Precision Tests of Discrete Symmetries at Low Energies

Low energy precision measurements provide for precise testing of the Standard Model, e.g., in searches for violations of the discrete symmetries charge conjugation (C), parity (P), and time reversal (T) as well as their combinations CP and CPT. We focus here on new experiments concerning atomic parity violation (APV) and searches for a permanent electric dipole moment (EDM) in atoms. In particular, we address precision APV experiments on Ba⁺ and Ra⁺ single ions that will enable the extraction of the Weinberg angle at lowest presently accessible momentum transfer. They are expected to contribute towards searches for new particles such as dark Z-bosons. We also review experimental programmes in which an EDM is searched for and we compare them in a common framework. We describe latest EDM searches in heavy effective two-electron atoms such as Xe and Hg. We also indicate possible future prospects of searches for a permanent EDM of the electron using molecules with large enhancement factors.