What is "gravitino"

n. (context particle English) A subatomic particle, related to the graviton, predicted by supersymmetry

In supergravity theories combining general relativity and supersymmetry, the gravitino is the gauge fermion supersymmetric partner of the hypothesized graviton. It has been suggested as a candidate for dark matter.

If it exists, it is a fermion of spin and therefore obeys the Rarita-Schwinger equation. The gravitino field is conventionally written as ψ with a four-vector index and a spinor index. For one would get negative norm modes, as with every massless particle of spin 1 or higher. These modes are unphysical, and for consistency there must be a gauge symmetry which cancels these modes: , where ε(x) is a spinor function of spacetime. This gauge symmetry is a local supersymmetry transformation, and the resulting theory is supergravity.

Thus the gravitino is the fermion mediating supergravity interactions, just as the photon is mediating electromagnetism, and the graviton is presumably mediating gravitation. Whenever supersymmetry is broken in supergravity theories, it acquires a mass which is determined by the scale at which supersymmetry is broken. This varies greatly between different models of supersymmetry breaking, but if supersymmetry is to solve the hierarchy problem of the Standard Model, the gravitino cannot be more massive than about 1 TeV/c.