g-2 hints at Physics beyond the Standard Model

by Megha Mogarkar (M.Sc. Physics Part 1), Oliver Pereira (M.Sc. Physics Part 1)

On 7th April, the Muon g-2 collaboration at Fermilab published a result confirming the discrepancy between the theoretical and predicted value of the muon's magnetic moment. They announced that muons wobbled more than expected while whipping through a magnetic field.

The muon entourage. image credit: Runbo Chen/ Quanta magazine

But why is this such an important discovery? Where did this discrepancy come from? What is this g-2 ex