Muon g-2: Stress-Testing the SM

Following the discovery, in 1947, that the experimental value of the magnetic moment of the electron did not equal 2, the value predicted by the famous Dirac equation, Schwinger calculated perturbatively the 1-loop radiative corrections to the quantity and showed they accounted for the discrepancy.

Ever since, theorists and experimentalists alike have strived to evaluate the anomalous magnetic moment of leptons as precisely as possible in a collaborative effort to test the Standard Model, and establish stringent restrictions to physics that go beyond it. In this talk, we will review the history of this endeavor, explain why the muon is considered the prime candidate to discover new physics, and explore in detail the various terms that compose its anomalous moment, starting with the QED component.

Then, we will focus on the hadronic component as it is the biggest challenge to calculate, and describe the current attempts to attack the problem using Lattice QCD techniques. Finally, we will discuss the still unresolved issues with these approaches and future prospects which might reveal unforeseen insights into the structure of our Universe at the smallest scales.