Lecture

Supersymmetry: Massless Multiplets and Chiral Multiplets

Graph Chat

Chat with Graph Search

Ask any question about EPFL courses, lectures, exercises, research, news, etc. or try the example questions below.

DISCLAIMER: The Graph Chatbot is not programmed to provide explicit or categorical answers to your questions. Rather, it transforms your questions into API requests that are distributed across the various IT services officially administered by EPFL. Its purpose is solely to collect and recommend relevant references to content that you can explore to help you answer your questions.

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 concepts of massless multiplets and chiral multiplets in the context of supersymmetry. It discusses the properties and interactions of these multiplets, as well as their significance in theoretical physics. The lecture also explores the algebra of quantum fields and the structure of superspace, providing a comprehensive overview of the fundamental principles underlying supersymmetry.

Official source

Related concepts (32)

Supermultiplet

In theoretical physics, a supermultiplet is a representation of a supersymmetry algebra, possibly with extended supersymmetry. Then a superfield is a field on superspace which is valued in such a representation. Naïvely, or when considering flat superspace, a superfield can simply be viewed as a function on superspace. Formally, it is a section of an associated supermultiplet bundle. Phenomenologically, superfields are used to describe particles.

Superspace

Superspace is the coordinate space of a theory exhibiting supersymmetry. In such a formulation, along with ordinary space dimensions x, y, z, ..., there are also "anticommuting" dimensions whose coordinates are labeled in Grassmann numbers rather than real numbers. The ordinary space dimensions correspond to bosonic degrees of freedom, the anticommuting dimensions to fermionic degrees of freedom. The word "superspace" was first used by John Wheeler in an unrelated sense to describe the configuration space of general relativity; for example, this usage may be seen in his 1973 textbook Gravitation.

Chiral symmetry breaking

In particle physics, chiral symmetry breaking is the spontaneous symmetry breaking of a chiral symmetry – usually by a gauge theory such as quantum chromodynamics, the quantum field theory of the strong interaction. Yoichiro Nambu was awarded the 2008 Nobel prize in physics for describing this phenomenon ("for the discovery of the mechanism of spontaneous broken symmetry in subatomic physics").

Theoretical physics

Theoretical physics is a branch of physics that employs mathematical models and abstractions of physical objects and systems to rationalize, explain and predict natural phenomena. This is in contrast to experimental physics, which uses experimental tools to probe these phenomena. The advancement of science generally depends on the interplay between experimental studies and theory. In some cases, theoretical physics adheres to standards of mathematical rigour while giving little weight to experiments and observations.

Algebra

Algebra () is the study of variables and the rules for manipulating these variables in formulas; it is a unifying thread of almost all of mathematics. Elementary algebra deals with the manipulation of variables (commonly represented by Roman letters) as if they were numbers and is therefore essential in all applications of mathematics. Abstract algebra is the name given, mostly in education, to the study of algebraic structures such as groups, rings, and fields.

Related lectures (53)

Structure of Algebras

Covers the structure of finite dimensional algebras and the characterization of semisimple algebras.

Supersymmetry: Motivations and Concrete Applications

Explores the motivations and applications of supersymmetry, including string theory and flavor symmetries, culminating in the Coleman-Mandula theorem.

Quantum Field Theory: Exercises on QFT1

Covers exercises on ladder operators, Lorentz invariance, Noether charges, and custodial symmetry in quantum field theory.

Complement: Monotone Class Theorem

Explains the independence of events and sets in an algebraic context.

Integration: more examples and rational functions