Particle Mass Limits in Minimal and Nonminimal Supersymmetric Models

Abstract

A review of the Higgs and neutralino sectors of supersymmetric models is presented. This includes the upper limit on the mass of the lightest Higgs boson in the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model, as well as models based on the Standard Model gauge group $SU(2)_L \times U(1)_Y$ with extended Higgs sectors. We then discuss the Higgs sector of left-right supersymmetric models, which conserve R-parity as a consequence of gauge invariance, and present a calculable upper bound on the mass of the lightest Higgs boson in these models. We also discuss the neutralino sector of general supersymmetric models based on the SM gauge group. We show that, as a consequence of gauge coupling unification, an upper bound on the mass of the lightest neutralino as a function of the gluino mass can be obtained.