Atomic parity violation in highly charged <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"> <mml:mmultiscripts> <mml:mi>Ca</mml:mi> <mml:mprescripts/> <mml:none/> <mml:mrow> <mml:mn>40</mml:mn> <mml:mo>,</mml:mo> <mml:mn>48</mml:mn> </mml:mrow> </mml:mmultiscripts> </mml:math> and <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"> <mml:mmultiscripts> <mml:mi>Pb</mml:mi> <mml:mprescripts/> <mml:none/> <mml:mn>208</mml:mn> </mml:mmultiscripts> </mml:math> ions

We calculate parity-violation-induced E 1 amplitudes for the 1 s → 2 s and 1 s 2 2 s → 1 s 2 3 s transitions in H- and Li-like ions of Ca 40 , Ca 48 , and Pb 208 . In our analysis, we account for neutron skin effects and nuclear uncertainties for each nucleus. We consider the spin-independent weak-interaction contribution of the Z 0 boson described by the standard model, as well as the effects of a hypothetical new Z ′ boson of varying mass. We conclude that the neutron-skin corrections in the Ca 40 , 48 isotope pair can mostly be neglected when considering Z ′ boson effects, which is an advantage for the search for new parity-violating physics. However, both the neutron skin effect and the sensitivity to hypothetical Z ′ interactions in Pb 208 are shown to be significant.