Introduction to Supersymmetry

QFT is best understood in the weakly coupled regime, where we can reliably use perturbation theory. However, this leaves out a whole zoo of strongly coupled QFTs, where all sorts of interesting phenomena that we cannot probe take place. In some rare cases, however, we can have analytic control even for strongly coupled QFTs. This happens whenever we have some powerful symmetry that can be used to obtain non-perturbative results. This is the case for supersymmetric QFTs, which makes them ideal toy models for exploring the behaviour of strongly coupled QFTs. This is one of the many reasons why supersymmetry plays an important role in modern theoretical physics.

This reading group serves as an introduction to supersymmetric gauge theory. We will be following the book “Supersymmetry: From the Basics to Exact Results in Gauge Theories” by Matteo Bertolini. Depending on the interests of the participants, we will also explore other advanced topics beyond the book.

Organizer: Ilias Papadimitriou