Gaugino

In particle physics, a gaugino is the hypothetical superpartner of a gauge field, as predicted by gauge theory combined with supersymmetry. They are fermions.

In the minimal supersymmetric extension of the standard model the following gauginos exist:

• The gluino (symbol g͂) is the superpartner of the gluon, and hence carries color charge.
• The gravitino (symbol G͂) is the supersymmetric partner of the graviton.
• The winos (symbol W͂± and W͂³) are the superpartners of the W bosons of the SU(2)_L gauge fields.
• The bino is the superpartner of the U(1) gauge field corresponding to weak hypercharge.

Gauginos mix with higgsinos, the superpartners of the Higgs field's degrees of freedom, to form linear combinations ("mass eigenstates") called neutralinos (electrically neutral) and charginos (electrically charged). In many models the lightest supersymmetric particle (LSP), often a neutralino such as the photino, is stable. In that case it is a WIMP and a candidate for dark matter.

References

• G. Bertone, D. Hooper, J. Silk (2005). "Particle Dark Matter: Evidence, Candidates and Constraints". Physics Reports 405: 279–390. arXiv:hep-ph/0404175. Bibcode:2005PhR...405..279B. doi:10.1016/j.physrep.2004.08.031.