Measurement of linear stark interference in 199Hg.

We present measurements of Stark interference in the 6{sup 1}S{sub 0}{yields}6{sup 3}P{sub 1} transition in {sup 199}Hg, a process whereby a static electric field E mixes magnetic dipole and electric quadrupole couplings into an electric dipole transition, leading to E-linear energy shifts similar to those produced by a permanent atomic electric dipole moment (EDM). The measured interference amplitude, a{sub SI}=(a{sub M1}+a{sub E2})=(5.8{+-}1.5)x10{sup -9} (kV/cm){sup -1}, agrees with relativistic, many-body predictions and confirms that earlier central-field estimates are a factor of 10 too large. More importantly, this study validates the capability of the {sup 199}Hg EDM search apparatus to resolve nontrivial, controlled, and sub-nHz Larmor frequency shifts with EDM-like characteristics.