Nuclear polarization in hydrogenlike heavy ions - art. no. 062502

The nuclear polarization (NP) correction is calculated for the ground state s of the hydrogenlike Pb-208(82) and U-238(92) ions. We take into account t he transverse interaction, ignored in the previous studies, as well as the Coulomb interaction. The NP correction is formulated in the bound-state QED formalism with the ladder and cross diagrams of two-photon exchange betwee n an electron and a nucleus. We take into account nuclear excitations of lo w-lying states and giant resonances with multipolarities of lambda (pi) = 0 (+), 1(-), 2(+), and 3(-), and describe them in a collective model. The NP corrections are obtained to be (-)0.2 and (-)180.7 meV, respectively for Pb -208(82) and U-238(92). The effect of the transverse interaction is found t o be essential to the NP correction for electric dipole giant resonances, s trongly canceling a contribution of the Coulomb interaction. Dependence of the NP correction on different nuclear excitations is investigated.