Cosmology and Supergravity

May 16, 2016
19 pages
Published in:
  • Int.J.Mod.Phys.A 31 (2016) 25, 1630044
  • Published: Sep 8, 2016
e-Print:
Report number:
  • CERN-TH-2016-110

Citations per year

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Abstract: (World Scientific)
Abdus Salam was a true master of 20th Century Theoretical Physics. Not only was he a pioneer of the Standard Model (for which he shared the Nobel Prize with S. Glashow and S. Weinberg), but he also (co)authored many other outstanding contributions to the field of Fundamental Interactions and their unification. In particular, he was a major contributor to the development of supersymmetric theories, where he also coined the word “Supersymmetry” (replacing the earlier “Supergauges” drawn from String Theory). He also introduced the basic concept of “Superspace” and the notion of “Goldstone Fermion” (Goldstino). These concepts proved instrumental for the exploration of the ultraviolet properties and for the study of spontaneously broken phases of super Yang–Mills theories and Supergravity. They continue to play a key role in current developments in Early-Universe Cosmology. In this contribution we review models of inflation based on Supergravity with spontaneously broken local supersymmetry, with emphasis on the role of nilpotent superfields to describe a de Sitter phase of our Universe.
Note:
  • 20 pages, Latex. Contribution to the Proceedings of the "Memorial Meeting for Nobel Laureate Prof. Abdus Salam's 90th Birthday", Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, 25-28 January 2016. arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:1509.01500
  • Supersymmetry
  • supergravity
  • cosmology
  • inflation
  • string theory
  • supersymmetry: local
  • inflation: model
  • gauge field theory: supersymmetry
  • supergravity
  • spontaneous symmetry breaking