Supersymmetry and the EM Force

  • Context: Graduate 
  • Thread starter Thread starter HeavyWater
  • Start date Start date
  • Tags Tags
    Em Force Supersymmetry
Click For Summary

Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the relationship between supersymmetry (SUSY) and electromagnetism (EM), specifically focusing on the role of the photino in SUSY QED compared to the photon in conventional QED. Participants explore whether the equations governing these theories are equivalent and the implications of SUSY on the detection of photinos.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory, Technical explanation, Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • One participant notes that in SUSY, the agent of the EM force is the photino, a spin 1/2 fermion, while the conventional EM force is mediated by the photon, a boson.
  • Another participant asserts that in supersymmetric QED, the photon remains the quantum of electromagnetism, suggesting that the photino is an additional type of matter rather than a replacement.
  • A follow-up question is raised regarding the speed of the photino and its undetected status, speculating on the conditions under which photinos might be produced.
  • Further elaboration indicates that if the photino were massless, it would have been detected by now, but due to the necessity of SUSY breaking, it acquires mass in a model-dependent manner.
  • It is mentioned that the photino shares quantum numbers with other neutral SUSY partners, leading to mixing similar to neutrinos in the standard model, complicating its independent existence.
  • One participant expresses a desire to further contemplate the implications of these discussions and reflects on their past studies in related fields.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express differing views on the equivalence of SUSY and non-SUSY electromagnetism, with some asserting that the photino and photon serve different roles. The discussion remains unresolved regarding the implications of SUSY on the detection of photinos and the nature of their existence.

Contextual Notes

There are limitations in the discussion regarding the assumptions made about the properties of photinos, the conditions for their detection, and the specifics of SUSY breaking, which are not fully explored.

HeavyWater
Messages
55
Reaction score
4
(This is easy for you folks that know SUSY.) I know in SUSY the agent of the EM force is the photino (a spin 1/2 fermion). The EM force that we all learned about in JD Jackson (and the QED version in Sakurai) has the photon (a boson) as the agent of force. Is the SUSY version of E&M, and the QED version of E&M equivalent to the Jackson/SakuraI of E&M? Do I just write down the same Maxwell equations for "non-SUSY" and SUSY applications?
 
Physics news on Phys.org
In supersymmetric QED, the photon is still the quantum of electromagnetism. The photino, being a fermion, is essentially just an extra kind of matter.
 
Thank you for your very quick response.
 
A follow up question on the photino. I assume the photino travels at the speed of light. If that is true, why haven't we ever detected a photino? Could it be that only pure SUSY particles (not hybrids consisting of at least one quark and at least one square) produce photinos?
 
HeavyWater said:
A follow up question on the photino. I assume the photino travels at the speed of light. If that is true, why haven't we ever detected a photino? Could it be that only pure SUSY particles (not hybrids consisting of at least one quark and at least one square) produce photinos?

The photino would have been seen long ago if it was massless. Instead bc super symmetry must be broken it acquires a mass in some model dependent way depending on how Susy is broken. Bc it shares the same quantum numbers with other neutral Susy partners, it will also typically mix between the different species much like neutrinos do in the standard model, so it doesn’t quite have an dependent existence.

As Mitchell says, it behaves like normal matter, and indeed it behaves very much like a heavy version of the neutrino. Indeed we typically call a photino part of a general class of Susy particles called neutralinos.
 
  • Like
Likes   Reactions: Spinnor
Mitchell and Haelfax, thank you for your responses. Your comments have raised physics questions in my mind and I need to think about this subject some more. I sure wish I had studied SU-3 and the strong interactions harder when I was in grad school.
 

Similar threads

Graduate Constructing massive N=1 SUSY Multiplets
  • · Replies 5 ·
Replies
5
Views
2K
Undergrad The standard model from loop quantum gravity via spinors octonions
  • · Replies 26 ·
Replies
26
Views
6K
Graduate Why are General relativity texts so much more formal?
  • · Replies 28 ·
Replies
28
Views
3K
Simplified Explanation of Supersymmetry for Intro to High Energy Class
  • · Replies 1 ·
Replies
1
Views
2K
Graduate Schrödinger's original interpretation
  • · Replies 21 ·
Replies
21
Views
4K
Schools Study plan to prepare for graduate school
  • · Replies 3 ·
Replies
3
Views
6K
Graduate The Mystery of Photoresist Ridges: A Question About Light and its Behavior
  • · Replies 8 ·
Replies
8
Views
3K
Undergrad Progress In Calculating The HLbL Contribution To Muon g-2
  • · Replies 0 ·
Replies
0
Views
3K
Undergrad The general structure of relativistic QFTs
  • · Replies 87 ·
3
Replies
87
Views
8K
Graduate Superposition: Does EM Radiation Require an EM Field Everywhere?
  • · Replies 2 ·
Replies
2
Views
2K