Stability of coulomb systems with magnetic fields: I. The one-electron atom

Abstract

The ground state energy of an atom in the presence of an external magnetic field B (with the electron spin-field interaction included) can be arbitrarily negative when B is arbitrarily large. We inquire whether stability can be restored by adding the self energy of the field, ∫B2. For a hydrogenic like atom we prove that there is a critical nuclear charge, z c, such that the atom is stable for z zc. © 2005 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg New York.