Vacuum polarization and Wichmann-Kroll correction in the finite basis set approximation

Abstract

The finite basis set method is commonly used to calculate atomic spectra, including QED contributions such as bound-electron self-energy. Still, it remains problematic and underexplored for vacuum-polarization calculations. We fill this gap by trying this approach in its application to the calculation of the vacuum-polarization charge density and the Wichmann-Kroll correction to the electron binding energy in a hydrogen-like ion. We study the convergence of the method with different types and sizes of basis sets. We cross-check our results for the Wichmann-Kroll correction by direct integration of the Green's function. As a relevant example, we consider several heavy hydrogen-like ions and evaluate the vacuum polarization correction for $S$ and $P$ electron orbitals.