New observables for parity violation in atoms: Energy shifts in external electric fields

Authors/Editors

Research Areas

Publication Details

Output type: Journal article

Author list: Bruss D, Gasenzer T, Nachtmann O

Publisher: Elsevier

Publication year: 1998

Journal: Physics Letters A (0375-9601)

Volume number: 239

Issue number: 1-2

Start page: 81

End page: 86

Number of pages: 6

ISSN: 0375-9601

eISSN: 1873-2429

Languages: English-Great Britain (EN-GB)

Unpaywall Data

Open access status: green

Full text URL: https://arxiv.org/pdf/hep-ph/9710461

Abstract

We consider hydrogen-like atoms in unstable levels of principal quantum number n = 2, confined to a finite size region in a non-homogeneous electric field carrying handedness. The interplay between the internal degrees of freedom of the atoms and the external ones of their c.m. motion can produce P-odd contributions to the eigenenergies. The nominal order of such shifts is 10(-8) Hz. Typically such energy shifts depend linearly on the small P-violation parameters delta(i) similar or equal to 10(-12) (i = 1, 2), essentially the ratios of the P-violating mixing matrix elements of the 2S and 2P states over the Lamb shift, with i = 1 (i = 2) corresponding to the nuclear spin independent (dependent) term. We show how such energy shifts can be enhanced by a large factor in a resonance-like way for special held configurations where a crossing of unstable levels occurs, leading to P-violating effects proportional to root delta(i). This is illustrated by explicit results for H-1(1), where we calculate a shift of 10(-5) Hz. Measurements of such effects can give information concerning the "spin crisis" of the nucleons. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V.

Keywords

No matching items found.

Documents