Supersymmetry, a theory that posits every known elementary particle has a heavier “superpartner” particle, has been the superstar of theoretical physics for the past half century. Its proponents have seen it as the best hope for particle physics to solve long-standing mysteries such as dark matter. The skeptics have protested its privileged treatment in the absence of experimental validation. At CERN’s Large Hadron Collider (LHC), the world’s largest and most powerful particle accelerator, finding evidence for supersymmetry became the next great expectation after its ATLAS and CMS experiments discovered the Higgs boson. Βut despite more than a decade of searching, both experiments are still coming up empty.
Supersymmetry’s cultural grip on the field has been so strong that discerning the theory’s end—should it ever come—would be difficult. But now that moment might be here: the ATLAS and CMS teams no longer have working groups dedicated to supersymmetry.
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