Colloquium: Ethan Neil, University of Colorado

Abstract: Studies of fundamental particles at high precision provide important tests of our understanding of the Universe.  Such tests require substantial efforts both by experimentalists and by theorists, and have led to some of the most accurate predictions and verifications in all of physics (at the part-per-trillion level.)  I will focus on one such probe, the anomalous magnetic moment of the muon, where significant tension between theory and experiment has appeared.  After briefly summarizing the experimental situation, including recent results from an experiment at Fermilab, I will discuss the status of Standard Model theoretical predictions.  In particular, I will focus on contributions from the strong nuclear force, where supercomputer calculations play an essential role.