Supersymmetry is a theory in particle physics that aims to explain missing matter and unify gravity with other fundamental forces. It proposes that all force-carrying subatomic particles are paired with particles that have mass. While the theory has not been directly supported by evidence, it could explain dark matter and the Higgs boson. The Large Hadron Collider failed to find evidence to support the theory, leading researchers to question its foundation. However, more complex approaches to supersymmetry are being considered.
Supersymmetry, often called SUSY in the scientific community, is a theory in particle physics that attempts to explain the missing matter or dark matter in the universe and unify gravity with the other three fundamental forces of nature, which are electromagnetism and weak and strong nuclear forces. The concept behind supersymmetry is an aspect of string theory that can be tested to some extent with current nuclear accelerator technology and states that all subatomic particles that carry a force are paired with subatomic particles that have mass. An example of this is the boson, which is thought to be a supersymmetric force vector for that of the matter particle known as a fermion.
Although supersymmetry theory solves many fundamental problems discovered in the behavior of elementary particles, there has been no direct supporting evidence as of 2011. The Large Hadron Collider (LHC), which, as of 2011, is the largest accelerator of particles ever made. built on Earth and consisting of 17 miles (27 kilometers) of tunnels under the French-Swiss border, it conducted a direct experiment in August 2011 to detect the effects of supersymmetry and failed to find any evidence to support the theory. This is in contrast to earlier promising indications from the Tevatron particle accelerator that suggested supersymmetry could be observed in the decay of subatomic particles of the B meson. The Tevatron is a 3.9-mile (6.28 km) accelerator located at Fermilab outside Chicago, Illinois, USA.
The concept of partner particles in a theory of large supersymmetry has been evolving in particle physics for 20 years. The researchers are now questioning the foundation of the theory, as the LHC support experiments, which were also supposed to provide some evidence to support the theory, did not. The theory has been of interest to physicists for some time, as it allows for a basic test of aspects of string theory that would otherwise be well beyond the capabilities of human technology for the foreseeable future.
The theory could also explain the great mystery of what dark matter is, which makes up about 25% of the universe, with another 70% or so attributed to dark energy. All normal matter and energy that are observable by conventional science make up less than 5% of the total mass and energy of the universe. The theory of supersymmetry would also explain the presence of the concept of the Higgs boson. Bosons are hypothetical particles that have been worked out in calculations to solve problems with the Standard Model in particle physics, but they are the only subatomic or elementary particle that has not been observed in physics experiments as of 2011.
While simple versions of supersymmetry can now be ruled out as probable, other complex approaches to it are also being considered. The most basic of elementary particles, the quark, would also have a supersymmetric partner known as the squark, which would be individually matched to each of the six flavors of quark, which are up, down, weird, allure, low, and high. Other supersymmetric partners, if ever discovered, would be gravitino paired with graviton, photino paired with photon, gluino paired with gluon, and many more. Even well-known subatomic particles would have supersymmetry partners, such as the electron, which would have a selecton as a superpartner.
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