Observation of the parity-violating positron-spin correlation from a magnetically trapped rubidium-82 source

Low-energy nuclear physics experiments have been a key tool used to understand the weak interaction ever since the first demonstration of parity violation by Wu et al. in 1957. Since this time, there has been a need to develop a polarized source of nuclei that can be utilized to test the form of the weak interaction to high-precision. The recently developed atomic physics techniques of laser cooling and magnetic trapping can be employed to confine and polarize radioactive atoms for this purpose. This dissertation demonstrates the feasibility of using trapped radioactive atoms as a source of polarized nuclei through the observation of the parity-violation distribution of positrons originating from a magnetically trapped and polarized 82Rb sample.