Screening of an oscillating external electric field in atoms

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Abstract
We study the screening of a homogeneous oscillating external electric field E-0 in noble-gas atoms using atomic many-body calculations. At zero frequency of the oscillations (omega = 0) the screened field E(r) vanishes at the nucleus, E(0) = 0. However, the profile of the field E(r) is complicated, with the magnitude of the field exceeding the external field E-0 at certain points. For omega > 0 the field E(r, omega) strongly depends on omega and at some points may exceed the external field E-0 many times. The field at the nucleus is not totally screened and grows with omega faster than omega(2). It can even be enhanced when omega comes close to resonance with a frequency of an atomic transition. This field interacts with CP-violating nuclear electric dipole moments creating new opportunities for studying them. The screening of the external field by atomic electrons may strongly suppress (or enhance near an atomic resonance) the low energy nuclear electric dipole transitions.
Funding Information
  • Australian Research Council (DP150101405, FT170100452)
  • National Science Foundation (PHY11-25915)
  • Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics, University of California, Santa Barbara