Abstract

Lattice QCD provides a first-principles approach to calculating hadronic matrix elements. These are required to infer from experimental data some of the fundamental parameters of the Standard Model, or any Beyond-the-Standard Model. The first part of this talk briefly reviews the main ideas involved in lattice Monte Carlo calculations, while the second focuses on how lattice and experimental data combine to constrain quark-flavour-changing parameters such as the CKM matrix element Vcb.