CALCULATIONS OF THE PARITY NONCONSERVING 6S-]7S TRANSITION IN CESIUM

The electroweak interaction between electrons and nucleons destroys the mirror symmetry of an atom. The size of the effect depends on the weak interaction constants as well as on the atomic structure. Small-scale experiments studying atomic parity non-conservation can thus give a quantitative test of the standard model for the electro-weak interaction - provided the atomic structure is sufficiently well understood. The increasing experimental accuracy, in particular for Cs, raises new demands on atomic theory. The various contributions to the parity non-conserving electric dipole transition matrix element are discussed together with the methods used to calculate them. The uncertainty in the atomic calculation is estimated. A discussion of radiative corrections with emphasis on the role of the top quark mass is also given.