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Discrete spacetime theories can explain the muon magnetic moment discrepancy

Paul C. W. Davies* and Philip Tee†,‡

  • *Contact author: paul.davies@asu.edu
  • †Contact author: p.tee@sussex.ac.uk, ptee2@asu.edu
  • ‡Also at Department of Informatics, University of Sussex, Falmer, United Kingdom.
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Phys. Rev. D 112, 025002 – Published 7 July, 2025

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/9jty-782x

Abstract

An unsolved problem of particle physics is a discrepancy between the measured value of the muon anomalous magnetic moment and the theoretical prediction based on standard quantum electrodynamics. In this paper we show that if spacetime possesses a fundamental length scale, the ensuing modifications to the photon propagator can account for the discrepancy if the scale is chosen to be 10−22  m; the corresponding energy being about 30 TeV. The possibility that spacetime possesses a graininess on a fine enough scale has a long history. One class of theories that develops this idea is doubly special relativity, and we choose this as a model for our calculation. We note that the derived length scale is many orders of magnitude larger than the Planck length but comparable to that of some higher dimensional gravitational theories. It is also within the scope of experimental confirmation in the next generation of colliders.

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Phys. Rev. D 112, 025002– Published 7 July, 2025
  • Received 6 March 2025
  • Accepted 2 June 2025
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