Description
Book SynopsisA new direction of research has recently emerged at the boundary between elementary particle physics and atomic spectroscopy: the investigation of weak interactions by optical methods. These studies have led to the discovery of parity nonconservation in atomic transitions, which has served as one of the first decisive confirmations of the unified model of electroweak interactions. In this integrated picture of the subject the author considers the effects of space-inversion and time-reversal violation in atoms, molecules and condensed matter. The book is intended for physicists, and for theoretical and experimental physicists specializing in atomic, nuclear and elementary particle physics.
Table of ContentsPreface, List of Symbols, 1 The general structure of weak electron-nucleon interactions, 2 Qualitative consideration of parity nonconservation effects in atoms, 3 The hydrogen atom, 4 Calculation of the mixing of opposite-parity levels in heavy atoms, 5 Optical highly forbidden M l transitions in heavy atoms, 6 Optical activity of heavy-metal vapours. General considerations and calculations, 7 Observation of optical activity of heavy-metal vapours, 8 P-odd nuclear forces — another source of parity violation in atoms, 9 What else can be discovered about weak interactions from experiments with heavy atoms?, 10 Weak interactions and optical isomers, 11 Parity nonconservation in crystals,12 Weak interactions and low temperatures, 13 Searching for T-invariance violation in atoms and molecules, References, Addenda, Index
