In
particle physics,
Supersymmetry (
SUSY) is a proposed type of
spacetime symmetry that relates two basic classes of elementary particles:
bosons, which have an integer-valued
spin, and
fermions, which have a half-integer spin. Each particle from one group is associated with a particle from the other, known as its
superpartner, the spin of which differs by a half-integer. In a theory with perfectly "unbroken" supersymmetry, each pair of superpartners would share the same mass and internal quantum numbers besides spin. For example, there would be a "selectron" (superpartner electron), a
bosonic version of the
electron with the same
mass as the electron, that would be easy to find in a laboratory. Thus, since no superpartners have been observed, if supersymmetry exists it must be a
spontaneously broken symmetry so that superpartners may differ in mass. Spontaneously-broken supersymmetry could solve many mysterious problems in particle physics including the
hierarchy problem. The simplest realization of spontaneously-broken supersymmetry, the so-called
Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model, is one of the best studied candidates for
physics beyond the Standard Model.