DETERMINING ALPHA(S) FROM MEASUREMENTS AT ZETA - HOW NATURE PROMPTS US ABOUT NEW PHYSICS

The value of alpha 3(Mz) emerging from the so-called global fits based mainly on the data at the Z peak (and assuming the standard model) is three standard deviations higher than the one stemming from the low-e nergy phenomenology. The corresponding value of boolean AND(QCD) is ve ry large, similar to 500 MeV, and is incompatible with crucial feature s of QCD. If persists, the discrepancy should be interpreted as due to contributions to the Z-quark-antiquark vertices which go beyond the s tandard model.