The Shape of the Electron, and Why It Matters – Amar Vutha

Date: Tue. October 14th, 2014, 11:30 am-12:30 pm
Location: Rockefeller 221

The universe, or at least the 5% of it that we understand, is described rather well by the Standard Model of particle physics. Yet even this non-dark sector of the universe conceals a great mystery: // where has all the anti-matter gone? // In this lecture, I will describe the problem and the best solution that we have for it. One of the crucial ingredients of that solution is the prediction of new sources of time-reversal violation. The most sensitive probe of such time-reversal violation is, oddly enough, to be found in small asymmetries in the shape of the electron’s charge distribution. I will provide an overview of experimental efforts to detect these anomalous electric moments, and describe the strong constraints that they impose on the shape of physics to come.