All papers have been peer-reviewed. This volume includes the contributions to the International Workshop on Geometry and Physics: Special Metrics and Supersymmetry, held at the University of the Basque Country, Bilbao (Spain), from May 29 to 31, 2008. The topics covered by the volume deal with leading aspects of algebraic and differential geometry with special emphasis to their potential applications in supersymmetry and string theories. The areas covered by the proceedings are algebraic geometry, differential geometry and mathematical physics. In greater detail, they cover outstanding topics such as homological mirror symmetry, generalized Hodge theory, coassociative submanifolds, special geometric structures, geometric structures, Killing spinors, torsion geometry, string theory, supersymmetry and T-duality, among others.

An special feature of the book is the treatment in depth of the theory of spinors in all dimensions and signatures, which is the basis of all developments of supergeometry both in physics and mathematics, especially in quantum field theory and supergravity."--Jacket.

The purpose of this handbook is to give an overview of some recent developments in differential geometry related to supersymmetric field theories. The main themes covered are: Special geometry and supersymmetry Generalized geometry Geometries with torsion Para-geometries Holonomy theory Symmetric spaces and spaces of constant curvature Conformal geometry Wave equations on Lorentzian manifolds D-branes and K-theory The intended audience consists of advanced students and researchers working in differential geometry, string theory, and related areas. The emphasis is on geometrical structures occurring on target spaces of supersymmetric field theories. Some of these structures can be fully described in the classical framework of pseudo-Riemannian geometry. Others lead to new concepts relating various fields of research, such as special Kahler geometry or generalized geometry.

Supersymmetry is a highly active area of considerable interest among physicists and mathematicians. It is not only fascinating in its own right, but there is also indication that it plays a fundamental role in the physics of elementary particles and gravitation. The purpose of the book is to lay down the foundations of the subject, providing the reader with a comprehensive introduction to the language and techniques, as well as detailed proofs and many clarifying examples. This book is aimed ideally at second-year graduate students. After the first three introductory chapters, the text is divided into two parts: the theory of smooth supermanifolds and Lie supergroups, including the Frobenius theorem, and the theory of algebraic superschemes and supergroups. There are three appendices. The first introduces Lie superalgebras and representations of classical Lie superalgebras, the second collects some relevant facts on categories, sheafification of functors and commutative algebra, and the third explains the notion of Frechet space in the super context.

Back in 1982, Edward Witten noticed that classical problems of differential geometry and differential topology such as the de Rham complex and Morse theory can be described in a very simple and transparent way using the language of supersymmetric quantum mechanics. Since then, many research papers have been written on this subject. Unfortunately not all the results in this field known to mathematicians have obtained a transparent physical interpretation, even if this new physical technique has also allowed many mathematical results to be derived which are completely new, in particular, hyper-Kaehler and the so-called HKT geometry. But in almost 40 years, no comprehensive monograph has appeared on this subject. So this book written by an expert in supersymmetric quantum field theories, supersymmetric quantum mechanics and its geometrical applications, addresses this yearning gap.It comprises three parts: The first, GEOMETRY, gives basic information on the geometry of real, complex, hyper-Kaehler and HKT manifolds, and is principally addressed to the physicist. The second part 'PHYSICS' presents information on classical mechanics with ordinary and Grassmann dynamics variables. Besides, the author introduces supersymmetry and dwells in particular on the representation of supersymmetry algebra in superspace. And the last and most important part of the book 'SYNTHESIS', is where the ideas borrowed from physics are used to study purely mathematical phenomena.

This widely acclaimed introduction to N = 1 supersymmetry and supergravity is aimed at readers familiar with relativistic quantum field theory who wish to learn about the supersymmetry algebra. In this new volume Supersymmetry and Supergravity has been greatly expanded to include a detailed derivation of the most general coupling of super-symmetric gauge theory to supergravity. The final result is the starting point for phenomenological studies of supersymmetric theories. The book is distinguished by its pedagogical approach to supersymmetry. It develops several topics in advanced field theory as the need arises. It emphasizes the logical coherence of the subject and should appeal to physicists whose interests range from the mathematical to the phenomenological. In praise of the first edition: "A beautiful exposition of the original ideas of Wess and Zumino in formulating N = 1 supersymmetry and supergravity theories, couched in the language of superfields introduced by Strathdee and the reviewer.... [All] serious students of particle physics would do well to acquire a copy."--Abdus Salam, Nature "An excellent introduction to this exciting area of theoretical physics."--C. J. Isham, Physics Bulletin

Supersymmetry was created by the physicists in the 1970's to give a unified treatment of fermions and bosons, the basic constituents of matter. Since then its mathematical structure has been recognized as that of a new development in geometry, and mathematicians have busied themselves with exploring this aspect. This volume collects recent advances in this field, both from a physical and a mathematical point of view, with an accent on a rigorous treatment of the various questions raised.