On the Self-Energy of a Bound Electron

Abstract

The electromagnetic shift of the energy levels of a bound electron has been calculated on the basis of the usual formulation of relativistic quantum electrodynamics and positron theory. The theory gives a finite result of 1052 megacycles per second for the shift $2{}_{}{}^2{}_{}{}^{}S_{\frac{1}{2}}^{}{}_{}{}^{}-2{}_{}{}^2{}_{}{}^{}P_{\frac{1}{2}}^{}{}_{}{}^{}$ in hydrogen, in close agreement with the non-relativistic calculation by Bethe.