Thursday, May 7, 2015, 16:00
WHGA/Auditorium
Misha Gorshteyn, University of Mainz
Abstract:
Precision tests of the Standard Model (SM) aim at a high accuracy measurement of SM parameters, and a deviation of such a measurement from the SM theoretical predictions can be interpreted as a signal of new particles and interaction (or absence thereof). The accuracy of modern atomic, nuclear and hadronic experiments makes them sensitive to heavy new particles that lie within or even beyond the LHC range, as well as to light new particles (dark gauge sector, axions and alike). To interpret this class of experiments one has to provide equally precise theoretical calculations. At low energies QCD, the theory of strong interaction that describes the nuclear and hadronic structure, is non-perturbative, and its general solution has been sought for. Calculations that are able to provide the needed precision include dispersive methods and effective field theories. I review the status of the field on the example of the measurement of the weak mixing angle and the weak charge of the proton, studied within the Q-Weak experiment at Jefferson Lab and the future MESA/P2 experiment at Mainz, and the precision tests of QED with light muonic atoms.