An optical lattice based method for precise measurements of atomic parity violation

We propose a method for measuring parity violation in neutral atoms. It is an adaptation of a seminal work by Fortson [Phys. Rev. Lett. 70, 2383 (1993)], proposing a scheme for a single trapped ion. In our version, a large sample of neutral atoms should be localised in an optical lattice overlapping a grid of detection sites, all tailored as the single site in Fortson's work. The methodology is of general applicability, but as an example, we estimate the achievable signal in an experiment probing a nuclear spin independent parity violation on the line 6s 2 S 1/2-5d 2 D 3/2 in 133 Cs. The projected result is based on realistic parameters and ab initio calculations of transition amplitudes, using the relativistic coupled-cluster method. The final result is a predicted spectroscopic signature, evidencing parity violation, of the order of 1 Hz, for a sample of 10 8 atoms. We show that a total interrogation time of 30000 s should, together with existing theoretical data, suffice for achieving a precision in the determination of the weak charge of Cs of the order of 0.1%-a sensitivity surpassing previously reported determinations by at least a factor of five.