Atomic Radiative Transitions in Thermo Field Dynamics

In this work we rederive the Lamb-Retherford energy shift for an atomic electron in the presence of a thermal radiation. Using the Dalibard, Dupont-Roc and Cohen-Tannoudji (DDC) formalism, where physical observables are expressed as convolutions of suitable statistical functions, we construct the electromagnetic field propagator of Thermo Field Dynamics in the Coulomb gauge in order to investigate finite temperature effects on the atomic energy levels. In the same context, we also analyze the problem of the ground state stability.Comment: LaTex file, 13 pages, no figures, includes PACS numbers and minor changes in the text where a new section has been adde