260084 VU Introduction to Supersymmetry (2024S)

Supersymmetry is a symmetry that relates bosons and fermions. It is widely used in modern theoretical physics, and it appears for instance in string theory and has emerged as a key tool to study strongly coupled quantum field theories in diverse space-time dimensions. The aim of this course is to introduce the mathematical structures that underlie supersymmetric theories as well as simple supersymmetric field theories in four dimensions.
A tentative outline of the course is:
1) Supersymmetric Quantum Mechanics
2) Representations of the Lorentz group and spinors
3) The free Wess-Zumino model
4) Four-dimensional superalgebras and their representations
5) Superspace and superfields
6) The Wess-Zumino model in superspace
7) Supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory
8) Extended supersymmetry
9) Outlook
The lectures will be accompanied by exercises that are meant to repeat and deepen the material. Emphasis will be put on practicing the calculational techniques that appear in the study of supersymmetric field theories.
It is expected that students are familiar with the content of ‘Advanced Quantum Mechanics’ and with the basic theoretical physics lectures, in particular: quantum mechanics, symmetries, and Noether theorem. The course ‘Advanced Particle Physics’ is a good addition, and its content can be helpful to better understand the advanced chapters of the course, which build upon classical relativistic field theories, Klein-Gordon equation, and Dirac equation.