Low energy probes of physics beyond the standard model

Low-energy tests of fundamental symmetries and studies of neutrino properties provide a powerful window on physics beyond the Standard Model (BSM). In this article, we provide a basic theoretical framework for a subsequent set of articles that review the progress and opportunities in various aspects of the low-energy program. We illustrate the physics reach of different low-energy probes in terms of an effective BSM mass scale and illustrate how this reach matches and, in some cases, even exceeds that accessible at the high energy frontier. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.