FYS5190 – Supersymmetry
Course description
Schedule, syllabus and examination date
Course content
The course gives a basic introduction to the algebraic origin of supersymmetry as an extension of Special Relativity, and the construction and phenomenology of the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model (MSSM). The aim is that students should be able to interpret experimental results in the search for supersymmetry, and be able to perform basic theoretical predictions within the MSSM.
Learning outcome
After taking this course you should:
- Have a basic understanding of group theory, representations of groups, the Lie groups central to modern theoretical physics and their Lie algebras.
- Understand the role of the Poincaré algebra in Special Relativity, and the construction of its supersymmetric extensions and their irreducible representations.
- Be able to use superspace and superfields to construct supersymmetric models in N=1 supersymmetry.
- Understand the fundamental arguments in favor of supersymmetry at low energies, and the problems that the theory faces, including the issue of supersymmetry breaking, the hierarchy problem, renormalisation group equations and their relation to Grand Unified Theories (GUT), vacuum energy, R-parity and radiative electroweak symmetry breaking.
- Understand the construction and phenomenological properties of the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model (MSSM).
- 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 at colliders, in precision tests and in searches for Dark Matter.
- Be able to carry out leading order calculations in perturbation theory of supersymmetric particle production, annihilation and decay in the MSSM.
Admission to the course
Students admitted at UiO must?apply for courses?in Studentweb. Students enrolled in other Master's Degree Programmes can, on application, be admitted to the course if this is cleared by their own study programme.
Nordic citizens and applicants residing in the Nordic countries may?apply to take this course as a single course student.
If you are not already enrolled as a student at UiO, please see our information about?admission requirements and procedures for international applicants.
Recommended previous knowledge
For a good foundation in the basics of particle physics, having followed FYS4555 – Particle Physics would be an advantage. Students are also recommended to have either previously taken FYS4170 – Relativistic Quantum Field Theory, or to follow it in the same semester as this course.
Overlapping courses
- 10 credits overlap with FYS9190 – Supersymmetry.
Teaching
The course will be taught over a whole semester with 4 hours of lectures per week.
Examination
- Project assignment?which counts?30 % towards?the final grade
- Final oral exam which counts 70 % towards?the final grade
To pass the course, both the project assignment and the final exam must be passed.
When writing your exercises?make sure to familiarize yourself with the?rules for use of sources and citations.?Breach of these rules may lead to suspicion of?attempted cheating.
It will also be counted as one of the three attempts to sit the exam for this course if you sit the exam for one of the following courses: FYS9190 – Supersymmetry
Examination support material
No exam support material is allowed on the final oral exam. For the project assignment students are allowed to use any and all support material, written, online or otherwise, and any technological aid they want.
Grading scale
Grades are awarded on a scale from A to F, where A is the best grade and F is a fail. Read more about the grading system.
Resit an examination
Students who can document a valid reason for absence from the regular examination are offered a?postponed exam?at the beginning of the next semester.
New examinations?are offered at the beginning of the next semester for students who do not successfully complete the exam during the previous semester.
We do not offer a re-scheduled exam for students who withdraw during the exam.
More about examinations at UiO
- Use of sources and citations
- Special exam arrangements due to individual needs
- Withdrawal from an exam
- Illness at exams / postponed exams
- Explanation of grades and appeals
- Resitting an exam
- Cheating/attempted cheating
You will find further guides and resources at the web page on examinations at UiO.