TY  - GEN
A1  - Trappe, Martin-Isbjörn
ID  - heidok14298
AV  - public
TI  - Parity-Violating and Parity-Conserving Berry Phases for Hydrogen and Helium in an Atom Interferometer
Y1  - 2013/01//
N2  - In the present thesis Berry phases for metastable states of hydrogen and helium exposed
to external electromagnetic fields are investigated. One main goal is the derivation of
a parity-violating observable incorporating the electroweak mixing angle. The study is
done in view of an available high-precision atomic beam spin echo interferometer and
with respect to the theoretically very well-known structure of hydrogen. We determine
the general properties of parity-violating and parity-conserving Berry phases and their
flux-density vector fields distinguished by their behaviour under proper and improper
rotations. This allows for extensive analytical investigations and cross-checks of our
numerical computations. Regarding hydrogen, we reveal geometry-dependent modifications
of atomic lifetimes due to parity-conserving imaginary Berry phases. Deriving
the evolution of the atomic wave packets, we establish the theoretical description of an
atom interferometer. An analytical expression for the spin echo signal, easily accessible
in experiment, is presented and numerically evaluated to extract parity-violating
signals. We discuss the implications of the computed parity-violating effects on interferometric
precision measurements of the proton?s weak charges. Moreover, we outline
the concept of Heisenberg-limited atom interferometry to improve the resolution for
measurements of Berry phases. Finally, we present predictions for parity-conserving
Berry phases of metastable helium states studied in the Heidelberg experiment.
UR  - https://archiv.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/volltextserver/14298/
ER  -