The Curious Case of the Muon’s Anomalous Magnetic Moment
The muon has played an important role in the development of particle physics since its discovery in 1936. Muons are structureless so their properties can be predicted with impressive precision using the techniques of modern particle physics theory. Interest in the muon has risen since a recent measurement at Brookhaven of the anomalous magnetic moment of the muon differs from expectations. The difference might be due to new physics with new particles that are not included in the Standard Model prediction, but that can influence the results of the measurement. To help resolve this mystery, a new experiment at Fermilab will improve the precision of the measurement fourfold. The journey by land and sea of the giant storage ring at the heart of the experiment, and the principles underlying the measurement will be described.
Department of Physics