In particle physics

Particle physics

Particle physics is a branch of physics that studies the existence and interactions of particles that are the constituents of what is usually referred to as matter or radiation. In current understanding, particles are excitations of quantum fields and interact following their dynamics...

, supersymmetry breaking is the process to obtain a seemingly non-supersymmetric physics from a supersymmetric theory which is a necessary step to reconcile supersymmetry with actual experiments. It is an example of spontaneous symmetry breaking

Spontaneous symmetry breaking

Spontaneous symmetry breaking is the process by which a system described in a theoretically symmetrical way ends up in an apparently asymmetric state....

. In supergravity

Supergravity

In theoretical physics, supergravity is a field theory that combines the principles of supersymmetry and general relativity. Together, these imply that, in supergravity, the supersymmetry is a local symmetry...

, this results in a slightly modified counterpart of the Higgs mechanism

Higgs mechanism

In particle physics, the Higgs mechanism is the process in which gauge bosons in a gauge theory can acquire non-vanishing masses through absorption of Nambu-Goldstone bosons arising in spontaneous symmetry breaking....

 where the gravitino

Gravitino

The gravitino is the supersymmetric partner of the graviton, as predicted by theories combining general relativity and supersymmetry; i.e. supergravity theories...

s become massive.

Supersymmetry breaking occurs at supersymmetry breaking scale

Supersymmetry breaking scale

In particle physics, supersymmetry breaking scale is the energy scale where supersymmetry breaking takes place.If supersymmetry fully solves the hierarchy problem, this scale should not be far from 1000 GeV, and therefore it should be accessible at the LHC and other future accelerators...

. The superpartner

Superpartner

In particle physics, a superpartner is a hypothetical elementary particle. Supersymmetry is one of the synergistic theories in current high-energy physics which predicts the existence of these "shadow" particles....

s whose mass would otherwise be equal to the mass of the regular particles in the absence of the SUSY breaking become much heavier.

See also soft SUSY breaking

Soft SUSY breaking

In theoretical physics, soft SUSY breaking is type of supersymmetry breaking that does not cause ultraviolet divergences to appear in scalar masses. These terms are relevant operators—i.e. operators whose coefficients have a positive dimension of mass—though there are some exceptions.A model...

.