QED approach to the nuclear spin-spin coupling tensor

A quantum electrodynamical approach for the calculation of the nuclear spin-spin coupling tensor of nuclear-magnetic-resonance spectroscopy is given. Quantization of radiation fields within the molecule is considered and expressions for the magnetic field in the neighborhood of a nucleus are calculated. Using a generalization of time-dependent response theory, an effective spin-spin interaction is obtained from the coupling of nuclear magnetic moments to a virtual quantized magnetic field. The energy-dependent operators obtained reduce to usual classical-field expressions at suitable limits.