selfenergy

Physics

New calculation of electron self-energy improves determination of fundamental constants

Feynman diagram representing the electron self-energy of two loops ((a) loop after loop, (b) overlap, and (c) nested). The double line indicates the electron in the presence of a bound nuclear field. Wavy lines indicate virtual photon exchange. Credit: Physical Review Letters (2024). DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.133.251803 After World War II, when quantum electrodynamics, the quantum field theory of electrons and photons,…