Supersymmetry: The Decline of a Once-Promising Theory

Quick summary:

• supersymmetry (SUSY) theory proposed all known elementary particles have heavier “superpartner” particles, offering solutions to mysteries like dark matter and quantum gravity.
• It dominated theoretical physics since the 1970s and drove motivation for constructing CERN’s Large Hadron Collider (LHC).
• Despite over a decade of experiments following the LHC’s collision upgrades to higher energies in 2015, no evidence of SUSY has been found.
• The ATLAS and CMS teams at LHC recently merged thier dedicated SUSY research groups into broader categories due to reduced interest and overlap with other techniques. Groups were renamed as New Physics with Standard Objects (CMS) and Higgs,Multi-Boson & SUSY searches (ATLAS).
• Skepticism about SUSY is fueled by its unfalsifiable models requiring arbitrary adjustments after experimental null results.
• Some theorists argue that refined models could still provide breakthroughs if analyzed with future data; others suggest industry-wide shifts toward precision measurements or away from collider physics altogether may occur.

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