The generalized dynamical equation and the vacuum polarization effect in hydrogenlike atoms

Based on the generalized dynamical equation, vacuum polarization effects are studied within the scope of the bound state theory in quantum electrodynamics. We find a vacuum-polarization correction to the Lamb shift for the 1S state of the hydrogen atom on the order of (α/π) 2(Z(α) 4 that is not considered in the standard theory of bound states in quantum electrodynamics. © Allerton Press, Inc., 2012