The b->s +\gamma Decay in Supergravity

Abstract

The $b\rightarrow s+ \gamma$ decay is a powerful tool for testing models of new physics because the new physics diagrams enter in the same loop order as the Standard Model ones. The current experimental and theoretical status of this decay is reviewed. Predictions based on the minimal supergravity model (MSGM) in the leading order (LO) are discussed. It is shown that results are sensitive to the value of $m_{t}$ and $\alpha_{G}$. The current experimental value for the $b\rightarrow s + \gamma$ rate already very likely eliminates part of the SUSY parameter space when both $m_{o}$ and $m_{\tilde{g}}$ are small and when $A_{t}$ and $\mu$ have the same sign. Dark matter detection rates for $\tilde{Z}_{1}$ cold dark matter for $\mu <0$ are only minimally affected by the current data, as are proton decay predictions for models consistent with current proton lifetime and $\tilde{Z}_{1}$ relic density bounds. [\dag Invited talk at ``Physics From Planck Scale to Electroweak Scale'', Warsaw, Sept. 21-24, 1994].