Applications of Precision Electron Scattering Parity Violation

The parity violating interference between photon and Z0 exchange in elastic electron scattering is a powerful tool for understanding nature. I will briefly describe the fundamental physics behind this phenomenon, and then discuss two applications. One application has to do with understanding the nature of neutron matter and the implications for neutron stars. This work has been published recently, and have generated a lot of interest in the nuclear and astrophysics communities. The other application is a direct test of the Standard Model of Particle Physics, an experiment currently under construction and which should be carried out within the next several years.