English

Why three-body physics do not solve the proton radius puzzle

Atomic Physics 2012-12-03 v2

Abstract

The possible involvement of weakly bound three-body systems in the muonic hydrogen spectroscopy experiment [1], which could resolve the current discrepancy between determinations of the proton radius, is investigated. Using variational calculations with complex coordinate rotation, it is shown that the pμep\mu e ion, which was recently proposed as a possible candidate [2], has no resonant states in the energy region of interest. QED level shifts are included phenomenologically by including a Yukawa potential in the three-body Coulomb Hamiltonian before diagonalization. It is also shown that the ppμpp\mu molecular ion cannot play any role in the observed line.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.1205.0633,
  title  = {Why three-body physics do not solve the proton radius puzzle},
  author = {Jean-Philippe Karr and Laurent Hilico},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1205.0633},
  year   = {2012}
}
R2 v1 2026-06-21T20:58:03.630Z