Electric dipole moments: a theory overview

Electric dipole moments are extremely sensitive probes of physics beyond the Standard Model. A vibrant experimental program is in place, with the goal of improving existing bounds on the electron and neutron electric dipole moments by one or two orders of magnitude, while testing new ideas for the measurement of electric dipole moments of light ions, such as the proton and the deuteron, at a comparable level. The success of this program, and its implications for physics beyond the Standard Model, relies on the precise calculation of the electric dipole moments in terms of the couplings of CP-violating operators induced by beyond-the-Standard-Model physics. In light of the nonperturbative nature of both QCD at low energy and of the nuclear interactions, these calculations have proven difficult, and are affected by large theoretical uncertainties. In this talk I will review the progress that has been achieved on different aspects of the calculation of hadronic and nuclear EDMs, the challenges that remain to be faced, and the implications for our understanding of physics beyond the Standard Model.