QED Proton Size: 4% Smaller Than Thought?

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In summary, a recent study has found that the proton is about 4% smaller than previously thought, which poses a challenge for quantum electrodynamics (QED). This discrepancy could be due to new effects or experimental errors. Some speculate that errors in the recoil corrections used in muonic hydrogen calculations could be the cause, but this is still uncertain. The opinion of a well-known physicist working on muonic hydrogen, Krzysztof Pachucki, would be valuable in understanding this issue. Overall, it is unlikely that this is a fundamental failure of QED, but further research is needed to fully determine the cause of this discrepancy.
  • #36


sanman said:
What about experimenting with μ+ and the anti-proton?

Shall we hope for similar results there? Or could you see a CP-violation on top of everything?

Interesting I think but so incredibly difficult and I would guess impossible at the present time.Just one problem that comes to mind is how are you going to get and keep a sufficient supply of anti protons or anti hydrogen?Another incredibly difficult experiment would be to test tauonic hydrogen.Experiments for the future perhaps.:tongue2:
 
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  • #37
Rydberg constant...


Nature said:
Our result implies that either the Rydberg constant has to be shifted by −110 kHz/c (4.9 standard deviations), or the calculations of the QED effects in atomic hydrogen or muonic hydrogen atoms are insufficient.

Was the Rydberg constant and proton radius QED equation published in the Nature article?

Does anyone disagree with this quantum mechanical definition of the Rydberg constant?

Rydberg constant:
[tex]R_\infty = \frac{m_e e^4}{8 \epsilon_0^2 h^3 c}[/tex]

Reference:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rydberg_constant"[/URL]
http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v466/n7303/abs/nature09250.html"
[URL]http://books.google.com/books?id=DliKdTg8GHQC&pg=PA146"[/URL]
 
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