Supergravity: Application in Particle Physics

We provide a pedagogical introduction to N = 1 supergravity/supersymmetry in relation to particle physics. The various steps in the construction of a generic N = 1 supergravity model are briefly described, and we focus on its low-energy supersymmetric limit. The conditions for supersymmetry and supergravity breaking are investigated, and realistic mechanisms suitable for particle physics identified. We then study the model-building aspects of “softly broken” supersymmetric extensions of the Standard Model and discuss several of their phenomenological features.