Uehling potential and lowest-order corrections on vacuum polarization to the cross sections of some QED processes

Abstract

Properties and different representations of the Uehling potential are investigated. Based on these properties and by using our formulas for the Fourier transform of the Uehling potential we have developed the new analytical, logically closed and physically transparent procedure which can be used to evaluate the lowest-order vacuum polarization correction to the cross sections of a number of QED processes, including the Mott electron scattering, bremsstrahlung, creation and/or annihilation of the $(e^{-}, e^{+})-$pair in the field of a heavy Coulomb center, e.g., atomic nucleus.