Vacuum polarization in molecules I: Uehling interaction

Abstract

Radiative corrections to electronic structure are characterized by perturbative expansions in $\alpha$ and $Z\alpha$, where $\alpha$ is the fine-structure constant and $Z$ is the nuclear charge. A formulation of the leading-order $\alpha (Z\alpha )$ Uehling contribution to the renormalized vacuum polarization is reported in a form that is convenient for implementation in computational studies of the relativistic electronic structures of molecules. Benchmark calculations based on these methods are reported that include the leading-order vacuum polarization effects within relativistic mean-field methods for the E119${}^{+}$ ion and the closed-shell diatomic species E119F.

10 pages, 3 tables, 6 figures