Supersymmetry, Supergravity, and Strings

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The purpose of this research in the area of theoretical particle physicsis to study aspects of supersymmetry and supergravity, which are mainingredients in the description and analysis of superstring theory.Superstring theory is the major candidate theory for the study of thefundamental constituents of matter as well as the unification of all the forces between them, including gravity. The viability of superstringtheory depends crucially on the existence of supersymmetry, a conceptthat tells us that at some fundamental level elementary particles, thoughsuperficially distinct in their properties, share an underlying identitywhich allows them to be considered as different facets of a singleentity. By studying supersymmetric theories, of which supergravityis the one relevant for string theory, we learn how to analyze it and howto perform calculations and gain information which ultimatelywill allow us to confirm that with this beautiful theory we haveindeed reached the goal of understanding how Nature works at the mostbasic level.