Weak-interaction effects in heavy atomic systems

Effects of P-violating and CP-violating weak interactions in the heavy atoms Rb, Cs, Au, and Tl are calculated in a variety of potential models, including the relativistic Hartree-Fock model. Excitation energies and hyperfine constants are also calculated using these models and compared with experiment as a control. Values determined for the P-violating electric dipole matrix elements for Cs(6$s_{1/2}$→7$s_{1/2}$) and Tl(6$p_{1/2}$→7$p_{1/2}$) are in agreement with other similar calculations. The spread in values of the P- and CP-violating electric dipole matrix elements among the various models is found to be about 20%. A program is outlined for reducing this spread by systematically extending the present calculations to higher orders in the electron-electron interaction.