Electric dipole polarizabilities of hydrogen and helium isotopes

The electric dipole polarizabilities of {sup 3}H, {sup 3}He, and {sup 4}He are calculated directly using the Schroedinger equation with the latest generation of two- and three-nucleon interactions. These quantities are necessary in order to obtain accurate nuclear-polarization corrections for transitions involving S-waves in one-and two-electron atoms. Our results are compared to previous results, and it is shown that direct calculations of the electric polarizability of {sup 4}He using modern nuclear potentials are smaller than published values calculated using experimental photoabsorption data. The status of this topic is assessed in the context of precise measurements of transitions in one- and two-electron atoms.