Why is Muon g-2 important?
Muon g-2 (pronounced “gee minus two”) is a particle physics experiment at Fermilab to measure the anomalous magnetic dipole moment of a muon to a precision of 0.14 ppm, which will be a sensitive test of the Standard Model. It might also provide evidence of the existence of entirely new particles.
Why is the electron g-factor 2?
The g-factor value ge = 2 immediately follows from the ratio of non-relativistic and relativistic angular momenta which can be both attributed to a spinning electron of known rest mass. A continuous form of Gaussian charge density ensures an absence of infinities in electromagnetic energy and angular momentum.
What is the muon g-2 ring?
The Muon g-2 ring sits amid electronics racks in its detector hall. This experiment operates at negative 450 degrees Fahrenheit and studies the precession (or wobble) of muons as they travel through a magnetic field. Please be respectful of copyright.
Do muons wobble more than they should?
The finding comes from an experiment at Fermilab called Muon g-2, which looks at particles called muons that are heavier cousins of electrons. It turns out their spins wobble more than the standard laws of physics say they should. Here to tell us all about it is David Hertzog of the University of Washington, one of the physicists on the experiment.
What can we learn from Fermilab’s muon experiment?
First results from the Muon g-2 experiment at Fermilab have strengthened evidence of new physics. The centerpiece of the experiment is a 50-foot-diameter superconducting magnetic storage ring, which sits in its detector hall amidst electronics racks, the muon beamline, and other equipment.
Why study the muon?
Studying the muon is “almost the most inclusive probe of new physics,” says Muon g-2 team member Dominik Stöckinger, a theorist at Germany’s Dresden University of Technology. The Muon g-2 experiment starts with a beam of muons, which scientists make by smashing pairs of protons together and then carefully filtering through the subatomic debris.