Perturbation theory for confined systems

Abstract

We discuss the application of perturbation theory to a system of particles confined in a spherical box. A simple argument shows that the particles behave almost independently in sufficiently strong confinement. We choose the helium atom with a moving nucleus as a particular example and compare results of first order with those for the nucleus clamped at the center of the box. We provide a suitable explanation for some numerical results obtained recently by other authors.