Muon results throw theories into confusion

The news earlier this month that the magnetic moment of muons seems to be larger than predicted by the standard model has thrown particle physics into a tizzy. If the discrepancy pans out, it would be the first time that the theory has failed to account for observations since its inception five decades ago. The finding might breathe new life into the theory known as supersymmetry, or SUSY. It could also provide evidence of either a leptoquark or a Z’ boson — hypothetical particles that could, in different ways, help mesh the results with other measurements by the Large Hadron's Collider LHCb detector. In any case, physicists are cautiously excited.