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Einladung zum Physikalischen Kolloquium im Sommersemester 2016

Atomic physics of multiply charged ions: Testing the fundamental symmetries of nature

Atomic physics studies of fundamental symmetries (parity- and time-reversal) have attracted
considerable attention in the last two decades. These studies are complementary to high-energy
collider experiments since they provide stringent tests of the Standard Model at low-momentum
transfer. In this presentation, we will review the current status of the atomic parity-violating (APV)
research and place special emphasis on the investigations involving multiply charged ions. We
argue that such ions are particularly envisaged for APV experiments thanks to their relatively
simple atomic structure and significant parity mixing. A number of recent theoretical proposals to
observe such a mixing will be reviewed in the talk. In particular, we shall focus on induced singleand
well as two-photon transitions between the excited states of few-electron medium- and high-
Z ions.