In
particle physics
Particle physics or high-energy physics is the study of Elementary particle, fundamental particles and fundamental interaction, forces that constitute matter and radiation. The field also studies combinations of elementary particles up to the s ...
, a superpartner (also sparticle) is a class of hypothetical
elementary particle
In particle physics, an elementary particle or fundamental particle is a subatomic particle that is not composed of other particles. The Standard Model presently recognizes seventeen distinct particles—twelve fermions and five bosons. As a c ...
s predicted by
supersymmetry
Supersymmetry is a Theory, theoretical framework in physics that suggests the existence of a symmetry between Particle physics, particles with integer Spin (physics), spin (''bosons'') and particles with half-integer spin (''fermions''). It propo ...
, which, among other applications, is one of the well-studied ways to extend the
Standard Model
The Standard Model of particle physics is the Scientific theory, theory describing three of the four known fundamental forces (electromagnetism, electromagnetic, weak interaction, weak and strong interactions – excluding gravity) in the unive ...
of
high-energy physics.
When considering extensions of the
Standard Model
The Standard Model of particle physics is the Scientific theory, theory describing three of the four known fundamental forces (electromagnetism, electromagnetic, weak interaction, weak and strong interactions – excluding gravity) in the unive ...
, the ''s-'' prefix from ''sparticle'' is used to form names of superpartners of the Standard Model
fermion
In particle physics, a fermion is a subatomic particle that follows Fermi–Dirac statistics. Fermions have a half-integer spin (spin 1/2, spin , Spin (physics)#Higher spins, spin , etc.) and obey the Pauli exclusion principle. These particles i ...
s (
sfermions),
[Alexander I. Studenikin (ed.), ''Particle Physics in Laboratory, Space and Universe'', World Scientific, 2005, p. 327.] e.g. the
stop squark. The superpartners of Standard Model
bosons have an ''-ino'' (bosinos)
[ appended to their name, e.g. gluino, the set of all gauge superpartners are called the gauginos.
]
Theoretical predictions
According to the supersymmetry
Supersymmetry is a Theory, theoretical framework in physics that suggests the existence of a symmetry between Particle physics, particles with integer Spin (physics), spin (''bosons'') and particles with half-integer spin (''fermions''). It propo ...
theory, each fermion
In particle physics, a fermion is a subatomic particle that follows Fermi–Dirac statistics. Fermions have a half-integer spin (spin 1/2, spin , Spin (physics)#Higher spins, spin , etc.) and obey the Pauli exclusion principle. These particles i ...
should have a partner boson
In particle physics, a boson ( ) is a subatomic particle whose spin quantum number has an integer value (0, 1, 2, ...). Bosons form one of the two fundamental classes of subatomic particle, the other being fermions, which have half odd-intege ...
, the fermion's superpartner, and each boson should have a partner fermion. Exact ''unbroken'' supersymmetry would predict that a particle and its superpartners would have the same mass. No superpartners of the Standard Model
The Standard Model of particle physics is the Scientific theory, theory describing three of the four known fundamental forces (electromagnetism, electromagnetic, weak interaction, weak and strong interactions – excluding gravity) in the unive ...
particles have yet been found. This may indicate that supersymmetry is incorrect, or it may also be the result of the fact that supersymmetry is not an exact, ''unbroken'' symmetry of nature. If superpartners are found, their masses would indicate the scale at which supersymmetry is broken.
Recreating superpartners
If the supersymmetry theory is correct, it should be possible to recreate these particles in high-energy particle accelerators. Doing so will not be an easy task; these particles may have masses up to a thousand times greater than their corresponding "real" particles.CERN
The European Organization for Nuclear Research, known as CERN (; ; ), is an intergovernmental organization that operates the largest particle physics laboratory in the world. Established in 1954, it is based in Meyrin, western suburb of Gene ...
might produce evidence for the existence of superpartner particles.
See also
* Chargino
* Gluino – as a superpartner of the Gluon
* Gravitino – as a superpartner of the hypothetical graviton
* Higgsino – as a superpartner of the Higgs Field
* Neutralino
References
{{Authority control
Supersymmetric quantum field theory
Particle physics