Supersymmetry in Particle Physics: An Elementary Introduction

Ian Aitchison0521880238, 9780521880237

The first textbook to provide a simple, practical introduction to supersymmetry for graduates and researchers.

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Table of contents :
Cover……Page 1
Half-title……Page 3
Title……Page 5
Copyright……Page 6
Dedication……Page 7
Contents……Page 9
Preface……Page 11
Acknowledgements……Page 15
1 Introduction and motivation……Page 17
1.1 The SM fine-tuning problem……Page 19
1.2 Three quantitative indications……Page 27
1.3 Theoretical considerations……Page 28
2 Spinors: Weyl, Dirac and Majorana……Page 32
2.1 Spinors and Lorentz transformations……Page 34
2.2 Constructing invariants and 4-vectors out of 2-component (Weyl) spinors……Page 37
2.3 A more streamlined notation for Weyl spinors……Page 41
2.4 Dirac spinors using χ- (or L-) type spinors only……Page 47
2.5.1 Definition and simple bilinear equivalents……Page 49
2.5.2 Quantization……Page 53
3.1 Simple supersymmetry……Page 57
3.2 A first glance at the MSSM……Page 63
4.1 One way of obtaining the SU(2) algebra……Page 66
4.2 Supersymmetry generators (‘charges’) and their algebra……Page 69
4.3 The supersymmetry current……Page 74
4.4 Supermultiplets……Page 77
4.5 A snag, and the need for a significant complication……Page 81
5.1 Interactions and the superpotential……Page 86
5.2 Cancellation of quadratic divergences in the W–Z model……Page 93
6.1 SUSY transformations on fields……Page 104
6.2 A differential operator representation of the SUSY generators……Page 109
6.3 Chiral superfields, and their (chiral) component fields……Page 111
6.4 Products of chiral superfields……Page 113
6.5 A technical annexe: other forms of chiral superfield……Page 116
7.1 The free Abelian gauge supermultiplet……Page 122
7.2 Non-Abelian gauge supermultiplets……Page 125
7.3.1 Combining one U(1) vector supermultiplet and one free chiral supermultiplet……Page 128
7.3.2 The non-Abelian case……Page 133
8.1 Specification of the superpotential……Page 136
8.2 The SM interactions in the MSSM……Page 141
8.3 Gauge coupling unification in the MSSM……Page 145
8.4 R-parity……Page 151
9.1 Breaking SUSY spontaneously……Page 153
9.2 Soft SUSY-breaking terms……Page 160
9.3 RGE evolution of the parameters in the (softly broken) MSSM……Page 165
10.1 The scalar potential and the conditions for electroweak symmetry breaking……Page 170
10.2 The tree-level masses of the scalar Higgs states in the MSSM……Page 174
10.3 The SM fine-tuning problem revisited, in the MSSM……Page 180
10.4 Tree-level couplings of neutral Higgs bosons to SM particles……Page 182
11.1 Gluinos……Page 189
11.2 Neutralinos……Page 190
11.3 Charginos……Page 193
11.4 Squarks and sleptons……Page 195
12.1.1 The gluino decays………Page 201
12.1.2 The neutralino decays………Page 206
12.1.3 The neutralino decay………Page 209
12.2.1 Squark pair production in qq collisions……Page 211
12.2.2 Slepton and sneutrino pair production in qq collisions……Page 218
12.2.3 Stop and stau pair production in e+e collisions……Page 222
12.3 Signatures and searches……Page 224
12.4 Benchmarks for SUSY searches……Page 226
References……Page 230
Index……Page 235