Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2009 iii Paper 42 4 b Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-14
Use mostly-minus metric signature, . The Weyl sigma matrices are and , with the three Pauli matricesThe Pauli matrix multiplication law immediately gives : the case is , the mixed cases cancel, and the spatial cases give . The spinor indices of express the correspondence between a Lorentz four-vector and a Hermitian matrix. For , ; preserves this determinant for , yielding the Lorentz spinor double cover.
In four-dimensional N=1 supersymmetry, the odd supercharges and transform as conjugate Weyl spinors. Their Super-Poincaré algebra isThe ordinary translation and Lorentz generators satisfy the Poincare algebra, and the Lorentz generators act on the supercharges by the corresponding group representations on Weyl spinors. Tracing the mixed anticommutator gives , proving energy positivity in global supersymmetry. For a massive rest-frame state, , the rescaled charges obey the canonical anticommutation relations. Acting with their adjoints builds a supermultiplet containing states of alternating fermion parity.