Techniques for precision measurements of parity violating asymmetries

Recent parity non-conservation (PNC) measurements in nuclei use the compound nucleus as a laboratory for the study of symmetry breaking, with the symmetry breaking matrix elements treated as random variables. We plan to measure parity-violating longitudinal analyzing powers Az in (p,α) scattering on resonances in A∼30 nuclei. Since the resonances are often narrow, the proton beam energy must be carefully controlled. In addition, since the effects are expected to be small (Az