. 14. In addition, only a very limited number of references have been added, without any systematic updating of the material. Goteborg, December 1985 l. Lindgren· J. Morrison Preface to the First Edition This book has developed through a series of lectures on atomic theory given these last eight years at Chalmers University of Technology and several oth­ er research centers. These courses were intended to make the basic elements of atomic theory available to experimentalists working with the hyperfine structure and the optical properties of atoms and to provide some insight into recent developments in the theory.

This book gives a comprehensive account of relativistic many-body perturbation theory, based upon field theory. After some introductory chapters about time-independent and time dependent many-body perturbation theory (MBPT), the standard techniques of S-matrix and Green’s functions are reviewed. Next, the newly introduced covariant-evolution-operator method is described, which can be used, like the S-matrix method, for calculations in quantum electrodynamics (QED). Unlike the S-matrix method, this has a structure that is similar to that of MBPT and therefore can serve as basis for a unified theory. Such an approach is developed in the final chapters, and its equivalence to the Bethe-Salpeter equation is demonstrated. Possible applications are discussed and numerical illustrations given.

This revised second edition of the author’s classic text offers readers a comprehensively updated review of relativistic atomic many-body theory, covering the many developments in the field since the publication of the original title. In particular, a new final section extends the scope to cover the evaluation of QED effects for dynamical processes. The treatment of the book is based upon quantum-field theory, and demonstrates that when the procedure is carried to all orders of perturbation theory, two-particle systems are fully compatible with the relativistically covariant Bethe-Salpeter equation. This procedure can be applied to arbitrary open-shell systems, in analogy with the standard many-body theory, and it is also applicable to systems with more than two particles. Presently existing theoretical procedures for treating atomic systems are, in several cases, insufficient to explain the accurate experimental data recently obtained, particularly for highly charged ions. The main text is divided into three parts. In Part I, the standard time-independent and time-dependent perturbation procedures are reviewed. This includes a new section at the end of chapter 2 concerning the so-called ”Fock-space procedure” or ”Coulomb-only procedure” for relativistic-QED calculations. This is a procedure on an intermediate level, frequently used in recent time by chemists on molecular systems, where a full QED treatment is out of question. Part II describes three methods for QED calculations, a) the standard S-matrix formulation, b) the Two-times Green’s-function method, developed by the St Petersburg Atomic Theory group, and c) the Covariant-evolution operator (CEO) method, recently developed by the Gothenburg Atomic Theory group. In Part III, the CEO method is combined with electron correlation to arbitrary order to a unified MBPT-QED procedure. The new Part IV includes two newchapters dealing with dynamical properties and how QED effects can be evaluated for such processes. This part is much needed as there has been an increasing interest in the study of QED effects for such processes. All methods treated in the book are illustrated with numerical examples, making it a text suitable for advanced students new to the field and a useful reference for established researchers.

This revised second edition of the author’s classic text offers readers a comprehensively updated review of relativistic atomic many-body theory, covering the many developments in the field since the publication of the original title. In particular, a new final section extends the scope to cover the evaluation of QED effects for dynamical processes. The treatment of the book is based upon quantum-field theory, and demonstrates that when the procedure is carried to all orders of perturbation theory, two-particle systems are fully compatible with the relativistically covariant Bethe-Salpeter equation. This procedure can be applied to arbitrary open-shell systems, in analogy with the standard many-body theory, and it is also applicable to systems with more than two particles. Presently existing theoretical procedures for treating atomic systems are, in several cases, insufficient to explain the accurate experimental data recently obtained, particularly for highly charged ions. The main text is divided into three parts. In Part I, the standard time-independent and time-dependent perturbation procedures are reviewed. This includes a new section at the end of chapter 2 concerning the so-called ”Fock-space procedure” or ”Coulomb-only procedure” for relativistic-QED calculations. This is a procedure on an intermediate level, frequently used in recent time by chemists on molecular systems, where a full QED treatment is out of question. Part II describes three methods for QED calculations, a) the standard S-matrix formulation, b) the Two-times Green’s-function method, developed by the St Petersburg Atomic Theory group, and c) the Covariant-evolution operator (CEO) method, recently developed by the Gothenburg Atomic Theory group. In Part III, the CEO method is combined with electron correlation to arbitrary order to a unified MBPT-QED procedure. The new Part IV includes two newchapters dealing with dynamical properties and how QED effects can be evaluated for such processes. This part is much needed as there has been an increasing interest in the study of QED effects for such processes. All methods treated in the book are illustrated with numerical examples, making it a text suitable for advanced students new to the field and a useful reference for established researchers.