Superpartners in String Theory
Part of the String Theory For Dummies Cheat Sheet
String theory’s concept of supersymmetry is a fancy way of saying that each particle has a related particle called a superpartner. Keeping track of the names of these superpartners can be tricky, so here are the rules in a nutshell.
The superpartner of a fermion begins with an “s,” so the superpartner of an “electron” is the “selectron” and the superpartner of the “quark” is the “squark.”
The superpartner of a boson ends in “–ino,” so the superpartner of a “photon” is the “photino” and of the “graviton” is the “gravitino.”
Use the following table to see some examples of the superpartner names.
| Standard Particle | Superpartner |
|---|---|
| Higgs boson | Higgsino |
| Neutrino | Sneutrino |
| Lepton | Slepton |
| Z boson | Zino |
| W boson | Wino |
| Gluon | Gluino |
| Muon | Smuon |
| Top quark | Stop squark |
