Physicists Solve a Muon Mystery. Now, Old Results Don't Add Up(quantamagazine.org)
222 points by ibobev 20 hours ago | 150 comments
tl;dr: New lattice QCD calculations from the BMW group and others now match Fermilab's measured muon g-2 wobble, seemingly resolving a 25-year anomaly that had hinted at new physics. However, this contradicts older "data-driven" predictions based on electron-positron collision experiments, and a 2023 measurement at Siberia's VEPP-2000 collider found a significantly different pion production rate than prior experiments. Physicists are now scrutinizing decades of collider data to determine whether the discrepancy reflects unknown particles or overlooked experimental effects.
HN Discussion:
  • Personal relief or amusement at having avoided working on this now-shifting problem
  • ~Skeptical joke that the discrepancy will turn out to be a mundane experimental error like a loose cable
  • Philosophical take that science is pragmatic best-fitting and paradigm shifts gradually bring us closer to reality
  • Distrust of scientists and suspicion that someone must be wrong or dishonest when results conflict
  • Embracing revision of results as a feature of the scientific process