FYS9190 – Supersymmetry

Changes in the course due to coronavirus

Autumn 2020 we plan for teaching and examinations to be conducted as described in the course description and on semester pages. However, changes may occur due to the corona situation. You will receive notifications about any changes at the semester page and/or in Canvas.

See general guidelines for examination at the MN Faculty autumn 2020.

Course content

Introduction to basic group theory, representations and Lie algebras. The Poincaré algebra and its supersymmetric extensions, Weyl spinors, N=1 supersymmetry, superspace and superfields, supersymmetry breaking, renormalization group equations, the hierarchy problem, GUTs, vacuum energy, the Lagrangian of the MSSM, R-parity, radiative EWSB and Higgs bosons, mass spectrum of the MSSM, Dark Matter candidates, Feynman-diagram calculations, sparticles at colliders, precision test, current bounds and searches, variations on the MSSM.

Learning outcome

The students should be able to understand research papers dealing with the phenomenology of supersymmetric particles and supersymmetric model building, and be able to interpret current and future experimental results from searches for supersymmetry. They should understand the fundamental arguments in favor of supersymmetry at low energies, and the problems that the theory faces. They should be able to carry out calculations in perturbation theory of supersymmetric particle production, scattering on ordinary matter, annihilation and decay.

Admission to the course

PhD candidates from the University of Oslo should apply for classes and register for examinations through Studentweb.

If a course has limited intake capacity, priority will be given to PhD candidates who follow an individual education plan where this particular course is included. Some national researchers’ schools may have specific rules for ranking applicants for courses with limited intake capacity.

PhD candidates who have been admitted to another higher education institution must apply for a position as a visiting student within a given deadline.

Recommended previous knowledge

FYS4170 – Relativistic Quantum Field Theory and FYS4560 – Elementary particle physics (discontinued)

Overlapping courses

• 10 credits overlap with FYS5190 – Supersymmetry.

Teaching

The course will be taught over a whole semester with 4 hours of lectures per week. Exercises will be given and their resolution discussed in class. A mandatory research project must be handed in during the course. There will be held lectures specific for the research project.

Examination

Combination of final oral exam and research project. To pass the course, both research project and final exam must be passed.

Examination support material

No examination support material is allowed.

Grading scale

Grades are awarded on a pass/fail scale. Read more about the grading system.

Resit an examination

This course offers both postponed and resit of examination. Read more:

• Illness at exams / postponed exams
• Withdrawal during an examination / Resitting an examination

Special examination arrangements, use of sources, explanations and appeals

See more about examinations at UiO