Parity-violating Effects Research Articles

Chiral Langevin theory for non-Abelian plasmas

Charged plasmas with chirality imbalance are unstable and tend to reduce the imbalance. This chiral plasma instability is, however, not captured in (anomalous) hydrodynamics for high-temperature non-Abelian plasmas. We derive a Langevin-type classical effective theory with anomalous parity-violating effects for non-Abelian plasmas that describes the chiral plasma instability at the magnetic scale. We show that the time scale of the instability is of order $[{g}^{4}T\mathrm{ln}(1/g){]}^{\ensuremath{-}1}$ at weak coupling.

Angular momentum generation from holographic Chern-Simons models

We study parity-violating effects, particularly the generation of angular momentum density and its relation to the parity-odd and dissipationless transport coefficient Hall viscosity, in strongly-coupled quantum fluid systems in 2+1 dimensions using holographic method. We employ a class of 3+1-dimensional holographic models of Einstein-Maxwell system with gauge and gravitational Chern-Simons terms coupled to a dynamical scalar field. The scalar can condensate and break the parity spontaneously. We find that when the scalar condensates, a non-vanishing angular momentum density and an associated edge current are generated, and they receive contributions from both gauge and gravitational Chern-Simons terms. The angular momentum density does not satisfy a membrane paradigm form because the vector mode fluctuations from which it is calculated are effectively massive. On the other hand, the emergence of Hall viscosity is a consequence of the gravitational Chern-Simons term alone and it has membrane paradigm form. We present both general analytic results and numeric results which take back-reactions into account. The ratio between Hall viscosity and angular momentum density resulting from the gravitational Chern-Simons term has in general a deviation from the universal 1/2 value obtained from field theory and condensed matter physics.

Parity-violating interactions of cosmic fields with atoms, molecules, and nuclei: Concepts and calculations for laboratory searches and extracting limits

We propose methods and present calculations that can be used to search for evidence of cosmic fields by investigating the parity-violating effects, including parity nonconservation amplitudes and electric dipole moments, that they induce in atoms. The results are used to constrain important fundamental parameters describing the strength of the interaction of various cosmic fields with electrons, protons, and neutrons. Candidates for such fields are dark matter (including axions) and dark energy, as well as several more exotic sources described by standard-model extensions. Existing parity nonconservation experiments in Cs, Dy, Yb, and Tl are combined with our calculations to directly place limits on the interaction strength between the temporal component, b_0, of a static pseudovector cosmic field and the atomic electrons, with the most stringent limit of |b_0^e| < 7*10^(-15) GeV, in the laboratory frame of reference, coming from Dy. From a measurement of the nuclear anapole moment of Cs, and a limit on its value for Tl, we also extract limits on the interaction strength between the temporal component of this cosmic field, as well as a related tensor cosmic-field component d_00, with protons and neutrons. The most stringent limits of |b_0^p| < 4*10^(-8) GeV and |d_00^p| < 5*10^(-8) for protons, and |b_0^n| < 2*10^(-7) GeV and |d_00^n| < 2*10^(-7) for neutrons (in the laboratory frame) come from the results using Cs. Axions may induce oscillating P- and T-violating effects in atoms and molecules through the generation of oscillating nuclear magnetic quadrupole and Schiff moments, which arise from P- and T-odd intranuclear forces and from the electric dipole moments of constituent nucleons. Nuclear-spin-independent parity nonconservation effects may be enhanced in diatomic molecules possessing close pairs of opposite-parity levels in the presence of time-dependent interactions.

High-resolution spectroscopy of the chiral metal complex [CpRe(CH₃)(CO)(NO)]: a potential candidate for probing parity violation.

Heavy-metal containing chiral compounds have been suggested as promising candidates for studying parity-violation effects. We report herein the broadband rotational spectroscopy study of the chiral complex [CpRe(CH3)(CO)(NO)] in the gas phase. The spectra obtained are very rich due to the two rhenium isotopologues ((185)Re and (187)Re), hyperfine structure arising from the rhenium and nitrogen nuclei, and the asymmetry of the chiral complex. Since rhenium is located very close to the molecular center of mass, the rotational constants for the two rhenium isotopologues are very similar. However they can be differentiated by their characteristic nuclear quadrupole hyperfine splitting patterns. Comparison with calculated nuclear quadrupole coupling constants shows that all-electron relativistic basis sets are necessary for a correct description of the rhenium atom in this type of complex. The present study is an important step towards future precision studies on chiral molecules.

Parity violating radiative emission of neutrino pairs in heavy alkaline earth atoms of even isotopes

Metastable excited states ${}^3P_2, {}^3P_0$ of heavy alkaline earth atoms of even isotopes are studied for parity violating (PV) effects in radiative emission of neutrino pair (RENP). PV terms arise from interference between two diagrams containing neutrino pair emission of valence spin current and nuclear electroweak charge density proportional to the number of neutrons in nucleus. This mechanism gives large PV effects, since it does not suffer from the suppression of 1/(electron mass) usually present for non-relativistic atomic electrons. A controllable magnetic field is crucial to identify RENP process by measuring PV observables. Results of PV asymmetries under the magnetic field reversal and the photon circular polarization reversal are presented for an example of Yb atom.

Spin correlations in polarizations ofP-wave charmoniaχcJand impact onJ/ψpolarization

Based on a general form of the effective vertex functions for the decays of P-wave charmonia $\chicj$, angular distribution formulas for the subsequent decays $\chicj\rightarrow \jpsi \gamma$ and $\jpsi \to \mu^+\mu^-$ are derived. The formulas are the same as those obtained in a different approach in the literature. Our formulas are expressed in a more general form, including parity violation effects and the full angular dependence of $\jpsi$ and muon in the cascade decay $\chicj\to\jpsi\gamma\to\mu^+\mu^-\gamma$. The $\chicj$ polarization observables are expressed in terms of rational functions of the spin density matrix elements of $\chicj$ production. Generalized rotation-invariant relations for arbitrary integer-spin particles are also derived and their expressions in terms of observable angular distribution parameters are given in the $\chi_{c1}$ and $\chi_{c2}$. To complement our previous direct-$\jpsi$ polarization result, we also discuss the impact on the observable prompt-$\jpsi$ polarization. As an illustrative application of our angular distribution formulas, we present the angular distributions in terms of the tree-level spin density matrix elements of $\chi_{c1}$ and $\chi_{c2}$ production in several different frames at the Large Hadron Collider. Moreover, a reweighting method is also proposed to determine the entire set of the production spin density matrix elements of the $\chi_{c2}$, some of which disappear or are suppressed for vanishing higher-order multipole effects making the complete extraction difficult experimentally.

Zeeman-tuned rotational level-crossing spectroscopy in a diatomic free radical.

Rotational levels of molecular free radicals can be tuned to degeneracy by using laboratory-scale magnetic fields. Because of their intrinsically narrow width, these level crossings of opposite-parity states have been proposed for use in the study of parity-violating interactions and other applications. We experimentally study a typical manifestation of this system using BaF138. Using a Stark-mixing method for detection, we demonstrate level-crossing signals with spectral width as small as 6kHz. We use our data to verify the predicted line shapes, transition dipole moments, and Stark shifts and to precisely determine molecular magnetic g factors. Our results constitute an initial proof of concept for use of this system to study nuclear spin-dependent parity-violating effects.

Strongly enhanced atomic parity violation due to close levels of opposite parity

We present calculations of nuclear-spin-dependent and nuclear-spin-independent parity violating amplitudes in Ba, Ra, Ac+, Th and Pa. Parity nonconservation in these systems is greatly enhanced due to the presence of very close electronic energy levels of opposite parity, large nuclear charge, and strong nuclear enhancement of parity-violating effects. The presented amplitudes constitute several of the largest atomic parity-violating signals predicted so far. Experiments using these systems may be performed to determine values for the nuclear anapole moment, a P-odd T-even nuclear moment given rise to by parity-violating nuclear forces. Such measurements may prove to be valuable tools in the study of parity violation in the hadron sector. The considered spin-independent transitions could also be used to measure the ratio of weak charges for different isotopes of the same atom, the results of which would serve as a test of the standard model and also of neutron distributions. Barium, with seven stable isotopes, is particularly promising in this regard.

Periodic trends in parity-violating hyperfine coupling constants of open-shell diatomic molecules

Nuclear spin-dependent parity violation effects are predicted with the help of a quasi-relativistic two-component zeroth order regular approximation (ZORA) approach for a series of open-shell diatomic molecules that feature a 2Σ electronic ground state. The particular focus is on scaling behaviour of the parity violating parameter Wa in the effective spin-rotational Hamiltonion with increasing nuclear charge Z of the heavier atom in the diatomic molecule. Previously (Isaev and Berger, 2012) an approximate R(A,Z)Z2 scaling law, with R(A,Z) denoting a relativistic enhancement factor, was confirmed for Wa in the series of valence isoelectronic group II monofluorides and valence isoelectronic group XII monohydrides, that is along columns of the periodic table of the elements. In this work, a pronounced R(A,Z)Zk scaling is predicted for isolobal 2Σ diatomic molecules along rows of the periodic table, with k being approximately 4 and 6 for the fourth and fifth row, respectively, and even larger for the sixth and seventh row. This observation opens up a another dimension in the systematic search of candidate systems for measuring nuclear spin-dependent parity violating interactions in molecules.

Parity violation in nuclear magnetic resonance frequencies of chiral tetrahedral tungsten complexes NWXYZ (X, Y, Z = H, F, Cl, Br or I)

Density functional theory within the two-component quasi-relativistic zeroth-order regular approximation (ZORA) is used to predict parity violation shifts in (183)W nuclear magnetic resonance shielding tensors of chiral, tetrahedrally bonded tungsten complexes of the form NWXYZ (X, Y, Z = H, F, Cl, Br or I), as well as for the heavier systems NWHAtF and NWH(117)F for comparison. The calculations reveal that sub-mHz accuracy is required to detect such tiny effects in this class of compounds, and that parity violation effects are very sensitive to the choice of ligands.

Strong enhancement of parity violation effects in chiral uranium compounds.

The effects of parity violation (PV) on the vibrational transitions of chiral uranium compounds of the type N≡UXYZ and N≡UHXY (X, Y, Z = F, Cl, Br, I) are analysed by means of exact two-component relativistic (X2C) Hartree-Fock and density functional calculations using NUFClI and NUHFI as representative examples. The PV contributions to the vibrational transitions were found to be in the Hz range, larger than for any of the earlier proposed chiral molecules. Thus, these systems are very promising candidates for future experimental PV measurements. A detailed comparison of the N≡UHFI and the N≡WHFI homologues reveals that subtle electronic structure effects, rather than exclusively a simple Z(5) scaling law, are the cause of the strong enhancement in PV contributions of the chiral uranium molecules.

Correction: Strong enhancement of parity violation effects in chiral uranium compounds

Correction for ‘Strong enhancement of parity violation effects in chiral uranium compounds’ by Michael Wormit et al., Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2014, 16, 17043–17051.

Effects of parity violation on non-Gaussianity of primordial gravitational waves in Hořava-Lifshitz gravity

In this paper, we study the effects of parity violation on non-Gaussianities of primordial gravitational waves in the framework of the Ho\ifmmode \check{r}\else \v{r}\fi{}ava-Lifshitz theory of gravity, in which high-order spatial derivative operators, including the ones violating parity, generically appear. By calculating the three-point function, we find that the leading-order contributions to the non-Gaussianities come from the usual second-order derivative terms, which produce the same bispectrum as that found in general relativity. The contributions from high-order spatial $n$th derivative terms are always suppressed by a factor $(H/{M}_{*}{)}^{n\ensuremath{-}2}(n\ensuremath{\ge}3)$, where $H$ denotes the inflationary energy and ${M}_{*}$ the suppression mass scale of the high-order spatial derivative operators of the theory. Therefore, the next leading-order contributions come from the three-dimensional gravitational Chern-Simons term. With some reasonable arguments, it is shown that this three-dimensional operator is the only one that violates the parity and in the meantime has nonvanishing contributions to non-Gaussianities.

Parity violation effects with doubly excited states in heavy Li-like ions

Quasidegenerate states of different parity for heavy Li-like ions are studied to search for the enhancement of the parity non-conservation (PNC) effects. The energies of the states and with κ = ± 1 and 4 ⩽ n ⩽ 7 are evaluated in the range Z = 54–100. The PNC admixing parameter has been calculated for the states with n and κ, which seem most promising for increasing the PNC effect. The PNC effect is evaluated for the process of dielectronic recombination of a polarized electron with a helium-like ion.

Parity violation in beryllium-like heavy ions

A novel scheme is proposed for studying the parity-violating (PV) effects in beryllium-like heavy ions. It is based on the application of circularly polarized ultraviolet light for inducing a single-photon transition between the metastable 1s22s2p 3P0 and the short-lived 1s22s2p 3P1 states. We argue that the cross section of such a photoabsorption process is sensitive to the mixing between the allowed magnetic dipole (M1) and the PV electric dipole (E1) excitation channels. Based on relativistic calculations, we find that the PV-mixing may influence the cross section at the level of 10−5% for beryllium-like uranium, U88+.

Parity-violating photon circular polarization in nd $\rightarrow$ 3H $\gamma$ with effective field theory at thermal energy

We study the parity-violating effects in $nd\rightarrow$ $^3H\gamma$ process using pionless effective field theory (EFT($//!/!/!/pi$)) at thermal energy. For the weak $NN$ interaction the parity-violating Lagrangian contains five independent low-energy coupling constants (LECs). One can fix the coupling constants by comparison of the calculated observables with a sufficient number of experimental data. So, we need five observables to obtain LECs. One of the five parity-violating observables is the photon circular polarization ($P_\gamma$) in $nd\rightarrow$ $^3H\gamma$ process. We calculate $P_\gamma$ at the leading order in terms of LECs. We compare our results with the previous $P_\gamma$ calculation based on the model of Desplanques, Donoghue, and Holstein.

Parity violation energies of C4H4X2 molecules for X = O, S, Se, Te and Po†

Parity-violating contributions, with the same magnitude but opposite sign, to the energies of 1,2 enantiomers of dioxin, dithiin, diselenin, ditellurin and dipolonin have been calculated. Theoretical predictions, which can be classified among the largest reported so far, indicate that the P enantiomer is energetically more stable than M. As expected, parity-violating effects increase with the first power of the neutron number and the fourth power of the atomic number for X = O, S, Se, Te and Po. The trend predicted by Laerdahl and Schwerdtfeger [Phys. Rev. A 60, 4439 (1999)] and by Berger [J. Chem. Phys. 129, 154105 (2008)] for H2X2 molecules, characterised by free rotation about the X–X internuclear axis, is therefore confirmed for the series of more rigid C4H4X2 compounds, in which limited deformations can take place.

Mixed harmonic charge dependent azimuthal correlations in Pb–Pb collisions at sNN=2.76TeV measured with the ALICE experiment at the LHC

Mixed harmonic charge dependent azimuthal correlations at mid-rapidity in Pb-Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}$ = 2.76 TeV were measured with the ALICE detector at the LHC. A clear charge dependence for a series of correlations is observed both via the multi-particle cumulant and the event plane methods. Implications from these measurements for the possible effects of the local parity violation in QCD and for models which incorporate the azimuthal anisotropic flow and the local charge conservation on the kinetic freeze-out surface are discussed.

Search for Chiral Magnetic Effects in High-Energy Nuclear Collisions

We present measurements of pion elliptic flow ($v_2$) in Au+Au collisions at $\sNN =$ 200, 62.4, 39, 27 and 19.6 GeV, as a function of event-by-event charge asymmetry ($A_{\pm}$), based on data from the STAR experiment at RHIC. We find that $\pi^-$ ($\pi^+$) elliptic flow linearly increases (decreases) with charge asymmetry for most centrality bins and for all the beam energies under study. The slope parameter ($r$) from $v_2(A_\pm)$ difference between $\pi^-$ and $\pi^+$ shows a centrality dependency similar with the calculations with Chiral Magnetic Wave. The measurements of charge separation with respect to the reaction plane in search of Local Parity Violation and Chiral Magnetic Effect are also presented for Au+Au collisions at $\sNN =$ 200, 62.4, 39, 27, 19.6, 11.5 and 7.7 GeV, and for U+U collisions at 193 GeV.

A chiral rhenium complex with predicted high parity violation effects: synthesis, stereochemical characterization by VCD spectroscopy and quantum chemical calculations

With their rich electronic, vibrational, rotational and hyperfine structure, molecular systems have the potential to play a decisive role in precision tests of fundamental physics. For example, electroweak nuclear interactions should cause small energy differences between the two enantiomers of chiral molecules, a signature of parity symmetry breaking. Enantioenriched oxorhenium(VII) complexes S-(-)- and R-(+)-3 bearing a chiral 2-methyl-1-thio-propanol ligand have been prepared as potential candidates for probing molecular parity violation effects via high resolution laser spectroscopy of the Re=O stretching. Although the rhenium atom is not a stereogenic centre in itself, experimental vibrational circular dichroism (VCD) spectra revealed a surrounding chiral environment, evidenced by the Re=O bond stretching mode signal. The calculated VCD spectrum of the R enantiomer confirmed the position of the sulfur atom cis to the methyl, as observed in the solid-state X-ray crystallographic structure, and showed the presence of two conformers of comparable stability. Relativistic quantum chemistry calculations indicate that the vibrational shift between enantiomers due to parity violation is above the target sensitivity of an ultra-high resolution infrared spectroscopy experiment under active preparation.