Proton-Size Resolution of the Hyperfine Puzzle in Hydrogen

Abstract

Baym and Farrar (arXiv:2601.02300v1) have recently pointed out a puzzle in understanding the role of the hyperfine interaction in the ground state of a hydrogen atom. If one uses a variational wave function in which the Bohr radius, $a_0$ is replaced by a variational radius parameter, $R$, first-order perturbation theory can give a contribution to the energy proportional to $-1/R^3$. This raises the question of why the hyperfine interaction does not lead to collapse of hydrogen. I show that including the effects of the non-zero size of the proton leads to a resolution of the puzzle such that the variational procedure yields a value of $R$ that is indistinguishable from $a_0$.

Comments: 3 pages, 2 figures