Supersymmetric string theory, what is it?

[ant0]

Basically i am on an A-level research product and i have chosen to study string theory. I have explained particle spin, theory of super gravity (to explain where string theories came from) and the basics of string theory. I also explained supersymmetry earlier on. My questoin is, how does supersymmetry relate to string theories to produce superstring theories? I assume it's something to do with the bosons/ fermions being symetrical again? Help please!

 

[Antonio Lao]

ant0,

I am reading a book called "Supersymmetry" by Gordon Kane. This book was published in 1999 (so maybe it is still not outdated). Edward Witten gave a foreword that says if nature is supersymmetric, the revelation of a quantum dimension of space-time is possible, which at the moment is not measureable by ordinary number.

When I finish this book (in about three weeks from now), I can add more information to this thread.

Antonio

 

[rick1138]

Supersymmetry requires that each particle have a supersymmetric partner. These partners are called sparticles. Generally the name of a particle's supersymmetric partner is formed by adding an "s" to that particle's name. The supersymmetric partner of the electron is called the selectron, that of the quark the squark. The supersymmetric partner of a particle is of the opposite type along the boson/fermion axis. No supersymmetric particles have been found as of yet. It is theorized that, if they exist, they are too heavy to be observed at the energies available in current particle accelerators, though it is hoped that the Large Hadron Collider, when it comes online in 2007, will provide a glimpse of supersymmetry. The original string theory was a 26-dimensional model of the bosonic string. Remember that bosons are particles that transmit forces, and that all rigid matter is composed of fermions, therefore a universe composed of only bosons is not very realistic, and certainly not ours. Adding fermions to the model induces states of negative probablity that are called ghosts, and considered to be unphysical. It was discovered that the only way to get rid of the ghost states was to require that all particles have a supersymmetric partner. The "super" in supersymmetry comes from Lie supergroups and superalgebras, which are symmetric in even dimensions and antisymmetric in odd, hence supersymmetric.

 

[rick1138]

Here is a link to a paper that gives a quick introduction to the mathematics of supersymmetry. It is fairly advanced, but clear.

http://www.teorfys.uu.se/courses/exjobb/susy.pdf

 

[ranyart]

Originally posted by ant0
Basically i am on an A-level research product and i have chosen to study string theory. I have explained particle spin, theory of super gravity (to explain where string theories came from) and the basics of string theory. I also explained supersymmetry earlier on. My questoin is, how does supersymmetry relate to string theories to produce superstring theories? I assume it's something to do with the bosons/ fermions being symetrical again? Help please!

Taken on face-value? here:http://www.superstringtheory.com/basics/basic5.html

One has to of course have a deeper understanding to the cross dimensional listings, no doubt this will come as you progress further in your studies

 

[dinah9312]

I'm doing a research about this subject too. I would reallyyy appreciate it if you can send it to me.so far I've wrote a little about the subject but struggling with the some parts too. It would really help if you can reach me and send me your report. my email is: dinatarazi@hotmail.com =)
hope to hear from you and good luck with your research.
P.S. check those sites they helped me personally, not about your question but in general:

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/elegant/ (after opening this link, click on "A Theory of Everything"
http://searchcio-midmarket.techtarget.com/sDefinition/0,,sid183_gci341514,00.html
http://www.kuro5hin.org/story/2002/6/7/13588/70154
http://www.superstringtheory.com/
http://www.theory.caltech.edu/people/jhs/strings/