Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2005 iii Paper 55 6 Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-14
Work with metric , and , where are the Pauli matrices. The supercharges of four-dimensional N=1 supersymmetry form one Weyl spinor and its conjugate . Dotted and undotted indices cannot be interchanged; the conjugate charge in the printed mixed relation has a dotted index.
A direct derivation starts from superspace coordinates , with the four odd coordinates generating a Grassmann algebra. Use left Grassmann derivatives, soOdd derivatives anticommute with one another, and multiplication by distinct odd coordinates also anticommutes. The operators specified by the question can be writtenTheir coefficients do not depend on , hence . Within , the two odd derivative terms anticommute; the derivatives of the barred-coordinate coefficients vanish; and the two barred-coordinate multiplication terms cancel because the coordinates anticommute while the spacetime derivatives commute. ThusThis realizes the minimal algebra with no extra tensorial charges.
For the mixed anticommutator, split each operator into its odd derivative and odd-coordinate parts. The derivative/derivative anticommutator is zero. The coordinate/coordinate terms also cancel, since . The two remaining pieces areAdding gives the superspace differential realization of N=1 supercharges:In particular the differentiated-coordinate contributions have the same sign, not opposite signs. The graded product rule is the essential step; treating these as ordinary commuting-coordinate derivatives would give an incorrect algebra.
To obtain the Lorentz part, let transform as a four-vector and in conjugate spinor representations. DefineThe Pauli matrix multiplication law gives the intertwining identityIt shows that the two terms in transform together as a covariant Weyl spinor: the coordinate derivative transforms in the dual spinor representation, while the barred-coordinate/spacetime-derivative term transforms in that same representation through this identity. Infinitesimally, with , its transformation is . Comparing with the first-order expansion of givesIf the paper's spin matrix is denoted , this is exactly its first displayed relation. Defining that spin matrix without the factor instead requires an explicit in the commutator; this is a generator convention, not a different algebra. The conjugate relation follows by Hermitian conjugation.
Combining the Lorentz transformation with the differential computations gives the Super-Poincaré algebra in the question's notation:The even generators retain the ordinary Poincare algebra. As a closure check, the even superspace variation gives , and . Two such variations commute to a translation by , with zero commutator on the odd coordinates, reproducing the same normalization and showing why the anticommutator produces momentum.