An Etymological Dictionary of Astronomy and Astrophysics
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The laws of physics should be the same if a particle is interchanged with its → antiparticle (→ charge conjugation), or swapped for its mirror image (→ parity symmetry). It is known that charge-parity (CP) symmetry holds for interactions involving → electromagnetism, → gravitation, and → strong interactions, but CP violation is known to occur during → weak interactions involved in → radio decay. Same as → CP-symmetry.

→ charge; → parity; → symmetry.

A classical variable which does not change upon spatial inversion, such as time, energy, angular momentum and so on. → odd parity.

Even, from O.E. efen "level; equal," from P.Gmc. *ebnaz (cf. Ger. eben; Goth. ibns); → parity.

Hamâli, → parity; zowj "pair, couple; an even number," from Ar.

1) General: Equality, as in amount, status, or character; equivalence; correspondence; similarity; analogy. Opposite of disparity.
2) Physics: The principle of space-inversion invariance.
An operation that reverses the algebraic sign of the coordinate axes used to describe a system, i.e. (x, y, z) → (-x, -y, -z). The parity principle is important in quantum mechanics because the wave functions which represent particles can behave in different ways upon transformation of the coordinate system. The parity is 1 (or even) if the wave function of the system is unchanged by an inversion of the coordinate system; it is -1 (or odd) if the wave function is changed only in sign. Parity is conserved in strong interactions, but not in weak ones.
3) Math.: The attribute, of an integer, of being even or odd. Thus, it can be said that 8 and 12 have the same parity, whereas 5 and 16 have opposite parity.
See also: → charge-parity symmetry, → even parity, → parity conservation, → parity symmetry, → parity violation.

From M.Fr. parité, from L.L. paritas "equality," from L. adj. par "equal."

Hamâli, quality noun of hamâl, → pair (equivalent 2).

In quantum mechanics, the condition of parity in strong and electrodynamic interactions, where it remains constant and does not change with time. In other words, parity conservation implies that Nature is symmetrical and makes no distinction between right- and left-handed rotations or between opposite sides of a subatomic particle. Thus, for example, two similar radioactive particles spinning in opposite directions about a vertical axis should emit their decay products with the same intensity upward and downward. Same as → parity symmetry.

→ parity; → conservation.

The invariance of physical laws under a transformation that changes the sign of the space coordinates. Parity symmetry is sometimes called mirror symmetry. It is known that the parity symmetry is violated in some weak interactions, while it is well preserved in all other three interactions (gravitational, electromagnetic, strong). Same as → P-symmetry and → parity conservation.

→ parity; → symmetry.

In quantum mechanics, the condition of → parity in the → weak interaction. For example, the emitted → beta particles in → radioactive decay of → cobalt-60 nuclei are not equally distributed between the two poles of cobalt-60. More beta particles emerge from one pole than the other, and it would be possible to distinguish the mirror image nuclei from their counterparts.

→ parity; → violation.