Stark quenching for the 1s22s2p 3P0 level in beryllium-like ions and parity-violating effects

In this paper we present some concepts in heavy ion atomic physics for the extraction of parity-violating effects. We investigate the effects of the so-called Stark quenching, i.e. the fast decay of a metastable state induced by a Stark field, and the superposition of one- and two-photon transitions in beryllium-like heavy ions. It turns out that the discussed theoretical phenomena for heavy ions with few electrons are beyond the scope of present day experimental possibilities because one has to require beam energies of up to 1 TeV A(-1), laser intensities of up to 10(17) W cm(-2) and ion currents of up tb 10(11) ions/s in beryllium-like uranium. However, the superposition of one-and two-photon transitions in particular is a very interesting phenomenon that could provide the germ for an idea to be applied in a more favourable system.