Peer-reviewedCC BY 4.0Physics Letters B
Effective field theory of protonium
Abstract
We investigate the level shifts in protonium using the framework of non-relativistic effective field theory (NREFT). Our study is prompted by the PUMA collaboration’s plans to probe the neutron-to-proton ratio in the nuclear density tail using antiprotonic atoms – a method for which light atoms provide an important benchmark. We calculate the corrections to the Deser-Goldberger-Baumann-Thirring formula for the complex level shift of S-wave states from the unitary cusp and Coulomb photon exchange. Structure dependent corrections enter at the next order. For higher-partial-wave states, they enter already at leading order. Using input from chiral N N ¯ interactions, we compare to other calculations and measurements from LEAR.
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BibTeX
@article{hammer2026effective,
title = {{Effective field theory of protonium}},
author = {Hans-Werner Hammer and Akaki Rusetsky},
journal = {Physics Letters B},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1016/j.physletb.2026.141071},
url = {https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0370269326009214},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Effective field theory of protonium
AU - Hans-Werner Hammer
AU - Akaki Rusetsky
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/30
JO - Physics Letters B
DO - 10.1016/j.physletb.2026.141071
UR - https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0370269326009214
AB - We investigate the level shifts in protonium using the framework of non-relativistic effective field theory (NREFT). Our study is prompted by the PUMA collaboration’s plans to probe the neutron-to-proton ratio in the nuclear density tail using antiprotonic atoms – a method for which light atoms provide an important benchmark. We calculate the corrections to the Deser-Goldberger-Baumann-Thirring formula for the complex level shift of S-wave states from the unitary cusp and Coulomb photon exchange. Structure dependent corrections enter at the next order. For higher-partial-wave states, they enter already at leading order. Using input from chiral N N ¯ interactions, we compare to other calculations and measurements from LEAR.
SN - 0370-2693
SN - 1873-2445
ER -