Lecture

Supersymmetry: Motivations and Concrete Applications

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In course

PHYS-817: Supersymmetry

Supersymmetry is the unique quantum extension of the symmetry principles of relativity. This course offers a first but broad introduction covering the role of Supersymmetry in our understanding of both physics beyond the Standard Model and non-perturbative ...

Description

This lecture covers the motivations behind supersymmetry, including string theory, the hierarchy problem, and gauge coupling unification. It also discusses how quantum field theorists exploit symmetries, focusing on flavor symmetries and the hierarchy problem. The presentation progresses to concrete applications of supersymmetry, such as the construction of supermultiplets and the Coleman-Mandula theorem. The lecture concludes with an exploration of the algebraic structures underlying supersymmetry and the implications for particle physics.

Official source

Ontological neighbourhood

Physics

Quantum field theory: Topics in quantum field theory

Related concepts (32)

Flavour (particle physics)

In particle physics, flavour or flavor refers to the species of an elementary particle. The Standard Model counts six flavours of quarks and six flavours of leptons. They are conventionally parameterized with flavour quantum numbers that are assigned to all subatomic particles. They can also be described by some of the family symmetries proposed for the quark-lepton generations. In classical mechanics, a force acting on a point-like particle can only alter the particle's dynamical state, i.e.

Desert (particle physics)

In the Grand Unified Theory of particle physics (GUT), the desert refers to a theorized gap in energy scales, between approximately the electroweak energy scale–conventionally defined as roughly the vacuum expectation value or VeV of the Higgs field (about 246 GeV)–and the GUT scale, in which no unknown interactions appear. It can also be described as a gap in the lengths involved, with no new physics below 10−18 m (the currently probed length scale) and above 10−31 m (the GUT length scale).

Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model

The Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model (MSSM) is an extension to the Standard Model that realizes supersymmetry. MSSM is the minimal supersymmetrical model as it considers only "the [minimum] number of new particle states and new interactions consistent with "Reality". Supersymmetry pairs bosons with fermions, so every Standard Model particle has a superpartner yet undiscovered. If discovered, such superparticles could be candidates for dark matter, and could provide evidence for grand unification or the viability of string theory.

String theory

In physics, string theory is a theoretical framework in which the point-like particles of particle physics are replaced by one-dimensional objects called strings. String theory describes how these strings propagate through space and interact with each other. On distance scales larger than the string scale, a string looks just like an ordinary particle, with its mass, charge, and other properties determined by the vibrational state of the string.

Quantum field theory

In theoretical physics, quantum field theory (QFT) is a theoretical framework that combines classical field theory, special relativity, and quantum mechanics. QFT is used in particle physics to construct physical models of subatomic particles and in condensed matter physics to construct models of quasiparticles. QFT treats particles as excited states (also called quanta) of their underlying quantum fields, which are more fundamental than the particles.

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