GUTs, the SU(5) representation, proton decay

Particle Physics 3: Supersymmetry and Grand Unification (Spring, 2010)

June 7, 2010

The final lecture focuses on grand unified theories, and how their group structure connects to fermions (neutrinos, leptons and quarks) and the gauge bosons.

Topics: 
  • The group theory of SU(5)
  • Gauge bosons
  • The prediction of proton decay
  • Neutrinos have mass, so maybe SU(5) -> O(10)
  • Lower bounds on the mass of predicted X and Y bosons