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Hydrogen measurement supports Standard Model predictions

Atomic physics research
McZusatz (talk), Wikimedia Commons, CC0 · CC0

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Research area:physics-astronomycosmology-dark-matter

What the study found

The study reports a highly precise measurement of the 2S–6P transition in atomic hydrogen, where 2S and 6P are electron energy states. The measured frequency agrees closely with the Standard Model prediction, and the derived proton charge radius is consistent with the value from muonic hydrogen.

Why the authors say this matters

The authors say this enables a rigorous test of quantum electrodynamics, or QED, which is a fundamental theory of light–matter interactions and a pillar of the Standard Model. They conclude that the result tests the Standard Model to 0.7 parts per trillion and bound-state QED corrections to 0.5 parts per million.

What the researchers tested

The researchers measured the 2S–6P transition frequency in atomic hydrogen with enough precision to distinguish between previously discrepant proton charge radius values. They then compared the measured frequency with the Standard Model prediction and used the result to extract the proton charge radius.

What worked and what didn't

The measured transition frequency was 730,690,248,610.79(48) kHz, and the Standard Model prediction was 730,690,248,610.79(23) kHz. The derived proton charge radius was 0.8406(15) fm, at least 2.5 times more precise than other atomic hydrogen determinations and in excellent agreement with the muonic value.

What to keep in mind

The abstract does not describe experimental limitations in detail. It also notes that earlier atomic hydrogen measurements gave partly discrepant proton charge radius values, which motivated this work.

Key points

  • A precise 2S–6P transition measurement in atomic hydrogen was reported.
  • The measured frequency matched the Standard Model prediction closely.
  • The inferred proton charge radius was 0.8406(15) fm.
  • That radius was at least 2.5 times more precise than other atomic hydrogen determinations.
  • The result agreed with the muonic hydrogen value and tested bound-state QED corrections to 0.5 ppm.

Disclosure

Research title:
Hydrogen measurement supports Standard Model predictions
Authors:
Lothar Maisenbacher, Vitaly Wirthl, Arthur Matveev, Alexey Grinin, Randolf Pohl, Theodor W. Hänsch, Thomas Udem
Institutions:
Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics, Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics, Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics, Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics, Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics, Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics, Northwestern University, University of California, Berkeley
Publication date:
2026-02-11
DOI:
10.1038/s41586-026-10124-3
OpenAlex record:
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Image credit:
McZusatz (talk), Wikimedia Commons, CC0
AI provenance: This post was generated by gpt-5.4-mini (OpenAI). The original authors did not write or review this post.

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