Parity nonconservation in singly ionized helium

We analyze the sensitivity of parity experiments in singly ionized helium to the weak neutral-current interaction between electrons and nucleons. Such experiments could eventually provide measurements of the radiative corrections to the weak neutral-current coupling constants and precision measurements of the Weinberg angle. Some new ‘‘quasioptical’’ techniques for measuring parity nonconservation are discussed, and these appear to be particularly suitable for parity experiments in ${\mathrm{He}}^{+}$. The problem of systematic effects caused by unwanted electric fields is considered, and the effect of electric fields arising from motion of ${\mathrm{He}}^{+}$ ions transverse to a magnetic field is analyzed in detail.